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The Left (Slovenia)

Summary

The Left (Slovene: Levica) is an eco-socialist[2] and democratic socialist[11] political party in Slovenia. The party was established on 24 June 2017 by the merger of the Party for Sustainable Development of Slovenia (TRS) and Initiative for Democratic Socialism (IDS). The party is a successor of the left-wing electoral alliance, the United Left.[12]

The Left
Levica
CoordinatorAsta Vrečko[1]
Deputy CoordinatorNataša Sukič [sl]
Founded1 March 2014 (as coalition)
24 June 2017 (2017-06-24) (as party)
Merger ofTRS and IDS
Preceded byUnited Left
HeadquartersLjubljana
IdeologyDemocratic socialism[2]
Eco-socialism[2]
Anti-NATO[3][4]
Euroscepticism
Political positionLeft-wing[5][6][7][8][9]
National affiliationGS–SD–Levica
European affiliationParty of the European Left
International affiliationProgressive International[10]
Colors  Red   Green
National Assembly
5 / 90
European Parliament
0 / 8
Mayors
0 / 212
Municipal council
23 / 2,750
Website
www.levica.si

History edit

Foundation edit

 
First logo of The Left

United Left was an electoral alliance between the Democratic Labour Party (DSD), Party for Sustainable Development of Slovenia (TRS), and Initiative for Democratic Socialism (IDS).[13][14] The alliance was also founded by a "fourth group" of non-party civic groups and movements, and autonomous individuals.[15] It was intended to provide an alternative to the traditional political establishment which came under intense public scrutiny following the 2011 Slovenian parliamentary elections, and serve as a political outlet for the ideals of the 2012–13 Slovenian protests (termed "Pan-Slovenian uprisings"[16] in Slovene).[17] After a lengthy unification process, two of the allied parties merged into a single entity.

The merger was finalized on 24 June 2017, when the first party congress was held. The merger was accompanied by an exodus of IDS members who hitherto opposed unification.[12] In keeping with IDS custom,[citation needed] the party leader holds the title of "coordinator". During the founding party congress, Luka Mesec was elected as coordinator (a position he previously held in IDS), and Violeta Tomič [sl] (previously leader of TRS[18]) was elected deputy coordinator.[19][20]

Since 2017 edit

 
Luka Mesec, coordinator of The Left from 2017 to 2023

On 5 July 2017, Matjaž Hanžek left Levica parliamentary group to become an unaffiliated MP, thus leaving the party with only 5 parliamentary seats. He cited the "incorrect and undemocratic" unification process as the main reason for his departure. He expressed his wish to continue his work as chair of the parliamentary investigative committee looking into the TEŠ 6 affair (the committee was established as a result of a United Left initiative spearheaded by Hanžek).[21][22][23] He was the founder[24] and previously served as leader of TRS,[25] but he stepped down[18] and subsequently also left the party prior to unification.[24][26]

Shortly after the 2018 parliamentary election, the party was also subject to criticism due to allegations by party technical staff of relatively low pay, burdensome workload, and poor work relations (particularly with parliamentary group secretary, Matej Kolenc). Three of the party's eight aides announced their resignation and unofficial reports alleged others were also contemplating departure. Mesec, speaking about the affair, promised increased compensation for party staff, and voiced sympathy with the staffers regarding the hefty workload, explaining that due to high productivity of Levica parliamentary group relative to its small size, both MPs and political aides needed to overwork in order to accomplish as many political goals as they did during their first term.[27][28]

In the 2018 Slovenian parliamentary election, The Left garnered 9.33% of the vote, winning 9 parliamentary seats.[29] All 5 serving MPs were re-elected for second terms.[30] Nataša Sukič (who had hitherto served as the city councilor in Ljubljana)[31] was also elected on the party's ticket, becoming the first openly gay member of parliament in the nation's history.[32]

After the Christian conservative New Slovenia reneged on coalition talks with the five centre-left party core led by PM contender Marjan Šarec (leader of the eponymous election runner-up LMŠ party), The Left became the presumptive coalition partner in Šarec's efforts to attain a parliamentary majority.[33] The Left's insistence on a NATO membership referendum was widely regarded as a deal-breaker for the more Atlanticist coalition core parties.[34][35] Shortly after NSi's departure from coalition negotiations, however, The Left announced that it will not demand that a commitment to a NATO referendum be included in the coalition agreement.[35][36] Two days after Šarec was nominated for PM by the five-party group on August 8,[37] The Left vowed support for his candidacy.[38] Šarec was thus confirmed as the ninth PM on August 17,[39] ending the longest political stalemate in the nation's history[37] while also forming the country's first minority government due to The Left's decision not to formally enter the governing coalition.[40]

