“This is a minority government … it is logical that the prime minister checks support with a confidence vote,” said Brane Golubović, deputy group leader for the ruling Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ).
Noting that 46 votes are needed in the 90-member legislature in the event the National Council vetoes the budget like it vetoed the 2019 budget, Golubović said the confidence vote would check support for the government “among coalition partners and the non-coalition partner”.
DeSUS deputy group leader Franc Jurša likewise said a confidence vote was likely, while Igor Zorčič, the head of the Modern Centre Party (SMC) deputy group, noted that the budget would be the biggest political issue in autumn “especially if the prime minister seeks a confidence vote”.
Coalition partners met for budget talks today after the Finance Ministry recently unveiled the budget framework for the next two years.
Finance Minister Andrej Bertoncelj said last week that he had to deny EUR 600m in additional spending proposals, but statements today would appear to suggest the headline spending figure may yet change.
“Considering that even in the coalition the wishes outpace the capabilities, we may expect that these wishes will grow further as additional votes are sought,” Zorčič said.
Matjaž Han, deputy group leader for the Social Democrats (SD), said that the coalition is “quickly united in this room, but we still have to get to the National Assembly”.
In the run-up to the 2019 budget, the Left secured concessions on a number of policies, but some of them have not been implemented and the party is expected to decide this weekend if and under what conditions it will continue to support the government.
