PM PAHOR PROPOSES CABINET

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LJUBLJANA 000507

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/11/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR SI
SUBJECT: PM PAHOR PROPOSES CABINET

REF: LJUBLJANA

Classified By: Amb. Yousif B. Ghafari, reasons 1.4(b,d)

Summary
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1. (C) On November 11, PM Borut Pahor announced his
18-member Cabinet, which includes five women and seven
non-party candidates. Pahor will propose his cabinet to
parliament the evening of November 13. We expect
parliament to confirm the cabinet by November 21. Pahor
succeeded in satisfying his coalition partners, while also
keeping his vow that the most important factor in the
selection would be the professional qualifications of the
candidate. In doing so, he demonstrated a strength and
power within his own party and among the coalition that
many had doubted. All leaders of the coalition parties
will have ministerial positions: Former Ambassador to the
U.S. Samuel Zbogar will become the Foreign Minister. End
Summary.

Mitja Gaspari - Key Economic Advisor
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2. (C) A remaining question is what role Minister without
Portfolio responsible for European Affairs and Development
Mitja Gaspari will have. It is widely recognized that he
will have a key role in the new government, even though the
formal powers of Ministers without portfolio are normally
weaker than Ministers. Gaspari has the most experience - 8
years as Minister of Finance from 1992-2000 - of working in
the government, as well as serving as Governor of
Slovenia's Central Bank. He is chief economic advisor to
Pahor, who lacks any background in economics. He told the
Ambassador that he would also be responsible for the
Ministries of Finance, Economy and Labor (ref A). While
the Minister of Finance will have the public role of
tackling the financial crisis, Gaspari will be working
behind the scenes.

France Krizanic - Minister of Finance
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3. (C) The second member of Pahor's economic team is also a
non-political expert; Krizanic is a lawyer and economist
who will be primarily responsible for ensuring the
stability of Slovenia's financial system. He lacks
political expertise, so will need the backing of Pahor and
Gaspari to try to deal with other members of the Cabinet to
balance Slovenia's budget. Krizanic and Gaspari are close
friends and colleagues and will work as a good team. He
went on an IV program in 1995.

Matej Lahovnik - Minister of Economy
--------------


4. (C) Recruited hard to fill this position, which many
turned down, Lahovnik, an MP and one of the founders of
Zares, has six months of experience as Minister of Economy
in 2004. An economics professor at the University of
Ljubljana, the 37-year old has no private sector
experience, which is a disappointment to Slovenia's
business community. However, we expect him to also fit in
well as part of the new government's economic team.

Samuel Zbogar - Minister of Foreign Affairs
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5. (C) With Zbogar's nomination, we expect to have close
ties with the MFA. Our colleagues at the MFA welcome his
appointment and hope he will bring some positive energy
back to the MFA. He will need a strong secretary-general
to lead the effort to bring back order to its personnel
system. Although he lacks party connections, he is close
with President Turk (serving as his Deputy when Turk was
Slovenia's Ambassador to the UN).

Katarina Kresal - Minister of Interior
--------------


6. (C) The LDS party leader, known as much for her looks as
for her political clout, takes over a power ministry, in
contrast to the other coalition party leaders. Kresal's
experience as an attorney might help her. She was the head
of the legal office during the last year of U.S. telecom
firm Western Wireless' failed venture in Slovenia. The
embassy has had prior positive dealings with Kresal, though
not on substantive issues.

Ljubica Jelusic - Minister of Defense

LJUBLJANA 00000507 002 OF 003


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7. (C) The first woman to take the reins at Defense,
Jelusic has been the head of the defense studies faculty at
the University of Ljubljana. As such, she has taught much
of the Slovenian Armed Forces' officer corps, who have told
us that they are looking forward to her appointment. She
has been an advisor to President Turk on questions of
defense and national security.

