SAB leader Alenka Bratušek said on Wednesday she expected "more activity" from Šarec given that Mlinar would not be a SAB minister but a minister in Šarec's government.

"He knows very well that in our eyes this is absolutely his task and the task of the coalition, if it still exists," Bratušek said after Mlinar was rejected by the parliamentary EU affairs and economy committees yesterday.

Having been relegated to minority status after the Left terminated the cooperation pact, the government no longer has a default majority in parliamentary working bodies, but even the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) yesterday voted against Mlinar.

Bratušek said the DeSUS stance was something the party and the prime minister needed to clear up. "I think this relation is one of the main reasons why the candidate was left without DeSUS votes," she said.

For Bratušek, failure to appoint Mlinar would amount to "a huge vote of no-confidence in the government". "If [the government] is not working, we should pack our suitcases and head for the election."

Meanwhile, DeSUS deputy group leader Franc Jurša said that the party would continue deliberating on the issue, adding that it was likely its MPs would be divided over the matter when voting during Thursday's plenary session.

He said the party was waging no war against the coalition or bearing any grudge, it is merely unhappy with the way the appointment procedure was realised.

The nomination came at the eleventh hour and there were complications with citizenship, he said, adding DeSUS also believed there were enough potential candidates in Slovenia, so there was no need to look for them abroad. Jurša also pointed out that this conflict did not mean the end of the coalition.

Political analysts think Mlinar's failure in parliament, although not very likely, could be damaging for the government, and controlling the outcome will require prudence by Šarec and his party.

Tanja Starič, an editor and news anchor at TV Slovenija, told the STA the committee vote showed cracks in the government, highlighting the long-simmering dispute between SAB and DeSUS, which have both set their sights on older voters.

The current situation is "very serious," she said, and risked "further undermining the government's political power in parliament".

Rok Čakš, the editor-in-chief of the conservative website domovina.je, likewise said a failure to secure enough votes to get Mlinar elected would be "quite a severe blow to SAB and the government", yet he does not think the outcome is very likely.

However, to secure a majority, Šarec and his party will have to make a few "tactical manoeuvres".