Slovenian Democratic Party
Encyclopedia
The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenia
n centre-right
liberal conservative
and Christian democratic
party. It is led by Janez Janša
, former Prime Minister
of Slovenia, and is currently the main opposition party in Slovenia.
The SDS is one of the two largest parties in Slovenia, along with centre-left
rivals, the Social Democrats
. It is the second-largest party in the National Assembly, with 28 MPs (31% of the total). In the 2009 European Parliament election
, it obtained 26.7% of the votes, which yielded three seats out of eight from Slovenia. The SDS is a member of the European People's Party
(EPP) and its MEPs sit in the EPP Group.
, two of the most influential parties of the DEMOS coalition which defeated the former Communist Party of Slovenia in the first free elections of April 1990 and carried out the democratization
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 the rule of law
and respect for human rights
and fundamental political freedoms, respect for minority rights
, and the inclusion of Slovenia in the Euro - Atlantic integrations (the European Union
and NATO). Both parties have, in their programs, opposed communism
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 leader France Tomšič, who in December 1987 organized the first successful large-scale workers strike in Communist Slovenia, following the example of Lech Wałęsa
's Solidarity movement in Poland
. He however resigned soon after the founding of the party, endorsing the leadership of Jože 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 a welfare state
on a German
, Austrian
and Scandinavian model.
In 1992, the Slovenian Democratic Union split into two parties: the social liberal wing established the Democratic Party, while the conservative faction founded the National Democratic Party
. A third group, dissatisfied with both options, joined Jože 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 winning Liberal Democracy of Slovenia
and entered Janez Drnovšek
's cabinet.
), slowly gaining in popularity and shifting to socially more conservative and economically more liberal positions. In 1995, the National Democrats
joined the party, which thus became one of the legal successors of the Slovenian Democratic Union
.
Janša and his Social Democratic Party party have been noted by political scientists for radical
populism
, nationalistic
and xenophobic
rhetoric. Moreover, the Catholic Church supported the Social Democratic Party more than any other party. Even though not a nominally Christian party, the church has stood fully and unconditionally behind it.
In the year 2000, the party decided to apply for membership in the European 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. 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 conservative Slovenian People's Party
, and the single-issue Pensioners' Party
.
, 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
; 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 the regionalisation
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 Intelligence and Security Agency. 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
.
While in government, 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 towards gambling
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 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.
, the party gained in popular support, but narrowly lost against the Social democrats
, until then the main opposition party. It and also lost one seat in Slovenian Parliament, falling to 28.
With the election of the Social Democrat leader Borut Pahor
as Prime Minister of Slovenia, the Slovenian Democratic Party officially declared it would stay in opposition and form a shadow cabinet
. The shadow government was formed in late December 2008, and it includes several independent members as well as members from other conservative parties.
In the European elections of 2009
, the SDS was the most voted party in Slovenia with 26,9 % of votes, more than eight points ahead of the second most voted party, the ruling Social Democrats
.
In May 2009, the Slovenian Democratic Party started to lead in most opinion polls, and since December 2009 it has maintained a constant lead over its main rival, the Social Democrats.
In 2009, the MP Franc Pukšič left the Slovenian Democratic Party and joined the Slovenian People's Party
; the SDS parliamentary group thus shrunk from 28 to 27 MPs.
Influential members and officials of the party include Miha Brejc and Matjaž Šinkovec
who were co-founders of the Slovenian Social Democratic Union. Other influential members are Milan Zver
, current vice president of the party and European MP, former chairman of the Slovenian National Assembly France Cukjati
, and former ministers Dragutin Mate
, Gregor Virant
and Iztok Jarc
, and member of European Parliament Romana Jordan Cizelj
. Among the deceased members, the most prominent were Jože Pučnik
, Rudi Šeligo
and Katja 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 .
(who joined the party in May 2010), legal expert Peter Jambrek
, philosopher Ivan Urbančič, sociologist Frane Adam, historians Vasko Simoniti
and Alenka Puhar
, writer and essayist Drago Jančar
, poet and editor Niko Grafenauer
, literary historian Janko Kos
, theologian and philosopher Janez Juhant, and poets Dane Zajc
and Tone Kuntner. Public supporters of the party also include sportsmen Miran Pavlin
, Aleš Čeh
, Sebastjan Cimirotič
, Katja Koren
, and Davo Karničar
, pop singer Marta Zore, designer and cartoonist Miki Muster
, actors Radko Polič
and Roman Končar, actor and showman Jernej Kuntner.
