The Unity List (
Slovene: ''Enotna lista'', german: Einheitsliste) or EL seeks to represent the
indigenous Slovene minority in
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
. It came into existence in 1991, replacing the "Club of Slovenian Local Councillors" (Slovene: , German: ), which had existed as an initiative of local Slovenian party lists from various local councils. Slovenian party lists have regularly contested elections in Carinthia since 1950. The current chairperson of the EL is
Vladimir Smrtnik.
Since the percentage of Slovenians in Carinthia is below the
election threshold in the Carinthian Parliament (10%), the EL cannot represent the Carinthian Slovenes in the Carinthian or Austrian Parliament. In 1975 the EL missed a mandate in the Carinthian parliament by a few hundred votes (the vote tally then, of 6130, is the highest the party ever got after
World War II). In 1979, however, Carinthia was split up in four electoral districts, making it impossible for the EL to pass the threshold on its own, without making any electoral alliance. Therefore, on both Land and national levels, the EL has tended to participate in electoral unions (sometimes with the
Greens
Greens may refer to:
*Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc.
Politics Supranational
* Green politics
* Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics
* Global Greens
* Europ ...
, sometimes with the
Liberal Forum).
The party is represented on its own on the local level. It has councilors in several local councils in the bilingual region of Carinthia. Currently, 52 local councillors are members of the EL. Since March 2009, the municipality of
Eisenkappel-Vellach ( sl, Železna Kapla-Bela) is run by a mayor of the EL.
The party is full member of the
European Free Alliance.
See also
*
Slovene Union
References
External links
Party website
Political parties in Austria
Political parties of minorities
Carinthian Slovenes
European Free Alliance
1973 establishments in Austria
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