Igor Zorčič, the 42-year-old lawyer, has taken over leading the 90-member National Assembly in the middle of the term. The MP, who has been the leader of the SMC parliamentary group until now, was elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly by secret ballot, with 48 votes for and 29 against.
The former leader of SMC’s group of MPs Igor Zorčič has become the new Speaker of the National Assembly. After his appointment, he thanked the MPs for the support and expressed gratitude for being entrusted to build on the heritage of all those who wrote the history of Slovenian parliamentarism as Speakers of the National Assembly before him. »With your election, you have given me a great deal of responsibility, but know that I will not be building a parliamentary democracy alone in these two years, I will be building it with you,« he told the MPs.
He also pointed out that everyone would be better off if »we make quality and socially acceptable decisions.« »So we have to respect the rules and procedures, we have to respect one another, and strengthen the dialogue. I will focus all my knowledge and energy on these goals,« he said. He thanked the former Speakers of the National Assembly of this term – Dejan Židan and Matej Tonin, for their work.
Coalition partners express their support
President of SMC Zdravko Počivalšek is certain that Zorčič will lead the National Assembly well, with the right measure of determination and a great deal of patience. He wrote that Zorčič’s legal nature gives him the ability to look at situations and events analytically, and his lawyer experience has strengthened his ability to negotiate and make sound judgements. All this, while also acknowledging that Zorčič is an experienced political leader, gives Počivalšek »great confidence in the period, when he will be first among the equals in the National Assembly.« He expects the new Speaker to lead the National Assembly in a respectful and responsible manner, in honor of parliamentarism and in strict compliance with the principle of separation of the legislative and the executive branch of power.
When presenting the views of the parliamentary groups, the leader of DeSUS’s parliamentary group Franc Jurša added that they trust Zorčič and value him as a person with competencies and compassion for one’s fellow man.
In NSi, according to Jožef Horvat, they expect the new Speaker of the National Assembly to strive for the highest possible level of cultural parliamentary dialogue and full compliance with parliamentary rules.
Who is Igor Zorčič?
42-year-old Zorčič is a lawyer by profession. So far, he has been elected to the parliament twice – first in the 2014 elections and then in the 2018 elections, when he also took over the leadership of the SMC parliamentary group. Born in 1978, Zorčič began his career at Tilia insurance company after graduating from the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana in 2003 and then continued as a lawyer apprentice and expert in criminal law at the District Attorney’s Office in Krško. In 2009, he continued his work at a law firm in Brežice, where he was mostly involved in criminal matters, and he stayed in the law office until his election to parliament. Zorčič is also active in his local area, as he is a municipal councilor of Brežice, and was running for mayor in the local elections in 2018. He was defeated by the long-time Brežice mayor Ivan Molan in the second round, but Zorčič was supported by more than 45 percent of voters. He lives in Brežice. He likes to relax and retreat from politics at home with his family, and he also likes to go out in nature.
Rok Krajnc