Parliamentary representation:
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n centre-right
Centre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...
liberal conservative
Liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism also known as progressive conservatism is a variant of political conservatism which incorporates liberal elements. As "conservatism" and "liberalism" have had different meanings over time and across countries, the term "liberal conservatism" has been used in quite different...
and Christian democratic
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
party. It is led by Janez Janša
Janez Janša
Janez Janša is a Slovenian politician who was Prime Minister of Slovenia from November 2004 to November 2008. He has also been President of the Slovenian Democratic Party since 1993...
, former Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of Slovenia, and is currently the main opposition party in Slovenia.
The SDS is one of the two largest parties in Slovenia, along with centre-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
rivals, the Social Democrats
Social Democrats (Slovenia)
The Social Democrats is a centre-left political party in Slovenia, currently led by Borut Pahor. From 1993 until 2005, the party was known as the United List of Social Democrats .-Origins:...
. It is the second-largest party in the National Assembly, with 28 MPs (31% of the total). In the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009 (Slovenia)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Slovenia was be the election of the delegation from Slovenia to the European Parliament in 2009.-Candidates:- Opinion polls :-Results:-References:...
, it obtained 26.7% of the votes, which yielded three seats out of eight from Slovenia. The SDS is a member of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
(EPP) and its MEPs sit in the EPP Group.
Origins
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 the Slovenian Democratic UnionSlovenian Democratic Union
The Slovenian Democratic Union was a Slovenian liberal political party, active between 1989 and 1991, during the democratization and the secession of the Republic of Slovenia from Yugoslavia....
, two of the most influential parties of the DEMOS coalition which defeated the former Communist Party of Slovenia in the first free elections of April 1990 and carried out the democratization
Democratization
Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...
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
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
, the establishment of the rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
and respect for human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and fundamental political freedoms, respect for minority rights
Minority rights
The term Minority Rights embodies two separate concepts: first, normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or sexual minorities, and second, collective rights accorded to minority groups...
, and the inclusion of Slovenia in the Euro - Atlantic integrations (the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and NATO). Both parties have, in their programs, opposed communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and favoured Slovenian independence. The Slovenian Democratic Union functioned as a broad but somehow fragmented coalition of several groups with different liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, social-liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
and civic nationalist
Civic nationalism
Liberal Nationalism is a kind of nationalism identified by political philosophers who believe in a non-xenophobic form of nationalism compatible with liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights. Ernest Renan and John Stuart Mill are often thought to be early liberal...
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 leader France Tomšič, who in December 1987 organized the first successful large-scale workers strike in Communist Slovenia, following the example of Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa is a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity , the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 95.Wałęsa was an electrician...
's Solidarity movement in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. He however resigned soon after the founding of the party, endorsing the leadership of Jože Pučnik
Jože Pucnik
Jože Pučnik was a Slovenian public intellectual, sociologist and politician. During the Communist regime of Josip Broz Tito, Pučnik was one of the most outspoken Slovenian critics of dictatorship and lack of civil liberties in former Yugoslavia. He was imprisoned for a total of 7 years, and later...
, 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
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
party, which combined the plea for a market economy with the support of a welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
on a German
German model
The term German model is most often used in economics to describe post-World War II West Germany's means of using innovative industrial relations, vocational training, and closer relationships between the financial and industrial sectors to cultivate economic prosperity.- Industrial relations...
, Austrian
Economy of Austria
Austria is one of the 12 richest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita, has a well-developed social market economy, and a high standard of living. Until the 1980s, many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised; in recent years, however, privatisation has reduced state...
and Scandinavian model.
In 1992, the Slovenian Democratic Union split into two parties: the social liberal wing established the Democratic Party, while the conservative faction founded the National Democratic Party
National Democratic Party (Slovenia)
The National Democratic Party or NDS was a short lived Slovenian conservative political party, established with the split within the Slovenian Democratic Union in 1991....
. A third group, dissatisfied with both options, joined Jože Pučnik
Jože Pucnik
Jože Pučnik was a Slovenian public intellectual, sociologist and politician. During the Communist regime of Josip Broz Tito, Pučnik was one of the most outspoken Slovenian critics of dictatorship and lack of civil liberties in former Yugoslavia. He was imprisoned for a total of 7 years, and later...
'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 winning Liberal Democracy of Slovenia
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia is a liberal political party in Slovenia. It is led by Katarina Kresal and is a member of the Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party...
and entered Janez Drnovšek
Janez Drnovšek
Janez Drnovšek was a Slovenian liberal politician, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia , Prime Minister of Slovenia and President of Slovenia . He was born in Celje, Slovenia, then the Socialist Republic of Slovenia...
