Slovenian National Party
Encyclopedia
The Slovenian National Party is a extreme
nationalist
political party
in Slovenia
, led by Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti. The party is renowned for its euroscepticism
and opposes Slovenia's membership in NATO. 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 Yugoslav
Communist regime of Josip Broz Tito
. Although the party usually refuses to position itself within a left-right political spectrum, its president Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti defined himself as left 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 seats, which is one less than at the previous election in 2004. Srečko Prijatelj, an SNS member of the National Assembly
, was in September 2010 the first member of Slovenian parliament sentenced to prison, but the ruling is not yet binding and he remains a deputy.
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 the Gulf of Piran
and several small areas along the land border). He also advocates improving relationships with Serbia
and has opposed the independence of Kosovo
. The SNS frequently and loudly demands better treatment of Slovene minorities in Italy
, 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 even racist attitudes towards certain minorities, particularly Slovenia's Roma population. The party also strongly opposes gay rights. Several of its MPs, including the party's former deputy chairman Sašo Peče, have publicly made numerous openly homophobic remarks. The party also has a strong anti-Roma discourse.
s 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 applied science
, and civic 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 and hippie
-inspired [referring to Marko Pogačnik
] fabrication" by Jelinčič), reform of the justice 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 of political correctness
in speech. For example, when Jelinčič was asked what the prime difference between SNS and the leftist 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 the anti-fascist struggle.
Parliamentary representation:
Extremism
Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
nationalist
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...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Slovenia
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...
, led by Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti. The party is renowned for its euroscepticism
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
and opposes Slovenia's membership in NATO. It also opposes what it considers historical revisionism
Historical revisionism (negationism)
Historical revisionism is either the legitimate scholastic re-examination of existing knowledge about a historical event, or the illegitimate distortion of the historical record such that certain events appear in a more or less favourable light. For the former, i.e. the academic pursuit, see...
of events in Slovenia during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and, to an extent, is sympathetic towards the former Yugoslav
Former Yugoslavia
The former Yugoslavia is a term used to describe the present day states which succeeded the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
Communist regime of Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
. Although the party usually refuses to position itself within a left-right political spectrum, its president Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti defined himself as left wing in a 2000 interview for the magazine Mladina
Mladina
Mladina is a Slovenian weekly left-wing current affairs magazine. It was first published in the 1920s as the youth magazine of the Slovenian Communist Party...
.
At the 2008 Slovenian legislative elections
Slovenian 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...
on 21 September 2008, the party won 5.4% of the popular vote and five out of ninety seats, which is one less than at the previous election in 2004. Srečko Prijatelj, an SNS member of the National Assembly
National Assembly (Slovenia)
The National Assembly is the general representative body of the Slovenian nation. According to the Constitution of Slovenia and the Constitutional Court of Slovenia, it is the major part of the distinctively incompletely bicameral legislative branch of the Republic of Slovenia. It is unicameral...
, was in September 2010 the first member of Slovenian parliament sentenced to prison, but the ruling is not yet binding and he remains a deputy.
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
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
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 the Gulf of Piran
Gulf of Piran
The Gulf of Piran or Piran Bay is located in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea, and is a part of the Gulf of Trieste. It was named after the town of Piran, and its shores are shared by Croatia and Slovenia. It is delimited by a line connecting Cape Savudrija in the south to the Cape Madona ...
and several small areas along the land border). He also advocates improving relationships with Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and has opposed the independence of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
. The SNS frequently and loudly demands better treatment of Slovene minorities in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Austria
Carinthian Slovenes
Carinthian Slovenes are the Slovene-speaking population group in the Austrian State of Carinthia. The Carinthian Slovenes send representatives to the National Ethnic Groups Advisory Council...
and Hungary
Hungarian Slovenes
Hungarian Slovenes are an autochthonous ethnic and linguistic Slovene minority living in Hungary. The largest groups are the Rába Slovenes in the Rába Valley in western Hungary between the town of Szentgotthárd and the borders with Slovenia and Austria. They speak the Prekmurje dialect of Slovene...
.
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 even racist attitudes towards certain minorities, particularly Slovenia's Roma population. The party also strongly opposes gay rights. Several of its MPs, including the party's former deputy chairman Sašo Peče, have publicly made numerous openly homophobic remarks. The party also has a strong anti-Roma discourse.
Party foundations, leadership and program
The party was founded on 17 March 1991 by Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti. 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 MPMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
s 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
Economic interventionism
Economic interventionism is an action taken by a government in a market economy or market-oriented mixed economy, beyond the basic regulation of fraud and enforcement of contracts, in an effort to affect its own economy...
into economic matters, strict economic regulations, secularism
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
, development of basic and applied science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, and civic education in public schools. The party also calls for a change of the national flag
Flag of Slovenia
The national flag of Slovenia features three equal horizontal bands of white , blue, and red, with the Slovenian coat of arms located in the upper hoist side of the flag centered in the white and blue bands...
(regarded by the party's program as "Pan-Slavic") and the coat of arms
Coat of arms of Slovenia
The Slovenian coat of arms consists of a red bordered blue shield on which there is a stylised white mount Triglav. Under Triglav there are two bending lines that represent the sea and rivers, and above Triglav there are three golden, six-pointed stars, forming a triangle...
(called "an a-historical and hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
-inspired [referring to Marko Pogačnik
Marko Pogacnik
Marko Pogačnik is a Slovenian artist and author.-Background:Pogačnik studied at the Academy of Arts of the University of Ljubljana where he graduated in 1967. Between 1965 and 1971, he was part of the neo-avantgarde artistic movement OHO...
] fabrication" by Jelinčič), reform of the justice 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
Slovenian 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 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 of political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
in speech. For example, when Jelinčič was asked what the prime difference between SNS and the leftist 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...
was, he replied: "A young woman from time to time."
The traditional 19th century Kozler map
Peter Kozler
Peter Kozler or Kosler was a Slovene lawyer, geographer, cartographer, activist and manufacturer...
of United Slovenia
United Slovenia
United Slovenia is the name of an unrealized political programme of the Slovene national movement, formulated during the Spring of Nations in 1848...
is one of the official party symbols. Jelinčič has also written a book entitled Hrvatje v luči zgodovinske resnice ("Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
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 the anti-fascist struggle.
Parliamentary representation: