 He was nevertheless elected to the Slovenian Parliament and remained the official leader of the Democratic Opposition of Slovenia, and the coalition's parliamentary leader.Between 1990 and 1992, he was among those who led Slovenia to independence from Yugoslavia.In 1992, after the fall of Lojze Peterle's coalition government, Pučnik decided to lead his party into a coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party and briefly served as vice-president in the first government of Janez Drnovšek.