Election blow for president in crisis-hit Slovenia

Slovenia's president slipped to a surprise second in the first round of elections Sunday held as the small ex-Yugoslav republic, once a model newcomer to the eurozone, battles to avoid needing a bailout. With 97 percent of votes counted, President Danilo Turk looked to have won 36 percent of the vote, behind former premier Borut Pahor on 40 percent. Third-placed Milan Zver scored 24 percent. Turk, an independent, and Pahor, whose centre-left government collapsed in late 2011, now face a close-to-call runoff on December 2. "The number of votes have strongly exceeded my expectations. Let me tell you that with my firm work and attitude I will try to exceed your expectations," Pahor said. "I believe the message from this vote is: all together we can achieve more than we can imagine."  Turk expressed confidence that he would win the runoff, saying that the low voter turnout -- 47.3 percent compared to 57.7 percent in 2007 -- was "a warning that people are disappointed with our politics and our state". He said: "In the following three weeks I'll do everything possible to show the conceptual differences between me and my rival ... This was only the first round." The election was held as Slovenia suffers one of the deepest recessions in the eurozone, which it joined in 2007, becoming the bloc's first former communist country member. It is now battling to avoid seeking help from the bloc. Slovenia's credit ratings have been cut, mostly because of worries about the country's banks, and borrowing rates on its sovereign debt have hit seven percent, a level regarded as unsustainable in the long term without assistance. Brussels forecast last week that output will shrink a painful 2.3 percent this year and 1.6 percent next. Unemployment in the 21-year-old nation is hitting record levels and trade unions plan major protests next Saturday.  The president has few powers, but as head of state can make life difficult for the government as it seeks to implement tough austerity measures and reforms. Turk has been a thorn in the side of Prime Minister Janez Jansa, and has accused the government of exaggerating the seriousness of the country's economic crisis. During the electoral campaign Turk, 60, a law professor who worked at the United Nations under former secretary general Kofi Annan, openly and repeatedly questioned Jansa's policies. In January Turk even refused to give Jansa a mandate to form a new government after the winner of December's early elections, Ljubljana mayor Zoran Jankovic, failed to form a coalition. Eventually Jansa was elected by MPs. Analyst Matevz Tomsic from the Nova Gorica Advanced Social Studies faculty said before the election that in a runoff between Pahor, 49, and Turk, "certainly Jansa and the whole government would prefer Borut Pahor." "For Jansa that would be the less-bad choice, he will be much more cooperative as president," he said. Jansa said late Sunday that his party's "decision on whom to support in the second round will be a tough one since in the first round we did not see (in Turk or Pahor) much in common with our programme and our values." The speaker of parliament, Gregor Virantm, said that Pahor's victory would be "a very good signal to the international financial markets since Pahor himself carried out reforms (as premier) and is a supporter of the current reforms."