The Slovenian National Party ( sl, Slovenska Nacionalna Stranka, SNS) is a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

political party in Slovenia led by

Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti Zmago Jelinčič "Plemeniti" (born January 7, 1948) is a Slovenian politician and author. He is the head of the Slovenian National Party ( sl, Slovenska Nacionalna Stranka, SNS). Jelinčič was born in the eastern Slovenian city of Maribor in w ...

. The party is known for its

Euroscepticism Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...

and opposes Slovenia's membership in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

.Krupnick, Charles (2003)
''Almost NATO: Partners and Players in Central and Eastern European Security''
Rowman & Littlefield. p. 98. Retrieved 2 June 2014.Aarebrot, Berglund, Sten; Ekman, Joakim; Frank H. (2004)
''The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe''
Edward Elgar. p. 342. Retrieved 2 June 2014. It also engages in what many consider to be

historical negationism Historical negationism, also called denialism, is falsification or distortion of the historical record. It should not be conflated with ''historical revisionism'', a broader term that extends to newly evidenced, fairly reasoned academic reinterp ...

of events in Slovenia during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

."All Politicians In Croatia Are Animals"
Dalje.com. 20 January 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2014.

History

The party was founded on 17 March 1991 by

, who remains the party's leader. The traditional 19th century Kozler map of

United Slovenia United Slovenia ( sl, Zedinjena Slovenija or ) is the name originally given to an unrealized political programme of the Slovenes, Slovene national movement, formulated during the Spring of Nations in 1848. The programme demanded (a) unification o ...

is one of the official party symbols. In 1993, dissenting factions broke from the party and formed the

Slovenian National Right The Party of Slovenian People (''Stranka slovenskega naroda, SSN'') is an extra-parliamentary party in Slovenia. In the 2008 legislative election in Slovenia, the party won 0.25% of the popular vote and no seats in the National Assembly. In the e ...

and the National Party of Labor. Many of the dissenting members were supporters of

Slovene Home Guard The Slovene Home Guard ( sl, Slovensko domobranstvo, SD; german: Slowenische Landeswehr) was a Slovene anti- Partisan military organization that was active during the 1943–1945 German occupation of the formerly Italian-occupied Province of Lju ...

and objected to Jelinčič's support of the

Slovene Partisans The Slovene Partisans, formally the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Slovenia, (NOV in POS) were part of Europe's most effective anti-Nazi resistance movement Jeffreys-Jones, R. (2013): ''In Spies We Trust: The Story of Western ...

. Another split occurred in 2008, when several Slovenian National Party MPs left the party and formed the party

Lipa Lipa or LIPA (Cyrillic: Липа) may refer to: Acronym *Liquid Isopropyl alcohol *League for Independent Political Action, a former American progressive political organization *Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a performing arts school in ...

. These splits did not seriously affect 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. In the second

democratic election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

s in Slovenia on 6 and 10 December 1992, the SNS received 10.2% of the vote and 12 of the 90 seats in parliament. On 10 November 1996, their share of the vote declined to 3.22% and the party won 4 seats. On 15 October 2000, the party's share of the vote increased to 4.38% and its seats in parliament remained steady at 4. In the 2002 presidential election, SNS leader

received 8.49% of the vote, placing third. On 3 October 2004, the party's share of the vote increased to 6.27% and the party won 6 seats in parliament. The party's share of the vote increased to 4.0% in the 2014 European parliamentary election compared to the previous European elections, but it did not win any seats. In the

2007 presidential election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

, Jelinčič increased his share to 19.16% of the vote, but placed fourth. In Slovenian legislative elections on 21 September 2008, the party's share of the vote declined to 5.4% and its seats in parliament dropped to 5. The party's share of the vote dropped to 2.9% in the 2009 European parliamentary election. In the Slovenian parliamentary election on 4 December 2011, the party received 1.80% of votes and lost its representation in parliament as it did not reach the parliamentary threshold of 4%. In the Slovenian parliamentary election on 13 July 2014, the party received 2.21% of votes, but did not win any seats in parliament. It receives support from various strands of society and has traditionally done well among young voters and residents of the regions near the Italian and Austrian borders. On 9 March 2016, Jelinčič and

Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician, founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS); he was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribuna ...

