(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Ljubljana April 26 - Slovenian Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek lost the leadership of her centre-left Positive Slovenia (PS) party to a challenger unwanted by her coalition partners on Saturday a move that is likely to bring down her government and trigger an early election.
A party congress chose Ljubljana mayor Zoran Jankovic as the new PS leader the party said. All three coalition partners have said they would not cooperate with a party led by Jankovic who is under investigation for corruption and has denied all allegations.
Bratusek whose government managed to save Slovenian from an international bailout last year told congress before the vote that she cannot remain the prime minister without the party support.
Slovenia was the fastest growing euro zone member in 2007 but was badly hit a year later by the global financial crisis. It dodged the need for an international bailout last December by pumping some 3.3 billion euros (2.7 billion pounds) into its troubled banks and expects the economy to grow by 0.5 percent this year after two consecutive years of recession.
With its borrowing needs covered for 2014 the former Yugoslav republic looks unlikely to have to resort to outside help even if the government collapses. But its fall could delay planned cuts and privatisations aimed at reviving the economy.
Jankovic asked Bratusek after the vote not to resort to any hasty decisions saying he hoped she would stay the prime minister.
But according to the national news agency STA a junior coalition party the Civic List called for talks on the date of the early election immediately after the vote and analysts believe the government will not be able to survive the PS leadership change.
Jankovic founded the PS two months before a 2011 election but failed to form a government despite winning the most votes. After a centre-right cabinet collapsed over another corruption scandal he quit the party helm in February 2013 to enable his hand-picked successor Bratusek to form a new government.
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