Representatives of the largest opposition met with Gorenak earlier today to hear his explanations of the disappearance of signatures as well as of the prompt reaction of the police to an anonymous report wrongly alleging that one of the signatures provided by PS deputies in a separate referendum initiative had been forged.

No comments were given after the meeting, but the PS was not dissuaded from insisting that Gorenak - whose ministry was verifying referendum signatures filed by the Trade Union of Chemical, Non-Metal and Rubber Industries of Slovenia (KNG) to send back to parliament fewer signatures that had been submitted - must go.

Gorenak has been rejecting any blame on the part of the ministry, arguing this had also been proved by an internal investigation.

The party had also been calling for the resignation of parliamentary Speaker Gregor Virant, who claims it is not possible to establish whether the signatures were lost in parliament before being sent to the ministry or vice-versa.

A subsequent count of the original signatures deposited at parliament showed that the union, which is worried about the effect of the bad bank act on the industry, had in fact collected enough signatures and could resume referendum proceedings.

The accusations of forged signatures in the initiative of the PS for a referendum on the Slovenian Sovereign Holding act, which concentrates all state assets in a single holding, also proved false after being investigated the next day following the filed report.