New Slovenia government vows to pull country out of crisis

 Slovenia's lawmakers backed a new government under Prime Minister Miro Cerar on Thursday as he vowed to pull the small Balkan nation from the verge of economic crisis, AFP reports.

"This coalition government believes it can pull (Slovenia) out of the crisis. We have a plan, a vision and the will," the 51-year-old law professor told parliament during a nine-hour debate before it approved his cabinet.

Three centre-left parties have joined forces in the coalition government, promising fiscal responsibility, reforms to the healthcare system and privatisation of state-owned companies.

"If we do not act firmly, we will put on our grandchildren the weight of repaying our salaries and pensions," Cerar said.

The new premier, whose SMC party won snap polls in July just one month after being founded, hopes to put the eurozone country's finances back on track after two successive governments were brought down early by corruption scandals and political infighting.

A model entrant when it joined the European Union in 2004, Slovenia has recently teetered on the verge of bankruptcy, narrowly avoiding a bailout in December and returning to slight economic growth earlier this year.