VIENNA _ Slovakia's lawmakers endorsed a new Cabinet whose appointment sought to avert snap elections after the country's largest anti-government demonstrations since the fall of communism.
Parliament voted 81-61 to back the administration of Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in a confidence vote. Two lawmakers abstained and six didn't vote in the 150-seat assembly. Pellegrini replaced Robert Fico, who resigned halfway into his third term amid pressure from protesters following the slaying of a reporter investigating crime with political links.
The three-party ruling coalition needs to restore public trust in state institutions that was shaken as the European Union nation of 5.4 million endured a month of political turbulence. Protests continued Monday, with several hundred people gathering outside parliament in the capital of Bratislava as the assembly debated the Cabinet's future.
"I consider the appointment of the government to be an important milestone, which should end the unrest in Slovakia and rebuild stability," Pellegrini told lawmakers before the vote.
Pellegrini, 42, has been a lawmaker for the ruling Smer party since 2006 in a career that includes stints as education minister, parliamentary speaker and deputy premier. He is viewed as a member of a progressive, liberal wing within the party and has pledged to maintain the country's pro-integration posture as well as fiscal prudence.
Most of Pellegrini's ministers had been in Fico's previous Cabinet, prompting criticism from the opposition and civic leaders that the reshuffle was insufficient and that Fico will retain his grip on power through his leadership of the Smer party.
