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The statements comes after Agriculture Minister Dejan Židan, leader of the coalition SocDems, said there was no discussion at Thursday's cabinet session about who will fill the post vacated by Jožef Petrovič in October.

Cerar's office confirmed today that the prime minister had not yet chosen a candidate.

The prime minister needs to appoint two new ministers, after the resignations of Petrovič and Development Minister Violeta Bulc in October.

Cerar has already tapped Alenka Smerkolj, the current state secretary at the Government Development and European Cohesion Funds Office, to take over from Bulc, who left for a post in the new European Commission.

Slovenia media have recently speculated about who will assume the economy portfolio from Petrovič, who resigned following revelations that the company he headed faced an anti-trust investigation, naming several potential candidates.

Recent reports suggested a woman candidate would be put forward, which may confirm previous reports that Alenka Avberšek of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) was in the running.

Avberšek's name has been mentioned alongside Economy Ministry State Secretary Janko Burgar and former Economy Minister Metod Dragonja, who is currently a state secretary at the Finance Ministry, as potential candidates.

Finance Minister Dušan Mramor is standing in as economy minister and Cerar filling in as development minister until the new ministers are appointed.