SocDems (SD) deputy group head Dusan Kumer told the STA that people from Virant's and Jankovic's teams were "recruiting" SD members. He said that this was done by people "who are appearing on TV as political commentators and analysts, which is a disaster".

He argued that the large support for the new players had a lot to do with marketing methods, with their use of the media space allotted to them, and stressed that these were familiar "new faces" who have been present in politics for years to now "present themselves as liberators".

Kumer's view was echoed by People's Party (SLS) president Radovan Zerjav, who said this practice "exceeded all limits the past weekend" after an invitation to stand on one of the new lists had been made to SLS vice-president Franc Bogovic.

"This no longer makes sense...This demonstrates a lack of political culture to say the least...They should leave our figureheads alone," Zerjav said, urging fair-play and claiming that no SLS member had accepted the offer.

LibDems deputy group head Borut Sajovic also confirmed that offers had arrived but that none of the LDS's key members responded.

"Loyalty to one's partner, family, homeland or politics is one of the few values where a person grows and then either withstands or falls," he said, expressing his conviction that Slovenian voters were smart enough to see that people changing camps like that were driven by nothing "but a sick wish to participate in power at any price".

Zares's Franco Juri noticed signs of such developments within Zares as well, he however only expects defections by members who have already been close to Jankovic in the past.

Matjaz Zanoskar of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) also confirmed for STA that there had been invitations and that he was considering running with one of the newly established parties.

But economist Janez Sustersic, who will stand on Gregor Virant's list, said that Virant's election headquarters were not seeking to recruit people whom they knew were candidates of some other party.

He did allow for the possibility though that they had spoken to people who had been discussing their potential candidacies with some other party or list.

Virant's headquarters discussed candidacies with people they know and find appropriate, Sustersic said, adding that such a debate made little sense as those people would decide themselves where they would stand.