Slovenia's parliament confirmed on Tuesday former two-time prime minister, Janez Jansa, to replace outgoing prime minister Marjan Sarec.

A veteran of Slovenian politics, Jansa, who had previously led Slovenian government in 2004-08 and 2012-13, is the leader of the centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), which is the largest party in Parliament with 26 MPs in a 90-seat assembly.

Often seen as an ally of Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Jansa advocates strict border controls, fight against illegal migration, and introduction of conscription to bolster the tiny NATO-allied Slovenian army.

The outgoing prime minister, Marjan Sarec, had struggled to lead a centre-left coalition government formed after the June 2018 election. He resigned in January, citing lack of parliament support for his cabinet. Slovenia’s President, Borut Pahor, gave the new mandate to form a government to Jansa, and on Tuesday, Parliament confirmed the decision by voting 52-31 in favour of Jansa.

Jansa had earlier signed a coalition agreement with three other parties – the centre-left Party of Modern Centre (SMC), the conservative New Slovenia party, and the pensioners’ party Desus, who collectively have 48 lawmakers in the national legislature.

This should secure some stability for Jansa’s incoming government in the fragmented assembly in which no less than nine parties from across the political spectrum are represented.

Jansa now has 15 days to present his cabinet to the assembly. Before Tuesday’s vote, he said the new government would focus on cutting red tape and improving infrastructure, and increasing funding from the state budget to local governments.

He is also expected to lead Slovenia when it takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU in the second half of 2021, before the nation’s next election scheduled for 2022.