's cabinet.
The conservative turn
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 by Andrej BajukAndrej Bajuk
Andrej Bajuk, also known in Spanish as Andrés Bajuk was a Slovene politician and economist. He served shortly as Prime Minister of Slovenia in the year 2000, and Minister of Economy in the centre right government of Janez Janša between 2004 and 2008...
), slowly gaining in popularity and shifting to socially more conservative and economically more liberal positions. In 1995, the National Democrats
National Democratic Party (Slovenia)
The National Democratic Party or NDS was a short lived Slovenian conservative political party, established with the split within the Slovenian Democratic Union in 1991....
joined the party, which thus became one of the legal successors of the Slovenian Democratic Union
Slovenian Democratic Union
The Slovenian Democratic Union was a Slovenian liberal political party, active between 1989 and 1991, during the democratization and the secession of the Republic of Slovenia from Yugoslavia....
.
Janša and his Social Democratic Party party have been noted by political scientists for radical
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, nationalistic
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and xenophobic
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
rhetoric. Moreover, the Catholic Church supported the Social Democratic Party more than any other party. Even though not a nominally Christian party, the church has stood fully and unconditionally behind it.
In the year 2000, the party decided to apply for membership in the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
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
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
party, a definition that hasn't been changed since. It adopted a fully liberal
Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...
program in economic policy, but maintained a basically centrist policy in social issues. It reiterated its unconditional support of the European Union and a strongly emphasized atlantist
Atlanticism
Atlanticism is a philosophy of cooperation among Western European and North American nations regarding political, economic, and defense issues, with the purpose to maintain the security of the participating countries, and to protect the values that unite them: "democracy, individual liberty and...
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
New Slovenia
The New Slovenia – Christian People's Party or simply New Slovenia, NSi is a Christian democratic political party in Slovenia...
party, the conservative Slovenian People's Party
Slovenian People's Party
The Slovenian People's Party is a rural-based conservative political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first non-Communist political organization in Yugoslavia, it merged with the Slovene Christian Democrats to form the present-day party in 2000...
, and the single-issue Pensioners' Party
Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia
The Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia is a Slovenian political party led by Karl Erjavec.DeSUS was a member of the government led by prime minister Janez Janša until 2008...
.
In power
At the Slovenian election in 2004Slovenian parliamentary election, 2004
-Delegation of Socialni demokrati [United List of Social Democrats]:-Delegation of Liberalna demokracija Slovenije [Liberal Democracy of Slovenia]:-Delegation of Nova Slovenija [New Slovenia]:...
, 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
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia is a liberal political party in Slovenia. It is led by Katarina Kresal and is a member of the Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party...
; as of 2008 the SDS leads a governing coalition consisting of four parties.
The SDS-led government introduced reform in its fiscal policy
Fiscal policy
In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and revenue collection to influence the economy....
, passed several pro-business measures, initiated the regionalisation
Regionalisation
Regionalization is the tendency to form regions, or the process of doing so.Regionalization can be observed in various disciplines:*In geography, it has two ways: the process of delineating the Earth, its small areas or other units into regions and a state of such a delineation.*In globalization...
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 Intelligence and Security Agency. 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
Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia
The Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia is a Slovenian political party led by Karl Erjavec.DeSUS was a member of the government led by prime minister Janez Janša until 2008...
.
While in government, the SDS has been accused of supporting the agenda advanced by the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. Nevertheless, the Church maintained a critical attitude towards some of the party's positions (the SDS-led Government has assumed a favourable attitude towards gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
tourism, stem cell
Embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an early-stage embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells...
research and passed a law recognizing same-sex civil unions, all things opposed by the Roman Catholic Church).
The centre-left opposition 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.
In opposition again
At the Slovenian election in 2008Slovenian parliamentary election, 2008
Parliamentary elections for the 90 deputies to the National Assembly of Slovenia were held on 21 September 2008. 17 parties filed to run in the election, including all nine parliamentary parties...
, the party gained in popular support, but narrowly lost against the Social democrats
Social Democrats (Slovenia)
The Social Democrats is a centre-left political party in Slovenia, currently led by Borut Pahor. From 1993 until 2005, the party was known as the United List of Social Democrats .-Origins:...
, until then the main opposition party. It and also lost one seat in Slovenian Parliament, falling to 28.
