Janković, whose Positive Slovenia won a plurality of the vote in Sunday's general election, was tight-lipped after the meeting.

Ahead of the meeting, Virant told reporters that his party was in no hurry to get into a government and that it would not enter a government coalition at any price but would abide by its principles.

The main points of disagreement with Jankovic concern an increase in VAT and state borrowing and the attitude to state assets.

Virant's party agrees with the leader of the Social Democrats (SD) Borut Pahor that it is not the ministers' business to dicker about state assets and is against the state taking on more debts.

"We also need to clear up the attitude to corruption," Virant said noting that unlike his party, Janković did not consider corruption to be a problem in Slovenia.

Virant said the most important thing was for Jankovic to renounce the home and finance departments so that these could be taken over by credible ministers who would be a "guarantee that corporate crime and corruption will be prosecuted".

He would consent to the SD getting the two departments, saying that it was "important for the moderate part of Slovenian politics, that is the SD, SLS and the Virant List get together to form a broad coalition in which this part of politics will be about as strong as Jankovic's party".

Virant, who served as public administration minister in the centre-right government in 2004-2008, rejected the suggestion that his party would yield in to Jankovic, who is considered to be an able negotiator, arguing that he was a good negotiator too.

"Jankovic now has the chance to prove his proverbial efficiency. Coalition talks call for a different kind of efficiency than if you have an absolute majority," he said in a reference to Jankovic's majority in the Ljubljana city council.

Virant believes that Slovenia needs to "get a fully empowered government as soon as possible" because the fate of the euro is at stake.

But the Citizens' List's vice-president Janez Sustersic projected that government building would be a long process, which would see various combinations and in which "many will change their decisions".

Meanwhile, Virant as well as the Democrats (SDS) denied the allegation that the SDS was trying to persuade MPs elected on Virant's list to defect to the SDS.

Jankovic's meeting with Virant comes after he has already met the leaders of the Social Democrats (SD) and the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) for preliminary talks.

Invitations for talks have also been received by the Democrats (SDS), New Slovenia (NSi) and the People's Party (SLS). The NSi and SDS will probably meet Jankovic later this week and the SLS early next week.