May 7 (SeeNews) - Serbia's parliament voted in a government of the populist conservative Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, which has been in power since 2012, and its ally, the Socialist Party of Serbia, after early general elections held in December, the government said.
The new government will continue to lead a foreign policy based on political and military neutrality, while full membership in the EU remains a strategic goal, prime minister Milos Vucevic said after the vote in parliament on Wednesday, as quoted in a government statement.
“It should be clear to everyone that everything we have achieved in the previous ten years, from the development of infrastructure to the growth of wages and pensions, would not actually have been possible if we had not had a peaceful and stable environment,” he added.
Vucevic replaces as prime minister Ana Brnabic, who was elected as the parliament speaker in March.
The cabinet lineup is similar to the previous one, with only a few changes - Adrijana Mesarovic is the new economy minister, while Bratislav Gasic will take over as defence minister.
Of all 213 deputies present at the session, 152 voted in support of the new government and 61 voted against. Thirty-seven MPs did not attend the session.
In December’s elections, the SNS won 46.75% of the votes, giving it 113 seats in in the 250-seat parliament. Its coalition partner got 6.55%, or 13 seats.