If the positions are not clear after that, Pahor, responsible for naming a PM-designate, will repeat the talks at the end of the week.

Pahor will be able to talk to the party deputy groups once all are formed and appoint their leaders. All are expected to conclude this process today.

Tonin told the press after meeting Pahor that he had conducted a series of talks in recent days, including with Janez Janša of the election-winning Democrats (SDS) and his rival for the prime ministerial post Marjan Šarec of the runner-up LMŠ.

The leader of the centre-right New Slovenia (NSi), whom the centre-left parties led by the LMŠ backed for speaker, told Pahor that some of the deputy group leaders had expressed the wish for Pahor not to start the consultations too soon and give them enough time for talks on the future prime minister and coalition.

Pahor decided not to put off the start of talks, wishing to prevent a protracted forming of government. Thus, he will conduct the first talks on Monday and Tuesday and hold another round at the end of next week if it is not yet possible to asses who has majority support.

If things remain unclear even after the repeated talks, he will propose that the mandate to form the government be given by parliament to Janša.

Invoking the opinion of the parliament's legal service, Tonin said Janša could still reject the nomination and avoid a vote in parliament in case Janša established that he cannot form a government.

It is on the other hand not clear yet if such a scenario would mean the formal end of the first round of the search for a prime minister as outlined in the Constitution.

In the second round, a prime minister-designate candidate can be proposed by deputy groups as well, while there is also a third round where a simple as opposed to absolute majority is needed to appoint the prime minister-designate.

Meanwhile, Tonin announced he would already convene the first working consultations on Thursday, the first meeting of the college of deputy leaders on Friday and the first session of parliament on Monday.

The first parliamentary session would bring the formation of three committees - for foreign policy, EU affairs, and a joint committee that would cover the remaining fields until the formation of the other committees - making parliament operational, Tonin said.