With the election of the Social Democrat leader Borut Pahor
Borut Pahor
Borut Pahor is a Slovenian politician who has been Prime Minister of Slovenia since 2008. A longtime president of the Social Democrats party, Pahor served several terms as a member of the National Assembly and was its chairman from 2000 to 2004. In 2004, Pahor was elected as member of the European...
as Prime Minister of Slovenia, the Slovenian Democratic Party officially declared it would stay in opposition and form a shadow cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
. The shadow government was formed in late December 2008, and it includes several independent members as well as members from other conservative parties.
In the European elections of 2009
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
, the SDS was the most voted party in Slovenia with 26,9 % of votes, more than eight points ahead of the second most voted party, the ruling Social Democrats
Social Democrats (Slovenia)
The Social Democrats is a centre-left political party in Slovenia, currently led by Borut Pahor. From 1993 until 2005, the party was known as the United List of Social Democrats .-Origins:...
.
In May 2009, the Slovenian Democratic Party started to lead in most opinion polls, and since December 2009 it has maintained a constant lead over its main rival, the Social Democrats.
In 2009, the MP Franc Pukšič left the Slovenian Democratic Party and joined the Slovenian People's Party
Slovenian People's Party
The Slovenian People's Party is a rural-based conservative political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first non-Communist political organization in Yugoslavia, it merged with the Slovene Christian Democrats to form the present-day party in 2000...
; the SDS parliamentary group thus shrunk from 28 to 27 MPs.
Organization and political affiliation
The Slovenian Democratic Party has around 27,000 members, which is the largest party membership in Slovenia. The party is subdivided into several organizations that cover specific segments; one of them is the Slovenian Democratic Youth , the youth section of the party, currently led by Klement Perko.Influential members and officials of the party include Miha Brejc and Matjaž Šinkovec
Matjaž Šinkovec
Matjaž Šinkovec is a Slovenian diplomat, politician, translator, journalist and science fiction writer. He was one of the co-founders of the Slovenian Democratic Party.- Early life and career :...
who were co-founders of the Slovenian Social Democratic Union. Other influential members are Milan Zver
Milan Zver
Milan Zver is a Slovenian politician, sociologist and political scientist. He currently serves as vice-president of the Slovenian Democratic Party. Between 2004 and 2008, he was Minister for Education and Sports in Janez Janša's centre right government...
, current vice president of the party and European MP, former chairman of the Slovenian National Assembly France Cukjati
France Cukjati
France Cukjati is a Slovenian politician, physician, theologian and a former Jesuit. He currently serves as the vice-chairman of the National Assembly of Slovenia....
, and former ministers Dragutin Mate
Dragutin Mate
Dragutin Mate is a Slovenian diplomat and politician. Between 2004 and 2008 he served as Minister of Interior in the centre-right government led by Janez Janša....
, Gregor Virant
Gregor Virant
Gregor Virant is a Slovenian politician and public servant. He is heading the Gregor Virant's Civic List, a liberal political party, established in October 2011, as a civic list to compete on the 2011 Slovenian parliamentary election....
and Iztok Jarc
Iztok Jarc
Iztok Jarc is a Slovenian diplomat and politician. From 2007 to 2008 he served as Minister of Agriculture of Slovenia. He is currently the ambassador of Slovenia in the United Kingdom.- Early life and career :...
, and member of European Parliament Romana Jordan Cizelj
Romana Jordan Cizelj
Romana Jordan Cizelj is a Slovenian politician and physicist, currently serving as Member of the European Parliament. She is a member of the Slovenian Democratic Party, which is part of the European People's Party, and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and...
. Among the deceased members, the most prominent were Jože Pučnik
Jože Pucnik
Jože Pučnik was a Slovenian public intellectual, sociologist and politician. During the Communist regime of Josip Broz Tito, Pučnik was one of the most outspoken Slovenian critics of dictatorship and lack of civil liberties in former Yugoslavia. He was imprisoned for a total of 7 years, and later...
, Rudi Šeligo
Rudi Šeligo
Rudi Šeligo was a Slovenian writer, playwright, essayist and politician. Together with Lojze Kovačič and Drago Jančar, he is considered as one of the foremost Slovenian modernist writers of the post-World War II period.- Life :...
and Katja Boh
Katja Boh
Katja Boh was a Slovenian sociologist, diplomat and politician.-Early life and career:She was born in a wealthy middle class family in Ljubljana, Kingdom of Yugoslavia . Her father was an Austrian Jew who had converted to Roman Catholicism, her mother was Slovene. During World War II, she was...
.
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 .
Public support
The party has a strong support in some neo-conservative and classical 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 economist Ljubo SircLjubo Sirc
Ljubo Sirc CBE is a British-Slovene economist and prominent dissident from the former Yugoslavia.-Life and work:He was born in Kranj, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in a wealthy and renowned family of Slovene and Yugoslav patriots...