, president of the

Serbian Radical Party The Serbian Radical Party ( sr-cyrl, Српска радикална странка, Srpska radikalna stranka, ''SRS'') is an ultranationalist political party in Serbia. It was founded in 1991, and its founder and current leader is Vojislav Še ...

, signed an agreement with the intention of bringing their parties closer in terms of partnership and political alliance. In July 2020, the party reached a cooperation agreement with the

14th Government of Slovenia The 14th Government of Slovenia was formed following the resignation of Prime Minister of the 13th Government Marjan Šarec in January 2020. Janez Janša of Slovenian Democratic Party formed a coalition with Modern Centre Party, New Slovenia, ...

Ideology and platform

The party's ideology has been strongly

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

and has advocated a firm

laicist Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

position.Mudde, Cas (2005)
''Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe''

Psychology Press Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa ...

. p. 227. Retrieved 2 June 2014. The party is also opposed to

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

. The party opposes the privatisation of state-owned enterprises."Finance"
''Aktualizirana Programska Izhodišča Slovenske Nacionalne Stranke Pred Volitvami V Državni Zbor Republike Slovenije 2014'' (in Slovenian). p. 2. Retrieved 3 July 2014. The party opposes the introduction of a property tax and supports an increase in the minimum wage. The party has called for a change of the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...

and the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, feeling that they utilize symbols used by certain World War II paramilitary groups and lack a distinctly Slovenian historical character. The party supports replacing judges' lifetime mandate with an eight-year term. The party is opposed to Slovenia's membership the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and

. Its leaders have been accused of

chauvinist Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...

and even

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

attitudes towards certain minorities, particularly Slovenia's

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

population. In the early 1990s, the party campaigned against allowing refugees from former Yugoslav republics into the country.Bugajski, Janusz (1994)
''Ethnic Politics in Eastern Europe: A Guide to Nationality Policies, Organizations, and Parties''
M.E. Sharpe. p. 86. Retrieved 2 June 2014. The party has since moderated its rhetoric, although its leaders continue to voice strongly anti-

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

positions. Among other things, Jelinčič has proposed that four disputed villages; Bužini,

Mlini Mlini is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D8 highway between Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik Airport Dubrovnik Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Dubrovnik; ), also referred to as Čilipi Airport (), is the international airport of Dubrovnik, Croati ...

, Škodelini and Škrile, be placed within the municipality of

Piran Piran (; it, Pirano ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The town is known for its medieval architecture, with narrow streets and compact houses. P ...

for the purpose of participating in Slovenian elections. He also advocates improving relations with

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and has opposed the independence of

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. The SNS frequently demands better treatment of Slovene minorities in neighboring countries. Although the party usually refuses to position itself within a

left–right political spectrum The left–right political spectrum is a system of classifying political positions characteristic of left-right politics, ideologies and parties with emphasis placed upon issues of social equality and social hierarchy. In addition to positions o ...

, its president

defined himself as leftist in a 2000 interview for the magazine ''

Mladina ''Mladina'' (English: Youth) is a Slovenian weekly left-wing political and current affairs magazine. Since the 1920s, when it was first published, it has become a voice of protest against those in power. Today, ''Mladinas weekly issues are di ...

''."Stranke na robu"
(2 October 2000) (in Slovenian). ''Mladina''. Retrieved 3 June 2014. However, the descriptions others have given the party range from

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

, including

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

. According to researchers at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

, the SNS combines elements of right-wing and left-wing ideology and is not strictly a left-wing, nor a right-wing party, but nevertheless leans closer to the left.Kovačič, Marej; Hlebec, Valentina; Kropivnik, Samo (2002). ''Perception of Slovenian Political Parties: A Network Approach''. In ''Metodološki zvezki''. No. 17. Ljubljana. FDV. p. 227−228. Available at The party has been seen espousing more leftist economic policies (such as opposing privatization of key national enterprises), while maintaining right-wing social views, which at least partially explains the wide variance in placing it on the political spectrum.

Parliamentary representation

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Electoral results

National Assembly

Presidential

European Parliament

References

External links

Official website
{{Slovenian political parties 1991 establishments in Slovenia Conservative parties in Slovenia Eurosceptic parties in Slovenia Far-right parties in Europe Nationalist parties in Slovenia Organizations based in Ljubljana Organizations that oppose LGBT rights Political parties established in 1991 Protectionism Right-wing populist parties Right-wing populism in Slovenia Opposition to NATO Right-wing parties in Europe Anti-clerical parties