"Irrespective of who voted for me today and who voted against, all can rest assured that I will be working for the benefit of everyone," Šarec said as he was sworn in, while he also noted he had gotten more votes than expected.

He seems to have been backed by the 43 MPs of the five coalition parties - his Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), the SocDems, the Modern Centre Party (SMC), the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) - the nine MPs of the Left, the two MPs representing the Hungarian and Italian minority, as well as by one MP of the three right-wing opposition parties.

The defector, whose vote along with those of the two minority MPs would have sufficed for absolute majority even without the Left, emerged despite strong criticism levied against Šarec and the emerging coalition before the vote by the Democrats (SDS), New Slovenia (NSi) and the National Party (SNS).

The three deputy groups wondered how long Šarec would actually be able to keep the coalition together given that the minority government featured three parties [the SMC, SD, DeSUS] among which there was much tension in the outgoing government.

Danijel Krivec of the election-winning SDS said that none of the six parties in the coalition or supporting it had won the election, while Šarec was politically inexperienced.

Jožef Horvat of the NSi, the party that withdrew from talks with Šarec despite receiving major concessions in the coalition talks, expressed fear "this will be merely an executive council (the name of the government under socialism) of the so-called transitional left whose only task will be to keep the existing privileges or put a brake on development which would benefit all citizens."

Meanwhile, the six parties that backed Šarec said they were aware a minority government would require patience and compromises.

Tina Heferle of the LMŠ said it was time for a new generation to enter the Slovenian political arena, urging cooperation for the benefit of the people.

Matej T. Vatovec of the Left defended the deal with the five coalition parties, saying this was the only possible government as things stood now and announced the far left party would act as a "corrective" when marginalised groups are threatened by government policies.

Šarec, whose LMŠ came second in the 3 June general election, had told MPs before the vote that he had the courage and perseverance needed for the challenges ahead.

"Instead of unnecessary words, one should simply get down to business. It is this perseverance possessed by the future new prime minister that the Slovenian political arena lacks," said the 40-year-old, stressing he would like to take political culture in Slovenia to a new level.

Healthcare will be one of the top priorities of his government, he said, but admitted that it would also be the most demanding one.

The 9th and youngest Slovenian PM so far needs to put forward a list of candidates for the ministerial posts by 3 September. A vote on the candidates is scheduled in parliament for mid-September. If he manages to form a government this will be Slovenia's 13th government.

Šarec is a former actor and comedian who became Kamnik mayor in 2010 and shot to political fame as he nearly defeated Borut Pahor in the run-off of the 2017 presidential election with 46.9% of the vote.

Pahor congratulated Šarec on his appointment today, wishing him successful work for the benefit of Slovenia and all of its people.