The government decided to nominate Janez Lenarčič, Slovenia’s ambassador to the EU and career diplomat, for the country’s European Commissioner on Thursday. The government tweeted that he was an experienced candidate with top references in international and European affairs.
The cabinet backed Lenarčič, put forward on Wednesday as an independent expert by Prime Minister Marjan Šarec without prior consultation with coalition partners, in a 13:3 vote.
It was the three ministers from the ranks of the SocDems who voted against, which is in keeping with the junior coalition party’s criticism of Šarec picking Lenarčič instead of SocDem MEP Tanja Fajon.
Coming out of a regular coalition meeting held this morning, SocDem deputy group head Matjaž Han limited his criticism to the way Šarec handled the procedure, echoing other coalition partners’ comments that the PM should have consulted them beforehand.