Health Minister Danijel Bešič Loredan faces a vote of no confidence in parliament. The Democratic Party (SDS) blames him for the deteriorating situation in public healthcare, failure to implement reforms, and failure to act diligently.

The motion, which the biggest opposition party announced on 29 June, accuses the minister of making waiting times for healthcare services even longer than they had been despite the state spending €137 million in extra funds.

The latest figures indicate the number of people waiting for treatment has increased by nearly 50,000 between 1 September 2022 and 31 March 2023, which is in contrast with the minister's promise that the trend will be reversed.

"Fact is that funds coming from taxpayers' pockets were not used economically and the measure designed to cut waiting times did not have the desired effect," the motion says.

The 12-point motion also accuses the minister of having broken a number of promises regarding the ministry's reform timeline.

The SDS believes that the minister's actions have led to a deterioration of the healthcare system and constitute violations of the citizens' constitutional right to healthcare.

In its first response to the news, the Health Ministry said the debate in parliament would be an opportunity to present in detail all measures adopted in the past year, and to discuss the many challenges in healthcare.

Prime Minister Robert Golob said he would comment after reading the document.

Votes of no confidence are a popular way for the opposition to air grievances about a particular topic and get airtime, but they almost never succeed unless a minister loses confidence among the coalition partners.

While there have been indications that some in the coalition are unhappy about Bešič Loredan, initial responses by the coalition partners when the motion was first hinted at several days ago suggest they will defend him.

Despite rallying behind the minister, the Left, a junior coalition party, however, said it was time to discuss the minister's performance.