(who joined the party in May 2010), legal expert Peter Jambrek
Peter Jambrek
Peter Jambrek is a Slovenian sociologist, jurist, politician and intellectual. He is considered among the fathers of the current Slovenian Constitution and among the most influential public intellectuals in Slovenia....
, philosopher Ivan Urbančič, sociologist Frane Adam, historians Vasko Simoniti
Vasko Simoniti
Vasko Simoniti is a Slovenian historian and politician. Between 2004 and 2008, he served as the Minister of Culture of Slovenia...
and Alenka Puhar
Alenka Puhar
Alenka Puhar is a Slovenian journalist, author, translator, and historian. She is known for her columns in the Slovenian journal Delo, for her writings on the dissident movements in Socialist Slovenia and Yugoslavia, as well as for her book "The Primary Text of Life" , a combination of...
, writer and essayist Drago Jančar
Drago Jancar
Drago Jančar is a Slovenian writer, playwright and essayist. Jančar is one of the most known contemporary Slovene writers. In Slovenia, he is also famous for his political commentaries and civic engagement.-Life:...
, poet and editor Niko Grafenauer
Niko Grafenauer
Niko Grafenauer is a Slovenian poet, essayist, literary historian, editor and translator. He is particularly known as author of popular children literature, and for his active participation in the Slovenian public life, especially in conservative and liberal conservative platforms.He was born in...
, literary historian Janko Kos
Janko Kos
Janko Kos is a Slovenian literary historian, theoretician and critic.He was born in Ljubljana in what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as the son of the painter and sculptor Tine Kos...
, theologian and philosopher Janez Juhant, and poets Dane Zajc
Dane Zajc
Dane Zajc was a Slovenian poet and playwright. He served as president of the Slovene Writers' Association , and was awarded the prestigious Prešeren Award for lifetime achievement...
and Tone Kuntner. Public supporters of the party also include sportsmen Miran Pavlin
Miran Pavlin
Miran Pavlin is a former Slovenian football player and current director of football in FC Koper.-Club career:He played for clubs such as NK Olimpija, SC Freiburg , Olympiakos Nicosia , APOEL , FC Porto and NK Olimpija.After the original NK Olimpija went bankrupt in 2005, he joined the newly...
, Aleš Čeh
Aleš Ceh
Aleš Čeh is a retired Slovenian footballer who has represented his country at the two major tournaments for which they have qualified .-Club career:...
, Sebastjan Cimirotič
Sebastjan Cimirotic
Sebastjan Cimirotič aka Cime is a Slovenian football player, who currently plays for FC Ljubljana. He played for Slovenia national football team and was a participant at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.-Club career:...
, Katja Koren
Katja Koren
Katja Koren Miklavec is a former Slovenian alpine skier.Born in Maribor, she won a bronze medal in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. She retired from skiing in 1998, due to a spinal injury....
, and Davo Karničar
Davo Karnicar
Davorin "Davo" Karničar is a Slovenian climber and an extreme skier.As an active Alpine skier, he was a member of the National Alpine Ski Team between 1975 and 1982. An Alpine climber since 1980, he has so far recorded over 1.400 Alpine climbs and ski descents...
, pop singer Marta Zore, designer and cartoonist Miki Muster
Miki Muster
Miki Muster is a Slovenian academic sculptor, illustrator, cartoonist and animator. He's best known for his comic books with the characters Zvitorepec, Trdonja and Lakotnik and many others.- References :...
, actors Radko Polič
Radko Polič
Radko Polič is an award-winning Slovenian theatre, television and film actor.Born in Črnomelj, Polič's family moved to Belgrade in 1945 and then to West Berlin in 1949 before returning to Slovenia and settling in Ljubljana in 1954...
and Roman Končar, actor and showman Jernej Kuntner.
Parliamentary representation:
Party leaders
Presidents of the Social Democratic Party and Slovenian Democratic Party- France Tomšič, 1989-1990
- Jože PučnikJože PucnikJože Pučnik was a Slovenian public intellectual, sociologist and politician. During the Communist regime of Josip Broz Tito, Pučnik was one of the most outspoken Slovenian critics of dictatorship and lack of civil liberties in former Yugoslavia. He was imprisoned for a total of 7 years, and later...
, 1990-1993 - Janez JanšaJanez JanšaJanez Janša is a Slovenian politician who was Prime Minister of Slovenia from November 2004 to November 2008. He has also been President of the Slovenian Democratic Party since 1993...
, 1993-current