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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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