Ljubljana - Preparations for the general election are under way on several fronts in Slovenia, the newspaper Dnevnik says on Saturday. While the crème de la crème of the Slovenian centre-right parties are forming an alliance under the wing of the Modern Centre Party (SMC), the question arises what is happening in the left pole.

SMC leader Zdravko Počivalšek will apparently bring together under one roof all those centre-right parties which have in the past been disappointed by the Democrats (SDS) and Janez Janša.

But since none of the names in this lot are new and no fresh ideas are being presented, a question arises what is being offered as an alternative on the other side of the political spectrum.

A major question at this point is whether a new party will emerge much like the SMC or Positive Slovenia (PS) emerged years ago to sweep with the competition.

Will social movements and activism that can be seen on Fridays and Wednesdays in the streets of Ljubljana be transformed into parties, the paper wonders. What form will the referendum energy from mid-July that beat the government take?

This is the context in which the agreement of the four centre-left opposition parties, the LMŠ, SD, Left and SAB, was made. The mere signing of the agreement could prove that the parties, which have managed to bring down one government, have come to their senses.

There has been virtually no information on the contents of the agreement, so it can be assumed that they are still in the phase of testing their mutual trust.

The agreement on post-election cooperation can also be seen as a pre-election pact on non-attacking in the race against the SDS and Janša, and primarily as a key commitment that there will be no joining of his camp after the election.

Making pre- and post-election coalition of the centre-left parties in the current heated situation in the Slovenian society is in a way the ultimate attempt at putting political processes under control.

The LMŠ, SD, Left and SAB have perhaps realised that in the tense and unpredictable social atmosphere, they must present themselves as the "only serious alternative to the harmful Janša government".

If they fail, a new force, which has been staging rallies on Wednesdays, can emerge, and this is something neither the SDS nor the opposition wants, so election as soon as possible is in everyone's best interest, concludes the commentary entitled Pre-election Crème de la Crème.