Social Democrats president Borut Pahor said on Tuesday his party would back Slovenia's likely prime minister designate Zoran Jankovic, but put several conditions on the possibility of joining a ruling coalition.
Speaking to the press after a meeting of the party's executive committee, he said they formed a team for negotiations with the prime minister designate but that they would support the government and its key projects even if no agreement was reached.
Pahor said there were significant programme differences between his and Jankovic's party that should be bridged through talks, adding that he was more concerned about the differences between him and Jankovic in dealing with matters.
"Jankovic's way of running things is a little autocratic. This too was probably a reason for his success at (Sunday's) election, but autocratic decision-making in the current time of crisis would be wrong," Pahor said, adding that a major difference between him and Jankovic was how to manage state-owned companies and banks.
Jankovic's Positive Slovenia party won 28 and Pahor's party 10 seats in Sunday's parliamentary election. It is estimated that this could be the core of a ruling coalition which must win at least 46 seats in parliament and should, therefore, include two more parties.
Yesterday, Jankovic held preliminary talks with Pahor, saying they would resume, but sources from Pahor's party said yesterday the talks on which Jankovic had insisted were early, especially since he notified the media about them in advance.
