Rhodri Morgan was given the go ahead this afternoon for talks with both Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems to try to form the next Assembly government.
Three hours of a marathon soul-searching session by the 26-strong Labour group ended with a mandate for ‘talks about talks’.
The slump in Labour seats in last week’s Assembly elections left Mr Morgan no option but to seek an agreement with Plaid or the Lib Dems.
But it could be some days before a deal emerges.
One Labour AM described the group meeting as a “massive get-it-off-your-chest session” with most AMs demanding a say.
Mr Morgan said: “Everyone is delighted to be back but recognising we are not entirely masters of our own destiny now.”
The onus was on Labour as the largest party to speak to others about providing good governance for Wales, he said.
“As far as the Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru are concerned, I will be seeking to have talks with Mike German and with Ieuan Wyn Jones so that we can see whether we can produce a stable government and a government which can deliver for the people of Wales over the next four years.”
Mr Morgan said: “We have been exploring the different options and I have been seeking and received a mandate to have talks about talks, negotiations about negotiations.
“It is very early days and clearly we will have to keep the group and the wider party in Wales informed.”
Earlier, Mr Morgan said that Labour faced a choice between the “inedible and the unpalatable“, after losing out on the target of overall control in the Assembly, with just 26 of the 60 seats.
But there were “roadblocks” to working with either Plaid or the Lib Dems, he said.
