With bailout risk building, Slovenian PM seeks to shore up support

[YahooNews]

By Marja Novak LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia's efforts to avert a bailout are likely to win the government a confidence vote on Thursday, even though the cost of a bank clean-up risks tipping the euro zone country's finances over the edge. An expected 'Yes' vote will shore up political backing for Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek's disparate alliance as the republic struggles with its biggest crisis since it broke away from Yugoslavia 22 years ago. But her government could yet have to turn to the European Union and International Monetary Fund for help if external stress tests reveal it has not budgeted enough to resolve the bad loan crisis afflicting Slovenia's mainly state-run banks. Slovenia's 35-billion-euro economy accounts for only a fraction of the 17-nation euro zone, but another bailout following that of Cyprus in March would further dent confidence in the bloc's ability to resolve its government debt crisis.