In Slovenia, cross-party coalition proposes constitutional amendment to transfer power to appoint government ministers from parliament to head of state

A proposal to amend the Constitution to transfer the power to appoint government ministers from parliament to the head of state was tabled by the largest two parties of the ruling coalition and one of two opposition parties on [4 April]. Under the proposal, unveiled on [4 April], the process would still have two stages but the president’s role in ministerial appointments would be formal. They would not be able to refuse to appoint the nominees except for very compelling reasons, said Janez Cigler Kralj, deputy group leader of the opposition party New Slovenia. Slovenia currently has a two-stage process where the prime minister is appointed by the National Assembly and then members of the cabinet are vetted and appointed in a second parliamentary vote. [...] The three parties do not have the two-thirds majority required to change the Constitution and it remains uncertain whether they have the support of the other two parties. [...] The Democrats, the main opposition party, argue that the amendments would create a “quasi-presidential system” and they are against the idea of scrapping the option of a no-confidence motion against a minister. The party does however find it sensible to adopt a system where the National Assembly confirms the prime minister and his cabinet in one go by an absolute majority.
Read the full article here: EURACTIV