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"It didn't say no. The decision will be known in the coming days," Šoltes, who has reportedly been forming a new party in cooperation with a doctors' initiative, told the STA after the daily Delo reported about his meeting with the PM.

Šoltes would not want to go into more details today. But he said that he had been invited to the meeting with the PM. He would not say whether Bratušek was in favour of his bid.

The post of health minister was made available after Tomaž Gantar stepped down in November over lack of support to implement a health reform. Gantar's party boss, Karl Erjavec took over as a stand-in minister.

Erjavec, the leader of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) who also serves as Slovenia's foreign minister, said Šoltes was not proposed by his party, so he could not be a minister from its quota if appointed.

But DeSUS expected to keep two ministerial posts in the government, Erjavec said, adding that he had nothing against Šoltes's candidacy and even though he was fit to deal with corruption in healthcare.

Similarly, the leader of the Citizens' List (DL) Gregor Virant maintained that Šoltes would make a good candidate, while his counterpart from the Social Democrats (SD) Igor Lukšič said the proposal was in "bad taste".

"We haven't agreed to expand the coalition with non-parliamentary parties or emerging parties," Lukšič told the STA, referring to Šoltes's I Believe movement, which is expected to transform into a party.

The daily Večer reported earlier this week that the doctors' initiative, which had staged a rally in support of public health system in Ljubljana in June 2013, had been invited to help find a candidate for the new health minister.

Šoltes has long been considered a potential contender for leader of the left, especially by right-wing commentators, who see him as the most likely successor of the disgraced Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković.