- Slovenian Democratic Party
Infobox State of former Yugoslavia Political Party
party_name = Slovenska demokratska stranka
english_name = Slovenian Democratic Party
country = Slovenia
party_
party_wikicolourid = Republican
leader =Janez Janša
foundation = 1989
ideology =Conservatism ,
Liberal Conservatism
headquarters =Ljubljana
colours = blue and yellow
website_address = http://www.sds.si/
website_title = SDS Website
european =European People's Party
europarl =EPP-ED
The Slovenian Democratic Party ( _sl. Slovenska demokratska stranka, acronym "SDS"), known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia ( _sl. "Socialdemokratska stranka Slovenije") is aSlovenia ncenter-right liberal conservative party. It is led byPrime Minister Janez Janša .Currently, the SDS is the largest political group represented in the Slovenian Parliament (with 29 MPs or 32,2% of the total). At the European election it got 17.7% which yielded 2 seats in the European parliament out of a total 7 from Slovenia. It is a member of the
European People's Party (EPP) and its MEPs sit in theEPP-ED Group.History
The Slovenian Democratic Party has developed from the fusion of two distinct democratic political traditions, being the legal successor of both of the
Social-Democratic Union of Slovenia and theSlovenian Democratic Union , two of the most influential parties of theDEMOS coalition which defeated the formerCommunist Party of Slovenia in the first free elections of April 1990 and carried out thedemocratization of Slovenia and its secession from Yugoslavia.The Slovenian Democratic Union was founded in January 1989 and the Social-Democratic Union in February of the same year, as opposition movements to the Communist Party of Slovenia which had ruled the Slovenia since 1945. From the very beginning, both parties voiced their support for the transition to a democratic and pluralistic political order, a
market economy , the establishment of therule of law and respect forhuman rights and fundamental political freedoms, respect forminority rights , and the inclusion of Slovenia in the Euro - Atlantic integrations (theEuropean Union andNATO ). Both parties have, in their programs, opposedcommunism and favoured Slovenian independence. The Slovenian Democratic Union functioned as a broad but somehow fragmented coalition of several groups with different liberal, social-liberal and civic nationalist agendas. The Social-Democratic Union of Slovenia, on the other hand, had emerged from an independent, anti-Communist trade union movement in the late 1980s. Its first president was the trade union leaderFrance Tomšič , who in December 1987 organized the first successful large-scale workers strike inCommunist Slovenia , following the example ofLech Walesa 'sSolidarity movement inPoland . He however resigned soon after the founding of the party, endorsing the leadership ofJože Pučnik , a former dissident who had been forced to emigrate to Germany in the 1960s. Under Pučnik's leadership, The Social Democratic Union of Slovenia gradually developed into a moderate non-Marxist social-democratic party, which combined the plea for a market economy with the support of awelfare state on a German, Austrian and Scandinavian model.In 1992, the Slovenian Democratic Union split into two parties, one with a Social-Liberal and the other with a more
conservative and Nationalist agenda. A third group, dissatisfied with both options, joinedJože Pučnik 's Social-Democratic Party ("SDSS", later simplified to "SDS"). Nevertheless, Pučnik's party suffered a clear defeat in the 1992 elections, barely securing its entry in the Parliament. Nevertheless, it formed a coalition with the winningLiberal Democracy of Slovenia and enteredJanez Drnovšek 's cabinet.In May 1993, Janez Janša, former member of the Slovenian Democratic Union and minister of defence during the
Slovenian War of Independence , was elected president of the Party with the support of Jože Pučnik who resigned and became the honorary president of the party (the function he held until his death in January 2003). Janša remained the only social-democratic minister in Drnovšek's coalition government until March 1994, when he was dismissed by Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek following allegations that he allowed the military to interfere in civilian justice. He was subsequently cleared following an inquiry. This provoked a government crisis in which the SDS left the coalition and became the strongest opponent of Drnovšek's policies. It stayed in opposition for the next 10 years (except for a short period in 2000 when it entered a short-lived centre-right government led byAndrej Bajuk ), slowly gaining in popularity and shifting to socially more conservative and economically more liberal positions. In the year 2000, it decided to apply for membership in theEuropean People's Party and in 2003 it changed its name from the previous Social Democratic Party of Slovenia to Slovenian Democratic Party (while maintaining the same acronym, "SDS"). In a new program, adopted the same year, the SDS defined itself as a centrist party, a definition that hasn't been changed since. It adopted a fully liberal program in economic policy, but maintained a basically centrist policy in social issues, combiningchristian democratic , social democratic and liberal conservative points of view. It reiterated its unconditional support of the European Union and a strongly emphasized atlantist policy, which had been in the programme of the party since its founding.In 2004, it clearly won the elections and formed a coalition with the Christian democratic
