A new centrist party, called the Democrats, was founded by Anže Logar, a former foreign minister, and several other former members of the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) of Janez Janša at a congress in Maribor on 16 November.

The founding congress comes just over a month after Logar resigned from the SDS after 25 years as a member, and two years after declaring in his 2022 presidential election concession speech he was after "something big".

The 48-year-old, who for the past two years has been ranking at the polls as one of Slovenia's most popular politicians, was elected party president.

In his address, he repeated his ambition for the party to help the country overcome the left-right divide by building a broad coalition based on a programme.

Slovenia is facing serious adaptations and challenges in the coming decade, which will require consensus, he said. "The next two terms will require a broad programme coalition."

He called for a strong state comprised of strong institutions that people trust, and underlined the importance of adaptation, winning mentality and competitive economy. He pledged not to put a single new tax on the corporate sector.

The party chose Slovenia's second largest city for its congress to show that decentralisation will be one of its main goals, Logar said.

Ex-ministers among senior party members

The congress elected members of the party's top bodies and confirmed its manifesto.

The party council includes Mark Boris Andrijanič, who served as digital transformation minister under Janša's 2020-22 government, along with Logar as foreign minister. At the time, Andrijanič was affiliated with the Christian Democratic party New Slovenia (NSi).

Senko Pličanič, who served as justice minister in Janša's 2012-13 government and the successive government of Alenka Bratušek in 2013-14, is another council member, along with Tadej Ostrc, a former Health Ministry state secretary, and National Council member Leopold Pogačar.

The executive committee features MP Eva Irgl, who left the SDS alongside Logar, as well as former SDS MEP Romana Jordan and entrepreneur Mirko Požar. Under the party's statute, Logar will nominate three additional executive council members and three vice-presidents.

The congress was also attended by National Council member Elena Zavladav Ušaj and Ljubljana city councillor Igor Horvat, both from the SDS's ranks. The latter said that a new group would also be formed in the Ljubljana City Council.

Party aiming for 20-plus seats

Meanwhile, MP Dejan Kaloh, who quit the SDS alongside Logar and Irgl, was not present. He allegedly demanded the post of party vice-president in exchange for joining the party, which Logar in a way confirmed by saying that "those who view membership as a shortcut to positions, should try their luck elsewhere".

When asked whether he expected difficulties in forming a deputy group in current parliament, which must count at least three MPs, Logar said: "We're not creating this party for three seats or a deputy group of three members, but for 20 and more MPs in future terms".

Former head of the Maribor SDS branch Zvone Zinrajh, who was also at the congress, said he was happy not to see Kaloh there. Also at the event was Boris Novak, who served as CEO of the state-owned postal company Pošta Slovenije from 2012 to 2020.

Manifesto rules out ideological extremism

Presenting the manifesto, Logar underlined that the Democrats would be guided by values such as freedom, responsibility, sustainability, success, efficiency and entrepreneurship, solidarity, proportionality, subsidiarity, fairness, love of Slovenia and its culture. The party "rejects ideological extremism and totalitarian political convictions," the manifesto reads.

Logar said the Democrats would be a party of modern democracy, political breadth, entrepreneurial mindset, social integration and social market economy. They will promote a clean environment, working public healthcare, good international relations and a functioning legal system, and are dedicated to fight against corruption.

They say they will stand for family values, digitalisation, improving the corporate environment, infrastructure policies and mobility, good schools, stronger agriculture and local food supply, and local government.

Logar also stressed security: economic security, food security, energy security, intellectual and personal security. "Slovenia must remain a safe country at any cost. The police force is a key partner in this and most be provided with adequate support" in the form of equipment and staff.

Slovenia must also contain illegal migration, while legal migrants must integrate into the society, said Logar. The Democrats will hold a programming congress within a year to prepare for the general election, which is due in two years.

Dispute over party name

While Logar had long been viewed as a potential successor to Janša, who has been leading the SDS since 1993, there has been open acrimony between them ever since Logar started breaking away from the party by starting a new forum called Cooperation Platform in May 2023.

Just before the founding congress, Janša accused Logar of stealing his party's name, reminding him that the SDS is officially registered as the Slovenian Democratic Party or Slovenian Democrats as the shorter version. He argued the choice of name showed the only goal of Logar's new political project was to harm the SDS.

In a recent interview with the Catholic Radio Ognjišče, Janša said it was unusual for Logar not to stick to the name and image of Cooperation Platform that he had invested a lot of capital in, but instead "use a name that is already owned by another party".

Both the Cooperation Platform and the SDS have each filed an application with the Intellectual Property Office to register the brand Democrats. Data from the office shows Logar's group did so on 24 October and the SDS on 28 October.

Under the political parties act, the name, abbreviated name, acronym and logo of a political party need to be substantially and unambiguously different from the names, acronyms and logos of parties already registered. They also need to be such as not to mislead the public.