Zares
Zares | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Gregor Golobič |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Ljubljana |
| Ideology | Social liberalism, Liberalism |
| European affiliation | European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party |
| European Parliament group | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
| International affiliation | Liberal International (Observer) |
| Colours | Orange |
| Website | |
| http://www.zares.si | |
Zares (Slovene meaning For Real) is a centre-left social-liberal[1] political party in the Republic of Slovenia. Its motto is "New Politics" (Slovene: nova politika). Its president is Gregor Golobič, former Secretary General of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia and former close advisor to the late Janez Drnovšek, who had previously abandoned active political involvement due to disagreements with his party. Today, it is the third largest party in Slovenia, after the Social Democrats and the Slovenian Democratic Party.
Zares was founded in 2007 as the result of a split within the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia, when 6 MPs of the National Assembly, led by former Minister of Economy Matej Lahovnik, left their original party and founded a new parliamentary group. In the 2007 presidential election, the party supported Danilo Türk.
Since 17 November 2007, Zares has been an observer member of the Liberal International[2]. The party supports a social progressive and economically social-democratic agenda, strongly supports the European Union and was a staunch opponent of the former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša.
The party's first election, Zares gathered 9.4% of the vote, gaining 9 parliamentary seats and became the third strongest party in Slovenia. Before the election the party allied itself with the Social Democrats and the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia in an unofficial coalition. They are a part of the new centre-left government led by Social Democrat party president Borut Pahor.
The famous Slovenian sociological and philosopher Slavoj Žižek has also voiced his support for the party, as did the prominent literary historian and philosopher Taras Kermauner, writers Feri Lainšček and Peter Božič, and influential editor and journalist Bernarda Jeklin.
Prominent members
- Gregor Golobič
- Pavle Gantar
- Matej Lahovnik
- Majda Širca
- Pavle Zgaga
- Franco Juri
- Ivo Vajgl
- Janez Kopač
- Vito Turk
- Andrej Rus
External links
- ZARES - new politics official site
References
| National Assembly |
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| European Parliament | |||||||
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