![]() | This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Slovenian Democratic Party Slovenska demokratska stranka | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Abbreviation | SDS |
Leader | Janez Janša |
Founded | 16 February 1989 |
Headquarters | Trstenjakova ulica 8, Ljubljana |
Youth wing | Slovenian Democratic Youth[1] |
Membership (2013) | 30,000[2] |
Ideology | |
Political position | Right-wing[17] |
European affiliation | European People's Party |
European Parliament group | European People's Party |
International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International International Democracy Union |
Colours | Yellow Blue |
Anthem | Slovenska pomlad [18] ('Slovenian Spring') |
National Assembly | 27 / 90 |
European Parliament | 4 / 8 |
Mayors | 12 / 212 |
Municipal council | 583 / 2,750 |
Party flag | |
![]() | |
Website | |
sds | |
The Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovene: Slovenska demokratska stranka, SDS), formerly the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia (Slovene: Socialdemokratska stranka Slovenije, SDSS),[19][20] is a conservative[4] parliamentary party; it is also one of the largest parties[21] in Slovenia, with approximately 30,000 reported members in 2013.
It has been described as nationalist[22] and right-wing populist,[12] encompassing both national[3] and social conservatism.[23] Led by former Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Janša, the SDS is a member of the European People's Party, Centrist Democrat International[24] and International Democracy Union.[25]
SDS has its origins in the Slovenian anti-Communist pro-democracy dissident labour union movement of the late 1980s. The Social Democratic Union of Slovenia (later renamed Social Democratic Party and, in 2003, Slovenian Democratic Party) was first headed by trade unionist France Tomšič, then by the prominent Slovenian pro-independence and pro-democracy dissident Jože Pučnik, who resigned in 1993. The party was part of the Democratic Opposition of Slovenia (DEMOS) coalition.
The party's early ideological orientation was liberal, social democratic, and civic nationalist, reflecting a broad and somewhat fragmented coalition. In the 1992 parliamentary elections, SDS barely passed the parliamentary threshold, joining a Liberal Democracy of Slovenia-led coalition government. In 1993, Janez Janša, another prominent pro-democracy dissident turned politician, became party leader (a post he has held continuously since); Janša also served as Minister of Defense between 1990 and 1994. In 1994, Janša was ousted from his ministerial post due to his involvement in the Depala Vas affair; SDS consequently left the coalition government. SDS largely remained in opposition for the following 10 years, gaining in popularity and shifting its ideological outlook rightwards in the meanwhile. In 1995, SDS absorbed the conservative National Democratic Party, a former DEMOS coalition partner.
In 2004, SDS placed first in that year's parliamentary elections, forming a centre-right governing coalition with Janša as PM. The government oversaw the country's entry into the European Union and NATO, and a period of rapid economic growth. The government faced allegations of curtailing media freedom. In the 2008 parliamentary elections, SDS was surpassed by the Social Democrats.
SDS placed second in the 2011 parliamentary elections but managed to secure support for a SDS-led coalition government, forming the second Janša Cabinet. The government took office in the midst of the European debt crisis, instituting widely disliked austerity reforms which helped spark a series of massive anti-government protests. Opposition to the government was further fueled by corruption allegations against Janša, including his alleged involvement in the Patria affair as well as a 2013 KPK report which found that Janša had violated corruption prevention measures. The SDS-led government collapsed in early 2013 after losing support of coalition partners.
At the time of the 2014 parliamentary elections, SDS leader Janša was serving a prison sentence for a bribery conviction (which was later overturned by the supreme court and subsequently expired upon re-trial); SDS placed second. SDS won a plurality of votes in the 2018 election, however, most of the other parliamentary parties made pre-election pledges not to join a coalition government with SDS. After the centre-left coalition collapsed in early 2020, two of the parties that had seen a change of leadership since the election reneged on their pre-election pledge, clearing the path for the third Janša Cabinet. The new SDS-led government took office during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, Janša has been described as an illiberal leader.[26][27]
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link)
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search