Ales Zalar - Minister of Justice
--------------


8. (C) Zalar's experience as former president of the
Ljubljana district court should serve him in good stead at
Justice. Zalar has sided with judges against the
implementation of a pay-for-perfomance plan supported by
outgoing minister Sturm. We are not sure how he will
balance his support for judges with the need to decrease
the case backlog, a pressing human rights issue. A 1999
IVLP participant, he has already expressed to us a
significant interest in more programming.

Ivan Svetlik - Minister of Labor, Family and Social Affairs
-------------- --------------


9. (C) Though a DeSUS party member, Svetlik is one of
Pahor's picks. Svetlik, as a professor of social science
who did his PhD dissertation on unemployment, faces one of
the toughest ministerial portfolios, given expected
increase in Slovenian unemployment due to the ongoing
global financial crisis.

Gregor Golobic - Minister for Higher Education, Science and
Technology
-------------- --------------
--------------


10. (C) This long-time center-left power broker and current
Zares president is likely to use this post as a platform
for party-building. He will likely support state subsidies
for companies close to him, such as IT company Ultra (which
has a US subsidiary).

Irma Pavlinic-Krebs - Minister of Public Administration
-------------- --------------


11. (C) An LDS MP from 2000 to 2004, Pavlinic-Krebs has big
shoes to fill. It remains to be seen whether she will
continue initiatives to streamline public administration
and introduce innovations such as e-government and
pay-for-performance.

Milan Pogacnik - Minister of Agriculture
--------------


12. (C) Known for his autocratic style during his 18 years
as the University of Ljubljana's dean of veterinary
science, Pogacnik (SD) has seven months' experience as
minister of agriculture in 2004. His pragmatic and
international approach could make him a good interlocutor
for international community, but could cause problems with
Slovene farmers.

Karl Erjavec - Minister for Environment and Spatial
Planning
-------------- --------------


13. (C) The DeSUS president has landed here since he could
not continue as Minister of Defense because of the Patria
scandal.


Patrick Vlacic - Minister for Transport
--------------


14. (C) A top SD party member and an expert in maritime
issues, Vlacic was a key advisor to the transport minister
in 2004. He is a maritime and transport law professor at
Primorska University, and will be involved in negotiations
with Croatia on sea border issues.

Borut Miklavcic - Minister of Health
--------------


15. (C) Currently president of Red Cross Slovenia,
Miklavcic has experience in the health sector and a good
managerial track record. On commercial advocacy issues
such as pharmaceuticals, we expect him to be tough but at
least open to engagement.


LJUBLJANA 00000507 003 OF 003


Majda Sirca Ravnikar - Minister of Culture
--------------


16. (C) Sirca Ravnikar, a Zares member, was state secretary
in this ministry from 1997 to 2000. Her appointment is an
example of Pahor's intention to bring more women into the
cabinet.

Igor Luksic - Minister for Education and Sport
-------------- -


17. (C) A key SD strategist, Luksic is a professor of
political anthropology at the University of Ljubljana and a
2002 IVLP participant.

Bostjan Zeks - Minister without Portfolio for Slovenes
Abroad
-------------- --------------
-


18. (C) A non-party cabinet member in a new ministerial
position, Zeks has been the president of the Slovenian
Academy of Science and Art since 2002.

Zlata Plostajner - Minister without Portfolio for Local
Self-Government
-------------- --------------
--------------


19. (C) Another non-party nominee, we speculate that Pahor
hopes to use Plostajner's experience working with EU
structural funds to obtain more EU funding for local
projects.

Comment
--------------


20. (C) We expect parliament to confirm Pahor's slate in
the first vote, which will likely take place by November

21. Pahor's successful inclusion of the leaders of all
coalition parties strengthens his government. Pahor has
also formed a strong economic team under Gaspari. The
media has already commented on the necessity of immediate
action to address the global financial crisis; the new
government will not have the traditional 100 days for
consolidation. The U.S. will have friends in the new
government, with former Ambassador Zbogar at MFA and four
IVPs (including Prime Minister Pahor).
GHAFARI