Political turmoil could endanger a fragile recovery in economically troubled Slovenia after the surprise ouster of Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek within her own party, warned a leading business organization Saturday, according to dpa. Bratusek, 44, lost a vote of support by members of her Positive Slovenia (PS) party, the majority of whom plumped for PS founder and former premier, Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Jankovic, who said she had too regularly caved in to pressure from junior coalition partners. The change was almost certain to bring about snap elections, though Jankovic said that Bratusek should carry on as prime minister. She is expected to announce her decision on Tuesday, the STA news agency reported. However, following her loss, she said she could not continue, as the move put her on unequal footing with the other three leaders in her coalition. The other leaders agreed to form the government under Bratusek's lead 13 months ago after Jankovic, burdened by corruption allegations, stepped down as the PS leader. At least one of the junior partners, Interior Minister Gregor Virant's of Citizen's List (DL), said his party wants to resolve the situation with early elections. In that case, "practically everything in the country will be at a standstill for at least a few months," the head of the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce (GSZ) Hribar Milic told the STA news agency. "Any instability is unpleasant for business. We've been struggling to put the crisis behind us for six years, because we have political instability. Yesterday's change will only make that worse," Milic said. Slovenia's export-drive economy has been hit hard by the global crisis and has been in recession since 2009. Reforms to curb spending to a sustainable level and clean out the tainted banking system not only saved Slovenia from seeking a bailout from the European Union, but led to brighter economic projections and expectations of a surprisingly robust recovery. According to revised central bank forecasts, the Slovenian economy will grow by 0.6 per cent in 2013, instead of contracting by 0.7 per cent. The trend was expected to continue into the next two years, with growth rates of 1.4 and 1.7 per cent, respectively. The recovery, however, remains fragile. The clean-up of the banks has cost billions of dollars and has driven the 2013 deficit up to 14.7 per cent of gross domestic product. A plan to cover part of the deficit with a property tax was knocked down by the Constitutional Court. Bratusek's cabinet came out with additional measures, including a hike of excise taxes on petrol, alcohol and tobacco, to limit the damage. Much more needs to be done urgently, but that may be impossible if the government falls and parties turn to election campaign. Stalled reforms would directly hit businesses and may again start a downward spiral. "If the government falls, we will face higher financing costs, reduced ... foreign investment and an erosion of competitiveness," the Managers' Association of Slovenia warned. "The economy neither wants nor needs that," it added in a statement.
