Bovec - The 27th annual get-together of the Democratic Party (SDS) started on Saturday at the Bovec airstrip, with SDS president Janez Janša addressing the event. He expressed the belief that the candidate supported by the SDS will win this year's presidential elections and noted the traditional success of the party in local elections.

The annual get-together started with the traditional meeting of the municipal and local committees of the party that was relegated to the opposition after the 24 April general election.

At the first major meeting of the SDS after the election, Janša said that there had indeed been much disappointment after the vote, adding however that "we must not forget that the Democrats had made progress in this election as well".

The former prime minister noted that the SDS had increased the number of seats in the National Assembly and the number of votes by 50,000.

Janša said that "after the blackout that occurred in April in the general election," a big step towards better times could be taken already in the autumn by supporting Anže Logar, the former foreign minister, in the presidential race.

He also noted the importance of local elections. "For any serious party, local elections are as important as general election, because local elections are where a political force either takes root or fails to do so."

Janša added that the "SDS has so far won four local elections in a row, and in the autumn this lesson should be repeated for a fifth time." He noted that the the situation is more difficult than four years ago, but nevertheless expressed optimism.

The SDS president also noted the elections to the National Council, the upper chamber of parliament. "We need to get well organised and at least repeat the winning result from five years ago through the election of electors," he said.

The summer get-together will include climbs to a number of mountains, including Mt Triglav, the country's highest peak, which will take place on 6 August, shows the programme published on the party's website.