Last month, the parliament gave Alenka Bratusek of the center-left Positive Slovenia party the mandate to form a new government to take over from outgoing Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who had been accused of corruption. Bratusek, who would be Slovenia's first female prime minister, has to present her Cabinet by Thursday, with a vote expected to take place next Wednesday.

"The political crisis in our state is obviously over," Bratusek said. "I promise a period of collaboration, negotiations and searching for positive solutions will begin today."

Bratusek's coalition will hold 49 of the parliament's 90 seats. The Civil List (DL), the first partner to quit Jansa's coalition, was the last to join Bratusek's.

"The DL has decided to join the government coalition," DL leader Gregor Virant told journalists late Wednesday after a meeting of the party's council. "We've been dealing with the crisis for two months and it is high time that we started working," he added.

An election is scheduled for 2015, but the coalition parties agreed that Bratusek would ask for a confidence vote in parliament one year from now to give the option of a snap election.

mkg/jm (AFP, Reuters)