Slovenian Democratic Party

Slovenian Democratic Party
Slovenska demokratska stranka
AbbreviationSDS
LeaderJanez Janša
Founded16 February 1989
HeadquartersTrstenjakova ulica 8, Ljubljana
Youth wingSlovenian Democratic Youth[1]
Membership (2013)30,000[2]
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[19]
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party
International affiliationCentrist Democrat International
International Democracy Union
Colours  Yellow   Blue
AnthemSlovenska pomlad [20] ('Slovenian Spring')
National Assembly
27 / 90
European Parliament
4 / 8
Mayors
12 / 212
Municipal council
583 / 2,750
Party flag
Flag of the Slovenian Democratic Party
Website
sds.si

The Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovene: Slovenska demokratska stranka, SDS), formerly the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia (Slovene: Socialdemokratska stranka Slovenije, SDSS),[21][22] is a conservative[3] parliamentary party; it is also one of the largest parties[23] in Slovenia, with approximately 30,000 reported members in 2013.

It has been described as nationalist[24] and right-wing populist,[12] encompassing both national[25] and social conservatism.[26] Led by former Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Janša, the SDS is a member of the European People's Party, Centrist Democrat International[27] and International Democracy Union.[28]

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.[29][30]

  1. ^ "Slovenska Demokratska Mladina". sdm.si. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Planet Siol: SDS je z 30.000 člani gromozanska stranka proti ostalim. Virantovcev je le za 'jurja'". Politikis (in Slovenian). 16 May 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Toplišek, Alen (2019). The populist radical left in Europe: Between populism and socialism. Giorgos Katsambekis, Alexandros Kioupkiolis. London. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-351-72048-9. OCLC 1090060657.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Slovenia". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  5. ^ Democratic transition in Slovenia : value transformation, education, and media. Sabrina P. Ramet, Danica Fink Hafner (1 ed.). College Station: Texas A & M University Press. 2006. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-60344-584-9. OCLC 715188546.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ "Slovenian General Election, 3 June 2018". European Movement Ireland. 3 June 2018. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  7. ^ [4][3][5][6]
  8. ^ "Another Euro Member Heads for Turmoil After Nationalist Win". Bloomberg.com. 3 June 2018 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  9. ^ "Slovenian journalists operate in increasingly toxic atmosphere". International Press Institute. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Slovenian nationalist party set for power after winning election". the Guardian. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  11. ^ [8][9][10]
  12. ^ a b Klaus Wahl (2020). The Radical Right: Biopsychosocial Roots and International Variations. Springer Nature. p. 201. ISBN 978-3-030-25131-4.
  13. ^ a b c "Anti-Immigrant Party Set to Make Gains in Slovenia Vote". 1 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
  14. ^ [12][13]
  15. ^ Novak, Marja (22 May 2018). "Anti-immigrant stance helps Slovenia's SDS party to poll lead". Reuters.
  16. ^ [13][15]
  17. ^ Hloušek, Vít; Kopeček, Lubomír (2010), Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties: East-Central and Western Europe Compared, Ashgate, p. 26, ISBN 9780754678403
  18. ^ Lewis, Paul G. (2000), Political Parties in Post-Communist Eastern Europe, Routledge, p. 167, ISBN 9780415201810
  19. ^ [13][17][18]
  20. ^ "O stranki - Odnosi z javnostmi".
  21. ^ "SLOVENSKA DEMOKRATSKA STRANKA (SDS)" (in Slovenian). Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  22. ^ "SDS: Več svobode, človekovih pravic in solidarnosti". Grem Volit (in Slovenian). Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  23. ^ uredništvo (16 February 2022). "Največja politična stranka v državi, SDS, praznuje 33 let". e-Maribor (in Slovenian). Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Slovenian nationalist party set for power after winning election". TheGuardian.com. 4 June 2018.
  25. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Slovenia". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  26. ^ Terry, Chris (19 May 2014). "Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS)". The Democratic Society. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  27. ^ "Partidos Archivo - idc-cdi". 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  28. ^ "Members". www.idu.org. February 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  29. ^ "EPP's illiberal rebels lay out political vision". POLITICO. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  30. ^ Coakley, Amanda (30 June 2021). "In Slovenia, a Trumpian Populist Assumes a Key European Post". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 13 July 2021.