United Left (Slovenia)

United Left (Slovene: Združena levica, abbreviated ZL) was a left-wing electoral alliance in Slovenia between the Democratic Labour Party (DSD), Party for Sustainable Development of Slovenia (TRS), and Initiative for Democratic Socialism (IDS).[1][2] The alliance was also founded by a "fourth group" of non-party civic groups and movements, and autonomous individuals.[5]

United Left

Združena levica
LeaderCollective leadership
Founded1 March 2014[1][2]
Dissolved24 June 2017[3]
Succeeded byThe Left
ZL-DSD
HeadquartersParmova ulica 41
1000 Ljubljana
IdeologyDemocratic socialism[4]
Eco-socialism
Anti-capitalism
Soft Euroscepticism
Political positionLeft-wing
European affiliationParty of the European Left[1]
ColoursRed
Website
www.zdruzena-levica.si

On 24 June 2017, two of the constituent parties – TRS and IDS – merged into a single party. The alliance is succeeded by The Left (Slovene: Levica, formerly TRS and IDS), and DSD, which has adopted the new title, ZL-DSD.[3][6]

History

The alliance was formed as a socialist and eurosceptic electoral list with the intention of contesting local, European parliament, and general elections.[1][7]

ZL made its electoral debut during the 2014 European Parliament election where it did not garner a sufficient vote share to be granted any seats.[8]

Its electoral breakthrough came during the 2014 Slovenian parliamentary election, gaining the 5th most votes and being granted 6 parliamentary seats.[9]

The alliance did not contest the local elections as a single entity, instead, each of the three constituent parties put forward candidates independently. None of the parties were successful in electing any mayors, however, each of them elected multiple representatives in town/municipality councils.[10]

After a lengthy and tumultuous unification process, two of the constituent parties - TRS and IDS - finalized their merger into a single party on 24 June 2017.[3] Luka Mesec was elected party coordinator (he previously held that position in IDS) as the sole candidate.[11] The process was marked by internal disputes. Representatives of DSD and the fourth group, which do not hold any of the 6 parliamentary seats, stated that the other two parties increasingly operated in a non-democratic manner as the reason for remaining independent. The merger was also marked by an exodus of IDS members. IDS was marked by an internal dispute as to whether the parties should unify or continue to operate as an alliance, with dissenting members citing loss of internal democracy and clear political goals as their chief objections.[6][11][12][13]

Platform and policies

National Assembly of Slovenia
National Assembly
Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 ±
2014 51,490 6.0
6 / 90

European Parliament
European Parliament
Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 ±
2014 21,985 5.5
0 / 8
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References
  1. "Leftist Groups Form United Left to Join Forces in EU Election (in English)". The Slovenian Times. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  2. "United Left to contest European elections (in Slovene)". The Daily. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  3. "STA: Merging of the Left marked by departures from IDS". english.sta.si. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  4. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2014). "Slovenia". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018.
  5. User, Super. "4. skupina: civilnodružbena gibanja in posamezniki". www.zdruzena-levica.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  6. "Od Združene levice ostala samo še Levica, Mesec prevzema vodenje" (in Slovenian). Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  7. "Are European elections ever about Europe?". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  8. "Results of the 2014 European elections - Results by country - Slovenia - European Parliament". Results of the 2014 European elections - Results by country - Slovenia - European Parliament. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  9. "Election Resources on the Internet: Elections to the Slovenian National Assembly - Results Lookup". electionresources.org. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  10. "Lokalne volitve 2014". volitve.gov.si. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  11. "Mesec: Iz strahu pred desnico se sredina sama spreminja v desnico". Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  12. "Združena levica razpada. Žnidaršič: IDS in Trs odhajata. Mesec: Žnidaršič izsiljuje". Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  13. "[VIDEO] Vodenje nove stranke Levica prevzema Luka Mesec". Planet TV (in Slovenian). Retrieved 25 June 2017.
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