Liberal Democracy of Slovenia Liberalna demokracija Slovenije | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Tone Anderlič |
| Founded | 12 March 1994 |
| Merger of | Liberal Democratic Party Democratic Party Socialist Party of Slovenia Greens – Ecological Social Party |
| Headquarters | Ljubljana |
| Youth wing | Young Liberal Democracy |
| Ideology | Liberalism[1][2][3] Social liberalism[4] Pro-Europeanism |
| Political position | Centre[5] tocentre-left[6] |
| National affiliation | LIDE-DeSUS-LDS |
| European affiliation | ALDE (formerly) |
| European Parliament group | ALDE (2004–2014) |
| International affiliation | Liberal International (formerly) |
| Colours | Light blue |
| National Assembly | 0 / 90 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 9 |
| Municipal council | 4 / 2,750 |
| Website | |
| http://www.lds.si | |
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (Slovene:Liberalna demokracija Slovenije,LDS) is asocial-liberal[7]political party in Slovenia. Between 1992 and 2004, it (and its main predecessor, the Liberal Democratic Party) was the largest and ruling party in the country. In the2011 Slovenian parliamentary election, it failed to win entry to the SlovenianNational Assembly. The party was a member of theLiberal International and theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
The LDS dominatedSlovenian politics during the first decade following independence. Except for a brief interruption in 2000, it held the parliamentary majority between 1994 and 2004, when it lost the election to the conservativeSlovenian Democratic Party. The loss was followed by decline, infighting and political fragmentation. In the runup to the2008 parliamentary election the LDS joined in an unofficial coalition with theSocial Democrats andZares, but lost nearly 80% of its seats, dropping from 23 to just 5 and becoming the smallest parliamentary party. In the2011 parliamentary election on 4 December 2011, its support collapsed even further: it won only 1.48% of the vote, not reaching the parliamentary threshold of 4%.[8] It has not regained seats in parliament or a place as a major political force since, only retaining minor relevance at a local level in some municipalities.
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In 1990, the well-known Slovenian sociologist, philosopher and cultural criticSlavoj Žižek was the candidate for the Presidency of Slovenia (an auxiliary body of the President of the Republic, abolished in 1992) for one of the LDS' predecessor parties, the Union of Socialist Youth of Slovenia – Liberal Party (later the Liberal Democratic Party).
The LDS formed a part of governing coalitions of Slovenia from 1992 to 2004, with an interruption for a few months in 2000. The firstPrime Minister of Slovenia from LDS wasJanez Drnovšek, who later became thePresident of Slovenia in 2002 and was succeeded byAnton Rop, former Finance Minister.
At the2004 European election, LDS won 21.9% of the vote, which yielded two seats in theEuropean Parliament out of Slovenia's allocation of seven. At the2004 elections, the LDS party suffered a considerable loss of votes. TheSlovenian Democratic Party became the largest party, and the LDS went into opposition. The party held 23 seats (22.8% votes) in theNational Assembly until 2007, when 12 members resigned from the party.
Following the defeat of 2004, the party suffered a succession of severe internal crises and a steady exodus of prominent members. In 2005, Anton Rop resigned as president and was succeeded byJelko Kacin. Two years later, a group led byMatej Lahovnik and the former Secretary General of the partyGregor Golobič left the LDS and founded a newsocial liberal political party calledZares, while several other prominent members left for theSocial Democrats, including the former Prime MinisterAnton Rop. Following these events, Jelko Kacin resigned as President and was succeeded byKatarina Kresal. Following Kresal's election as president, several other prominent members, including former Health MinisterDušan Keber, decided to leave the party as well.
In 2008, the party won 5,3% of the votes and five seats, entering the centre-left coalition ofSocial DemocratBorut Pahor, with two ministers in the government. In the snap elections of 2011, the party failed to enter the Parliament. Due to financial difficulties, the party did not field a slate of candidates in the 2014 (or any subsequent) parliamentary elections. It has not, however, dissolved or merged with another party. In the2022 Slovenian Presidential Elections, the LDS endorsedIvo Vajgl, a former member. As of that year, the only offices it still held were the mayoralty and four municipal council seats in the small municipality ofMarkovci nearPtuj.
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 156,843 | 14.5 | 12 / 80 | +12 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1992 | 278,851 | 23.5 | 22 / 90 | +10 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1996 | 278,883 | 27.0 | 25 / 90 | +3 | 1st | Coalition |
| 2000 | 390,306 | 36.3 | 34 / 90 | +9 | 1st | Coalition |
| 2004 | 220,848 | 22.8 | 23 / 90 | -11 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 2008 | 54,771 | 5.2 | 5 / 90 | -18 | 7th | Coalition |
| 2011 | 16,268 | 1.5 | 0 / 90 | -5 | 9th | Extraparliamentary |
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