NEWS
Taking over from former Prime Minister Janez Janša, Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek announced: "Slovenia must kick-start its economy, create new jobs, find optimism and hope but above all, it needs cooperation."
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Ms Alenka Bratušek, first thanked the former Prime Minister, Mr Janez Janša, for all the good things that his government did for Slovenia, and told the media that her government team would continue with all the good projects already underway. "We will not dwell on the past and will not destroy everything, because our eyes are on the future," emphasised Ms Bratušek, and went on to say that she personally and her colleagues in the government were well aware of the tough times and hard work ahead of us, and that a change in the government did not automatically solve all the problems. "It is a fact that we must find the right path, and to this end, we think, that Slovenia must kick-start its economy, create new jobs, find optimism and hope but above all, it needs cooperation," she added. She also believes that the new government can count on the opposition's support for certain key projects, as they have themselves shown this year when crucial issues were at stake. "My team is young, well educated and full of optimism, and, in the time when people do not trust politicians, our political youth will be more of an advantage than a weakness. It is all about the country and its people and not us, and this is also the principle on which, together with my ministerial team, I will govern the country," noted Ms Bratušek.
After the handover, former Prime Minister Janez Janša told the media that he was satisfied with the work of the government despite its short term in office as certain reform measures had been adopted after all, though this had seemed impossible at first. He also said to the new Prime Minister that Slovenia was in a very difficult situation, particularly with respect to the public finance, and would have to be successful in borrowing on international financial markets in order to be able to pay its old debts in time. By way of conclusion, he congratulated Ms Bratušek on the appointment of her cabinet and expressed his wish that the new government would work for the common good.