In March 2020, MP Franc Trček departed the party and parliamentary group due to contentious disagreements with party leadership and internal party culture.[41][42] Trček subsequently joined the Social Democrats' parliamentary group.[43] In October 2020, The Left joined center-left opposition parties in forming the Constitutional Arch Coalition (Slovene: Koalicija ustavnega loka - KUL), an initiative promoted by the Slovenian economist Jože P. Damijan aimed at forming an alternative government by uniting centre-left opposition parties.[44]

The famous philosopher and Lacanian psychoanalyst Slavoj Žižek has given his support to the party, as of early 2022.[45] In 2022 Slovenian parliamentary election the party lost over a half of support and was one of just five parties that got elected to the parliament. After the election, the Left joined coalition of Freedom Movement and Social Democrats. Luka Mesec, coordinator of the party, became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.

New leadership edit

 
Asta Vrečko, coordinator of The Left since 2023

In June 2023, The Left held its congress and elections for the council and other organs in the party. The morning after the results were announced, Luka Mesec offered to resign his coordinator post after almost ten years at the head of United Left (Slovenia) and later The Left. This happened because the Left-wing of the party, headed by The Left MP Miha Kordiš, won 15 out of 25 directly contested seats in the party council.

The victorious Left-wing group or "Group of activists" was formed by the members of The Left, who were disillusioned with current leadership and the direction of the party towards the political centre. Mesec told the press "I can detect a clear lack of confidence in me in the results of this congress. It is only correct to ask the party council members, if I should continue as a party coordinator. I will offer my resignation. Before the new council is formed, we will sit down with the Left-wing group and reach a compromise for the party. The basis of the compromise must be an agreement on who should lead the party next".[46]

After the two groups sat down for talks, they didn't reach a compromise on who should be a party leader, therefore both groups fielded their own candidates for the coordinator and other posts in the executive board, which is voted in by the party council.

Despite winning the majority of seats in direct council elections, 15 out of 25, the other 24 seats in the council represent the local committees of the party, therefore it was unclear which candidates have the upper hand. After one week of voting, results were officially announced on the morning of 2. September 2023. The new coordinator of The Left became Asta Vrečko, supported by now former coordinator Luka Mesec. She defeated Left-wing group candidate Miha Kordiš. Vrečko said in a press conference "The Left is remaining firm, strong and stable". Kordiš stated "the Left-wing group congratulates Asta Vrečko for a fair victory. It became clear in all this time, that The Left is formed out of a unique spectrum of red, and so it should continue, but the party should never forget its roots".[47]

Electoral results edit

National Assembly edit

Election Leader Popular vote % of vote Seats +/– Government
2018 Luka Mesec 83,108 9.33 (#5)
9 / 90
   3 Support, 2018–19
Opposition, 2019–22
2022 53,234 4.46 (#5)
5 / 90
  4 Coalition

European Parliament edit

Election Popular vote % of vote Seats +/– EP affiliation
2019 30,983 6.4 (#5)
0 / 8
 New The Left–GUE/NGL

Presidential edit

Year Candidate 1st round 2nd round Result
Popular vote % of vote Popular vote % of vote
2022 Miha Kordiš 24,518 2.81 — — Lost

