Slovenia president dissolves parliament, calls early vote for July 13

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – Slovenia's president has dissolved parliament and called early elections in the small EU nation for July 13.

Borut Pahor called the snap vote after Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek resigned last month after losing the leadership of the ruling Positive Slovenia party. The 44-year-old financial expert has said she couldn't remain at the helm of the government without the support of her own party.

Bratusek has formed a new AB Alliance party, while Positive Slovenia is led by Zoran Jankovic, the mayor of Ljubljana, the capital. The main opposition force is the center-right Democratic party led by Janez Jansa.

During over a year in office, Bratusek's center-left government steered Slovenia through Europe's debt crisis. Slovenia has battled a banking crisis caused by bad loans.