The Slovenia Times

SocDems Wish to Bring Together Splintered Left

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Presenting the idea to reporters in Ljubljana on Friday, the leader of the SD deputy faction Matjaž Han said that he was not talking about a pre-election coalition yet.

He expects talks would start after the Eurovote, when "the left probably finds it is splintered and not strong enough".

The SocDems would like to put an end to speculation that they did not want to talk to anybody, while Han also said that it would be party leader Igor Lukšič who would issue an invitation for talks.

Han would not name any non-parliamentary party the SD would like to hold discussions with, arguing that it was not clear yet which would emerge until the early election.

He said the aim was to reach an agreement on how to take Slovenia out of the turmoil without jeopardising the welfare state and to keep the goals realistic.

The SocDems were not a party that would give a chance to others to "work in their own interests", but rather a party that "will enable others to link over a platform".

Han believes it would be unrealistic to say the emerging parties were not breaking up the left vote, while he also complained that emerging parties involved people who had been in several parties before.

He said the SD was not just offering names, but was a guarantee with a solid party structure and tradition. He was confident of the chance to boost talks on the centre-left after the Eurovote.

He repeated that the party deemed a snap election the only alternative as the "potential of this lineup of parliament has been exhausted".

Slovenia has seen a multitude of new movements and parties mushrooming on the left. Most recently the intention to form a party has been announced by respected jurist Miro Cerar.

Cerar told the STA that a decision about cooperation with other parties will be made after his party is established by the end of the month.

Igor Šoltes, the former president of the Court of Audit, has not yet formed a party, but he is standing for a seat in the European Parliament on his own I Believe ticket.

He responded to SocDems' proposal, noting that "the allergy to other parties is apparently waning in the SocDems". He explained that his society was not against talks about Slovenia's future if they are sincere and credible. "However, let's leave such decisions for after the EU vote," he added.

Similar reaction came from the recently established Solidarity party, with party president Uroš Lubej touching on a statement made by SocDem president Igor Lukšič several months ago. Lukšič said then that new parties would "surely form a coalition, dubbed I Really Believe in Solidarity", making a word play with the names of the parties (Zares can be translated into English as really).

Lubej wondered whether Lukšič now "really believed in Solidarity", adding that SocDems' proposal was likely a campaign manipulation of the kind people are fed up with.

The emerging party around PM Alenka Bratušek meanwhile told the STA that they had not received an invitation, while they were not against cooperation with any party that was aimed at promoting a successful market-oriented economy and strong welfare state.

Several more parties have been formed in the past year further left of the centre

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