- Slovene National Party
Infobox_Political_Party
party_name = Slovene National Party
party_
leader =Zmago Jelinčič
foundation = 17 March 1991
ideology = Slovenenationalism ,Euroscepticism ,Populism ,Laicism ,Titoism (minor factions)
headquarters = Tivolska 13,Ljubljana ,Slovenia
international = None
website = http://www.sns.si/|The Slovene National Party ( _sl. Slovenska Nacionalna Stranka) is a nationalistpolitical party inSlovenia , led by Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti. The party is renowned for itseuroscepticism and opposes Slovenia's membership inNATO . It also opposes what it considers historical revisionism of events in Slovenia during World War II and, to an extent, is sympathetic towards the former YugoslavCommunist regime ofJosip Broz Tito . Although the party usually refuses to position itself within a left-right political spectrum, its president Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti defined himself asleft wing in a 2000 interview for the magazine "Mladina ".At the 2008 Slovenian legislative elections on 21 September 2008, the party won 5.4% of the popular vote and five out of ninety six, which is one less than at the previous election in 2004.
The party has been led by Zmago Jelinčič since its founding in 1991. Jelinčič has often shifted the focus of the party's ideology in order to suit changing popular sentiment in Slovenia. In the early 1990s the party led a
chauvinist discourse against immigrants from former Yugoslav republics. This was somewhat moderated later, but the party continues to voice strongly anti-Croatia n positions. Among other things, Jelinčič has proposed that the national border with Croatia be sealed, apart from two custom stations for trade, until the territorial dispute with Croatia is resolved (primarily the issue of the maritime border on theGulf of Piran and several small areas along the land border). He also advocates improving relationships withSerbia and has opposed the independence ofKosovo . The SNS frequently and loudly demands better treatment ofSlovene minorities inItaly , Austria and Hungary.The party's ideology has been strongly
anti-Catholic and has advocated a firm laicist position. Its leaders have been frequently accused of chauvinist and evenracist attitudes towards certain minorities, particularly the Slovenia's Roma population. The party also strongly opposesgay rights ; several of its MPs, including the party's former deputy chairmanSašo Peče , have publicly made numerous openlyhomophobic remarks.Party foundations, leadership and program
The party was founded on 17 March 1991 by
Zmago Jelinčič . Although Jelinčič has maintained a strong hold on the party's leadership ever since, the party has suffered several internal fractures and divisions over the years, with many prominent members abandoning it. This however has not seriously affected the party's structure, even though the ideologies of both SNS MPs and the party's membership tend to sometimes differ from Jelinčič's stands.The party receives support from various strands of society; these range from Communists nostalgics to more moderate voters, especially among young people. The party advocates state intervention into economic matters, strict economic regulations,
secularism , development of basic and appliedscience , andcivic education in public schools. The party also calls for a change of the national flag (regarded by the party's program as "Pan-Slavic ") and the coat of arms (called "an a-historical andhippie -inspired [referring toMarko Pogačnik ] fabrication" by Jelinčič), reform of thejustice system and withdrawal from the European Union and NATO.In the second
democratic elections in Slovenia in 1992, the SNS won more than 10% of the popular vote, which declined to around 6% in the 2004 legislative election. The party motto is "with no hair on the tongue" (a saying equivalent to "calling spade a spade"). The SNS takes pride in the party's rejection of all standards ofpolitical correctness in speech. For example, when Jelinčič was asked what the prime difference between SNS and theleftist Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia was, he replied: "A young woman from time to time."The traditional 19th century Kozler map of
United Slovenia is one of the official party symbols. Jelinčič has also written a book entitled "Hrvatje v luči zgodovinske resnice" ("Croats in the light of historical truth"), originally published under the pseudonym "Psunjski" (the possessive form of "epithet"), wherein he harshly criticised Croatia and praised Slovenia, Serbia, the policies of Tito, and theanti-fascist struggle.Parliamentary representation:
ImageSize = width:350 height:120PlotArea = width:250 height:80 left:50 bottom:20AlignBars = justify DateFormat = yyyyPeriod = from:0 till:11TimeAxis = orientation:verticalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:0
PlotData= bar:Seats color:yelloworange width:30 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S bar:1990 from:start till:0 text:0 bar:1992 from:start till:9 text:9 bar:1996 from:start till:4 text:4 bar:2000 from:start till:4 text:4 bar:2004 from:start till:6 text:6 bar:2008 from:start till:5 text:5
External links
* [http://www.sns.si/ Official web site]
* [http://www.mladina.si/tednik/200040/clanek/stranke/ Interview with Zmago Jelinčič]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.