Simeon II National Movement, the outgoing incumbents who are to take over a mandate to form a government, officially invited the Socialists to consultations.

It is expected that the first meeting will be held on Monday.

According to outgoing environment minister Dolores Arsenova the two sides have admitted to making mistakes in the previous rounds of consultations and have urged for expanding the negotiating teams.

Two negotiating teams will carry out the talks on behalf of the party of outgoing prime minister and former king Simeon Saxe-Coburg. The first team includes Aneliya Mingova, head of the parliamentary group of Simeon II National Movement, outgoing Defense Minister Nikolay Svinarov, Daniel Vulchev, Vesselin Bliznakov, Assen Oshanov. The other team was joined by outgoing deputy prime minister Plamen Panayotov, outgoing environment minister Dolores Arsenova, outgoing Social Minister Hristina Hristova, Borislav Ralchev, Kris Danchev.

Later in the day Simeon's party will confer with teams from the Bulgarian People's Union and the staunchly anti-communist Democrats for Strong Bulgaria.

The King's party is now bracing up to receive an exploratory mandate for forming a government after the socialists failed to do so.

The exploratory mandate was first handed to the election-winning socialist Coalition for Bulgaria, who held coalition talks with SIINM. But the centrists' last-minute withdrawal doomed the socialists to a failure in their effort to push through a minority-government plan in Parliament.

The two forces might unite eventually, but this time with SIINM as mandate-bearer.

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