The agreement highlighted the parties' resolve to squeeze out leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose SMER party won the most votes in the election but has found it impossible to find partners to form a majority (see EurActiv 14/06/10).
The four parties - the SDKU, the conservative Christian Democrats (KDH), the liberal Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and the ethnic Hungarian Most-Hid - are expected to cut the budget deficit and mend now-tense relations with next-door Hungary.
"The SDKU, SaS, KDH and Most-Hid parties, due to similarities of their political programme goals, express a joint will to form a ruling coalition, which will create a new Slovak government," the parties said in a joint declaration.
Radičová, 53, is a professor of sociology and was a presidential candidate in the 2009 election, which she lost to incumbent Ivan Gašparovič.
"We have enough time to draft the programme [of the future government], and we will put in all effort to deliver it as fast as possible," Radičová told reporters.
She said the grouping, which has a 79-strong majority in the 150-seat parliament, will now seek a meeting with President Gašparovič and deliver the declaration.
In line with Slovak political tradition, Gašparovič asked Fico as the head of the biggest party to lead talks on forming a new cabinet, and gave him until next Wednesday
But the declaration confirmed the outlook that Fico had almost no chance of success.
Fiscal consolidation, Hungary in spotlight
The eurozone member is recovering from its worst crisis after a 4.7% economic contraction last year, but the jobless rate remains close to a five-year high at 12.25% and the fiscal gap at 6.8% of GDP.
Fico's cabinet had pledged to cut the deficit to 5.5% this year. Analysts said a centre-right government was more likely to stick to the goal.
Fiscal consolidation was badly needed, the central bank said on Tuesday, after upgrading its economy growth forecast for this year to 3.7% from 3.2%, but it also pointed to down-side risks to the pace of recovery.
Tuesday's declaration said the new government's priorities will be job creation, fiscal consolidation and debt cutting, anti-corruption steps and improving the status of ethnic minorities in the country of 5.4 million.
Slovakia and Hungary have had rocky relations for centuries. There was hope that both countries' EU entry in 2004 would smooth ties, but they were strained anew by nationalists in Fico's cabinet and by a tough line taken by new Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Inviting the ethnic Hungarian Most-Hid, led by charismatic leader Bela Bugar, who is also popular among Slovaks, into the coalition is widely expected to ease such tensions.
(EurActiv with Reuters.)