New Slovenia party, the conservativeSlovenian People's Party , and the single-issueDeSUS party.Recent developments
At the Slovenian election in 2004, the party won 29.1% of the popular vote and 29 out of 88 seats. It was given a six-point advance over the previously governing
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia ( _sl. "Liberalna Demokracija Slovenije"); as of 2008 the SDS leads a governing coalition consisting of four parties.The SDS-led government introduced reform in its
fiscal policy , passed several pro-business measures, initiated theregionalisation of the country by giving more power to local governments, and framing a new division of the country into provinces. The Government also introduced measures to curtail the powers of the Slovenian secret service. These measures have been strongly attacked by the opposition and segments of the press as an attempt to discredit the secret intelligence service and cast a negative shadow on the policies of previous governments.The SDS-led government has also been criticised for introducing economically non-sustainable changes in the pension system in order to please its coalition party, the
Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia .Recently, the SDS has been accused of supporting the agenda advanced by the
Roman Catholic Church . Nevertheless, the Church maintained a critical attitude towards some of the party's positions (the SDS-led Government has assumed a favourable attitude towardsgambling tourism, stem cell research and passed a law recognizing same-sex civil unions, all things opposed by the Roman Catholic Church).The centre-left opposition has also accused the SDS in general (and the Prime Minister Janez Janša in particular) of meddling with the independent press. The SDS, on the other side, rejected such accusations claiming that the media have been controlled by the left-wing political groups since the independence of the country and that they have repeatedly tried to discredit the Prime Minister.
At the Slovenian election in 2008, the party lost against main oposition party Social democrats, and also lost one sit in Slovenian Parliament (now 28).
Organization and political affiliation
The Slovenian Democratic Party is subdivided into several organizations that cover specific segments; one of them is the
Slovenian Democratic Youth (SDY), which is currently led byGregor Horvatič .Influential members and officials of the party include
Miha Brejc andMatjaž Šinkovec who were co-founders of the Slovenian Social Democratic Union. Other influential members areMilan Zver , current vice president of the party and Minister of education, chairman of theSlovenian National Assembly France Cukjati , ministersDragutin Mate ,Gregor Virant andIztok Jarc , and member of European ParliamentRomana Jordan Cizelj . Among the deceased members, the most prominent wereJože Pučnik ,Rudi Šeligo andKatja Boh .The Party is also affiliated with the major liberal-conservative think tank in Slovenia, the
Jože Pučnik Institute . It is also close to the civic platform Rally for the Republic ( _sl. "Zbor za republiko").Public support
The party has a strong support in some
neo-conservative andclassical liberal intellectual circles in Slovenia. Public figures who have publicly supported the party or have been known of being close to its policies and programmatic stance include the economistLjubo Sirc , legal expertPeter Jambrek , philosopherIvan Urbančič , sociologistFrane Adam , historiansVasko Simoniti andAlenka Puhar , writer and essayistDrago Jančar , poet and editorNiko Grafenauer , literary historianJanko Kos , theologian and philosopherJanez Juhant , and poetsDane Zajc andTone Kuntner . Public supporters of the party also include sportsmenMiran Pavlin ,Aleš Čeh ,Sebastjan Cimirotič ,Davo Karničar , pop singerMarta Zore , designerMiki Muster , actorsRadko Polič andRoman Končar , actor and showmanJernej Kuntner .Parliamentary representation:
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Party leaders
Presidents of the Social Democratic Party and Slovenian Democratic Party
*
France Tomšič , 1989-1990
*Jože Pučnik , 1990-1993
*Janez Janša , 1993-currentExternal links
* [http://www.eng.sds.si/ Official website]
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