Slovenia's President Danilo Tuerk on Monday held a new round of consultations with parliamentary parties on the formation of a new government as a way of averting a deepening of the current political crisis, however, no solution seemed to be in the offing.
Making it clear that he still treated Zoran Jankovic as the likeliest prime minister-designate, Tuerk first received the Positive Slovenia party leader who in a secret ballot in parliament last Wednesday was four votes short of his appointment as prime minister.
"We have analysed the current situation," Jankovic said after the consultations with the head of state.
Tuerk also held talks with Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) leader Janez Jansa whose party has two MPs fewer than Jankovic's Positive Slovenia which has 28 seats in the 90-seat parliament.
Jansa, supported by the Civil List of Parliament Speaker Gregor Virant, is still two votes short of securing 46 votes required for his appointment as the new PM.
Jansa said that President Tuerk had acquainted him with technical deadlines for forming a new government and with the president's responsibilities in that process.
The SDS leader said that his party had initialled coalition agreements with Virant's Civic List, the Slovenian Popular Party (SLS) and the New Slovenia party, but that those three parties would not put forward a proposal on his nomination as PM-designate until they secured enough signatures from MPs for his appointment.
These centre-right parties now have 44 votes, two votes short of a majority in the 90-seat parliament.
Slovenia held early parliamentary elections on 4 December.
Tuerk will hold a new round of consultations towards the end of this week or at the beginning of the next one.