References edit

  1. ^ "Nova koordinatorica Levice je Asta Vrečko. "Levica ostaja trdna, močna in stabilna."". rtvslo.si (in Slovenian).
  2. ^ a b c Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Slovenia". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Parliament ratifies Sweden and Finland's bids to join NATO". STA. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  4. ^ "PRIHODNOST ZA VSE, NE LE ZA PEŠČICO (program za državnozborske volitve 2022)". Levica (in Slovenian). Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Party Encyclopedia & Polling Averages: Slovenia". Europe Elects.
  6. ^ "Slovenia: Anti-migrant party gains highlight 'Orban's soft power'". Aljazeera.com. 4 July 2019. Meanwhile, the centre-left Social Democrats earned 10 percent, the centrist Moderate Centre Party 9.75 percent and the left-wing Levica party nine percent.
  7. ^ "Slovenian MPs pass ten percent minimum wage rise". FRANCE 24. 13 December 2018. In 2020, the rate will increase to 700 euros. In addition, some bonuses which are currently included as part of the minimum wage will be excluded, according to the bill presented to MPs by the left-wing Levica Party.
  8. ^ "Refugee case could topple Slovenia government". EUobserver. 21 November 2017. Two of them, Jan Skoberne, from the left-wing SD party in the ruling coalition, and Mihe Kordis, an MP from the left-wing opposition Levica party, picketed Shamieh's home alongside local supporters and later took him to the parliament building to stop police from taking him away.
  9. ^ "EU country briefing: Slovenia". EURACTIV. 19 March 2019. Other parties expected to win an MEP seat are the social democrat SD (9.9%) and left-wing Levica (7.8%).
  10. ^ "Levica". Progressive International. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  11. ^ Zulianello, Mattia (2019). "Varieties of Populist Parties and Party Systems in Europe: From State-of-the-Art to the Application of a Novel Classification Scheme to 66 Parties in 33 Countries". Government and Opposition: 6.
  12. ^ a b "STA: Merging of the Left marked by departures from IDS". english.sta.si. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Leftist Groups Form United Left to Join Forces in EU Election (in English)". The Slovenian Times. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  14. ^ "United Left to contest European elections (in Slovene)". The Daily. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  15. ^ "4. skupina: civilnodružbena gibanja in posamezniki". www.zdruzena-levica.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Foto: Največja vseslovenska vstaja do zdaj. Protestiralo 20.000 ljudi". Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Levice ni več, zato je tu nova levica". www.delo.si. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  18. ^ a b "Violeta Tomić odslej na čelu stranke Trs". www.delo.si. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  19. ^ "Mesec: Iz strahu pred desnico se sredina sama spreminja v desnico". Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Od Združene levice ostala samo še Levica, Mesec prevzema vodenje" (in Slovenian). Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  21. ^ "Matjaž Hanžek zapušča poslansko skupino Levice | Dnevnik". www.dnevnik.si. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  22. ^ "Združena levica s podpisi za preiskavo o odgovornosti politike pri Teš 6" (in Slovenian). Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  23. ^ "Hanžek: Sooner or later a connection will be unveiled between affairs and politics :: Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija". www.rtvslo.si. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  24. ^ a b "IDS in TRS se bosta v kratkem zlili v eno stranko – ZL". www.delo.si. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  25. ^ "Matjaž Hanžek ostaja predsednik stranke TRS". www.delo.si. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  26. ^ "Skupna pot Združene levice misija nemogoče | Dnevnik". dnevnik.si. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  27. ^ "Delavci Levice nezadovoljni, Mesec obljublja zvišanje plač". Dnevnik. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  28. ^ "Raj za peščico poslancev, izkoriščanje za strokovce". Svet24.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  29. ^ "Election Results - All of Slovenia". dvk-rs.si. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  30. ^ "Ni več Gorenaka, Erjavca, vrača se Jelinčič ... in ostalo o novem sklicu DZ-ja". Grem Volit (in Slovenian). Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  31. ^ "Nataša Sukič". www.ljubljana.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  32. ^ "Prva razkrita LGBTQ+ oseba v slovenskem parlamentu | MLADINA.si". Mladina.si. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  33. ^ "Šarec nadaljuje pogajanja: po umiku NSi v igri Levica" (in Slovenian). Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  34. ^ "Je koalicija z Levico sploh mogoča?" (in Slovenian). Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  35. ^ a b "V Levici so se pripravljeni pogajati, a pričakujejo bistveno drugačno koalicijsko pogodbo". Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  36. ^ "Levica še brez vabila Šarčeve koalicije, ne bi pa več vztrajala pri Natu". Časnik Večer d.o.o. (in Slovenian). Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  37. ^ a b "Slovenia's center-left coalition nominates Marjan Sarec for PM". Reuters. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  38. ^ "The Left to provide votes for Šarec to become PM-designate". Radio Si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  39. ^ Dallison, Paul (17 August 2018). "Slovenian lawmakers back new government". POLITICO. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  40. ^ "Lawmakers back Slovenia's first minority cabinet". Reuters. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  41. ^ "Svet24.si - Franc Trček zapušča Levico". Svet24.si - Vsa resnica na enem mestu (in Slovenian). Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  42. ^ "Trček zapustil Levico, ker še ni odrasla". Mladina.si. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  43. ^ "Trček se bo pridružil poslanski skupini SD". siol.net (in Slovenian). Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  44. ^ "Three coalition parties invited to talks on alternative government". 30 October 2020.
  45. ^ Slavoj Žižek speech at the 5th congress of Levica (english captions), retrieved 4 April 2022
  46. ^ "Kongres stranke Levica: Mesec ponuja sestop z mesta koordinatorja Levice". Dnevnik. 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  47. ^ Ma, Al. "Nova koordinatorica Levice je Asta Vrečko. "Levica ostaja trdna, močna in stabilna."". rtvslo.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 3 September 2023.

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