Slovenia's Parliament ousts PM Jansa amid economic crisis

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• published: 31 Jul 2015
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1. Wide of lawmakers 2. Mid of Alenka Bratusek (centre, brown hair, brown jacket) Slovenia's Prime Minister-designate 3. Reverse of Bratusek 4. Mid of Bratusek speaking during session as ousted Prime Minister Janez Jansa (silver tie, black jacket) looks on 5. Cutaway of photographers 6. Mid of Bratusek signing an oath as Slovenia's Prime Minister-designate 7. Wide of Jansa shaking hands with Bratusek 8. Various of Bratusek being congratulated by lawmakers 9. Mid of Bratusek smiling 10. SOUNDBITE: (Slovenian) Alenka Bratusek, Slovenia's Prime Minister-designate: "Today is a crucial day for Slovenia. I promise you that this will be the end of the politics of division, degradation and fear. I promise you dialogue, cooperation and respect for our citizens." 11. Wide of Bratusek 12. SOUNDBITE: (Slovenian) Alenka Bratusek, Slovenia's Prime Minister-designate: "The consolidation of public finances is one of our priorities and needs to be coordinated with our coalition partners." 13. Cutaway of cameraman 14. Pan of Bratusek leaving the stage ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 15. Various exteriors of Slovenian Parliament STORYLINE: Slovenia's parliament ousted Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his conservative government on Wednesday, and designated opposition financial expert, Alenka Bratusek, to form an administration in his place. The moves come amid corruption allegations against Jansa and growing public anger over the struggling economy and austerity measures that have seen living standards fall and unemployment rise. The 55-33 no-confidence vote named Alenka Bratusek as prime minister-designate. Bratusek, 42, would be the first female to lead Slovenia's government since its secession from Yugoslavia in 1991. Jansa's government, which was elected a year ago, fell apart when three of the five parties in his ruling coalition quit the Cabinet after the state anti-graft watchdog accused the prime minister in January of corruption. He was alleged to have failed to declare 210-thousand euros (285-thousand US dollars) of his personal assets. Bratusek now has 15 days to form a new government and avoid holding early elections. Such elections would prolong the search for a solution to Slovenia's deep recession, which was partly triggered by the European Union's financial woes. Slovenia, which joined the EU in 2004 and the eurozone in 2007 as a model newcomer, is on the brink of becoming the sixth EU country to seek an international bailout to finance its beleaguered banks and their bad loans, which amount to some 7 (b) billion euros (9 billion US dollars). Bratusek, who worked in the finance ministry in charge of the state budget before becoming a lawmaker in 2011, would head the government for at least a year until new elections are held. She told Parliament she would bring about a new type of politics in Slovenia. "Today is a crucial day for Slovenia," she said. "I promise you that this will be the end of the politics of division, degradation and fear. I promise you dialogue, cooperation and respect for our citizens," Bratusek added. She told Parliament she would work on reviving Slovenia's economy and reforming the banking sector to try to avoid seeking an estimated 5 (b) billion euros (6.5 billion dollars) in an EU bailout. "The consolidation of public finances is one of our priorities and needs to be coordinated with our coalition partners," Bratusek told lawmakers. Slovenia has faced a series of street protests against austerity and corruption since December as unemployment hit a 14-year high at about 13 percent, and living standards plunged because of the government's spending cuts. He warned that the nation of 2 (m) million could face bankruptcy after his unseating. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/02fa0f0e934ca0c49da19cfe0a15f4c9 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork