EGP News

GREEN PARTY OF THE MONTH : SMS (SLOVENIA ) 10th ANNIVERSARY 4th JULY 2010

Friday July 09 2010 12:56:00 PM

1) SMS are celebrating 10 years as a political party on 4th of July. Can you tell us something about how the party was set up and what the original motivation was?

SMS - Youth Party of Slovenia, nowadays Youth Party – Greens of Europe (short name: SMS – ZELENI, abbrev. SMS) was built in July 2000, with a clear motivation- to include youth and all the others left behind by mainstream politics in the decision making process on a national and local level. It was made possible by the cooperation of different youth organisations and individuals active in student politics or in civil society.

2) Can you explain something about the name of your party?

Our party name was very attractive, calling for new, fresh politics. We were able to gather many players from different youth organisations and also those who felt that youth needs more opportunities and their voice to be heard: that’s why the core of our name was ‘Youth’. Also the abbreviation – SMS (Stranka mladih Slovenije) - was very ‘smart’, especially at that time when the invasion of mobile phones was really taking off.

3)What were the challenges in terms of finding space for yourselves on the Slovenian political landscape and how did you overcome them?

There were many challenges that we had to face because the political sphere was (and still is) closed to any real newcomers. We were facing negative predictions in opinion polls before the first election and a lot of anger from ‘big ones’ afterwards. We succeeded in some ways just because of our attempt to implement our positive and fresh ideas in daily politics. We have still not overcome all the barricades and are continuing to fight for more equal opportunities and a truly democratic society with a strong participative democracy.

4)What have been the key highlights or achievements of the past 10 years?

Without any doubt, the highlight was entering the National assembly with 4 deputies and being able to work in the ‘forefront’ of national politics. We suggested many positive solutions to the problems faced by citizens and were able to get an important law on a student food subsidies adopted. We managed to get a law on kindergartens adopted (as a non parliamentary party, through civil initiative) and this law gave more space to children in kindergartens and also made kindergartens much more affordable. We are also known for our strong anti-corruption stance because we proposed a referendum against closing down the anti-corruption commission and collected signatures for that purpose. We were successful in protecting the commission. We ran in all elections from when our party was founded, only twice in a coalition. Presenting our own candidate, Darko Krajnc, in the presidential election in 2007 was good decision that brought us ‘back into the game’. Another very important decision for us as a party was for us to be a green-oriented party and of course to become a member of the European Green Family – the EGP.

5) What are your political ambitions for the next 10 years?

First we need to gather our strength for autumn’s local elections, to obtain a good result and to maintain our representation at the local level. The biggest challenge for us will definitely be the next national elections in 2012. There is a need and a political space for a party like SMS in the Slovenian political arena and we need to prove that we are worthy of voters’ trust. That will also be a decisive moment for many members of our party who are dedicating their time and lives to politics, because as a non-parliamentary party there is no real chance to influence and be present in the decision making process, not even with distinctive and relevant ideas. Ten years is quite a long period, but step by step I believe we can change the political landscape in Slovenia with a new generation of politicians that will eventually enter government.

6)What are the main issues that you are campaigning on at the moment?

One of the major issues recently was our active involvement in the public debate concerning the national referendum on the arbitrage agreement to peacefully resolve border disputes with Croatia. We were a decisive element in the successful campaign in favour of the agreement.

Our main issues in 2010 are mainly in the fields of social rights, the environment and education. Government draft proposals for a new law named the Family Code are being met with strong and differing public reactions since Slovenia is very much in favour of traditional values. We in SMS-ZELENI are calling for the new Family code to be as ‘child- friendly’ as possible. We believe that the new definition of a family included in the Family Code is highly positive in that it gives legal protection to same-sex unions and one parent families and allows a single adult and a child to be considered a family even if they are not related by blood.

We are also campaigning against a new proposition for labour legislation which will make it impossible for secondary school and university students to get temporary and periodic work through a student or youth organisation, such as a student service or recruitment agency. Other parts of the proposed legislation dealing with elderly people, the unemployed and immigrants go in the wrong direction in our opinion since they downgrade the existing social rights of workers and undermine the independence of students and student organisations.

There are also several environmental issues that we have campaigning on for some time now and where would really need the support of European, local and regional Greens. We are fighting plans by the Italian government to build gas terminals in Žavlie which is in the bay of Trieste that borders Slovenian waters as they will have unprecedented environmental consequences for sea water, marine life and the coastal habitat and might mean the end of Slovenian coastal tourism. The Italian authorities have not presented any environmental and cross-border risk assessment plans till now.

We have called for a moratorium on the construction of a new coal-fired plant in Šoštanj. CO2 emissions in Slovenia already amount to 20 million tonnes, which could mean significant failures to meet Kyoto criteria by 2012. Instead of investing in low-carbon and sustainable sources for energy production, the government is supporting plans to build a new 600MWh brown coal power plant in Šoštanj (TEŠ 6). In the wider public and professional discussions alternative energy solutions that would bring less impact on the environment were proposed.

The new thermal power plant is not compatible with the Slovenian National Energy Program. This in line with the EU White Paper on renewable energy projects which says that renewable energy sources in 2012. The EU has set a target of increasing by 2020 the share of renewable energy sources to 20 percent of total energy consumption. The construction of TEŠ 6, without at least equally large investment in renewable energy, would make such a goal difficult to achieve.

7) In what ways have you changed the political debate in Slovenia since you were formed 10 years ago?

We have shown that the younger generation needs to be and can be represented in the decision making process. Besides that we are not involved in ‘old political arguments’ and are future-oriented. We also promote a new style of political debate with more decent manners and less populism and ideological positioning.

8) How have you changed as a party in the past 10 years?

We survived many tough situations which helped us also to become stronger and more cohesive. SMS entered parliament just 3 months after being founded. After some internal divisions and attacks from political rivals, we made decisive moves in the direction of modern green politics. Our party grew up in those 10 years and now we realise how hard the fight for real change is. We have learned many important lessons and are not naïve anymore. SMS – ZELENI have become a party that can prove to the people that politics can be conducted in a better way.

9) When are your next important elections and what is your strategy to achieve a good result?

In the beginning of October 2010 we have countrywide local elections where we will run for positions in municipal councils as well for major positions. Of course we will also run also for district councillors and at a micro-level of the community in villages.We will campaign on some countrywide topics and also leave space for specific local issues. Our committees are free to decide upon their lists of candidates, possible coalitions, and support for major candidates etc. On a national level we’ll have a campaign manager and a coordination team.

Every election is important, but by far the most important for us is the next national election in 2012, so we are already developing a plan for that. We are also setting up an alternative Green Government made up of professionals from different fields and leaded by a president of Programme Council of SMS.

10) Why is being part of the European Green Party important for you?

SMS chose a future-oriented political programme and after a short period of being more or less a generational party we turned green. It was not a difficult decision since our programme and ideals are totally compatible with the modern European Green Party programme. The fact of being a part of a European Green family is also very positive for party building and motivates our members. It is a positive recognition of our programme orientation and efforts. This may in some cases lead to a more positive attitude to SMS from the Slovenian public.