Slovene Union
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| Slovene Union | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Drago Štoka |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Headquarters | Via G. Gallina, 5/III
34122 Trieste |
| Newspaper | Skupnost |
| Ideology | Centrism, Christian Democracy, Social Liberalism |
| European party | European Free Alliance |
| Website | www.slovenskaskupnost.net |
The Slovene Union (Slovene: Slovenska skupnost , Italian: Unione Slovena) is a centrist Italian political party representing the Slovene minority in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Its name in Slovene means literaly "The Slovene Community", but the denomination "Slovene Union" is used in other languages.
The party was founded in the 1960s to represent the anti-Communist Slovenes in the Italian Julian March (provinces of Trieste and Gorizia). It later extended its presence also in the Venetian Slovenia and the Canale Valley. It has been considered to be sympathetic to the policies of the Roman Catholic Church and has drawn its support from various Slovene Catholic institutions in Italy, such as the Hermagoras Society and the Council of Slovene Organizations.
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[edit] History
The Slovene Union was founded in 1962 with the merge of the Slovene Democratic Union (Slovenska demokratska zveza) and the Christian Social Union (Krščanska socialna zveza), two Slovene political parties in Italy established after World War Two. Both parties shared an anti-fascist ideology, they were both opposed to Italian nationalism and centralism, as well as to the Communist regime in the nearby Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Among the founders of the two political parties which were several prominent figures such as Avgust Sfiligoj, Andrej Uršič, Engelbert Besednjak and Josip Agneletto. Both parties soon established a close collaboration, creating many unitary lists in municipal and provincial elections. Between 1947 and 1954, a unitary action was hindered by the fact that the Slovene minority was split into two separate political realities, one in the Republic of Italy and the other in the Free Territory of Trieste.
Since the elections of 1963, the party has participated in nearly all general, regional and municipal elections in Italy. Beginning from the late 1960s, it frequently allied itself with the Christian Democracy. Since its foundation, the Slovene Union has maintained close relationships with the South Tyrol People's Party and the Valdotanian Union. In the general elections of 1992, the Slovene Union ran for parliament in an alliance with the Valdotanian Union, the Sardinian Action Party, the Union for South Tyrol and some smaller autonomist and federalist parties. This unitary list obtained a seat in the Chamber of Deputies and one in the Senate of the Republic, although none of them was from the Slovene Union.
Since the beginning of the so-called Second Republic, the party has allied itself with centre left coalitions, such as the Olive tree coalition, and Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy.
[edit] Popular support
Between 2003 and 2008, the party was represented in the Region Council of Friuli-Venezia Giulia by Mirko Špacapan, elected in the list of Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. In the 2008 regional election the party won 1.2% of the vote (4.5% in the Province of Trieste and 2.6% in the Province of Gorizia) and elected a regional deputy, Igor Gabrovec.[1]
The party has a strong support in border areas with Slovenia (44.4% in the municipality of Monrupino, 43.1% in San Floriano del Collio, 25.4% in Savogna d'Isonzo, 21.0% in Doberdò del Lago, 20.5% in Sgonico, 18.2% in San Dorligo della Valle, 17.4% in Duino-Aurisina and 4.9% in Gorizia) and retains some support in the areas of the Province of Udine, traditionally known as Venetian Slovenia (for example 18.1% in Drenchia, 7.5% in San Leonardo, 7.1% in Grimacco, 5.8% in San Pietro al Natisone and 4.7% in Stregna).
[edit] Media
The party has an official newspaper, called Skupnost ("Community"). The weekly journal Novi glas ("The New Voice"), published in Gorizia by the Hermagoras Society is also generally supportive of the party's program, policies and ideology, although it is sometimes critical towards its actions.
[edit] Prominent members
Several public figures of the Slovene minority in Italy have been public supporters of the Slovene Union, including the authors Boris Pahor and Alojz Rebula, historian Jože Pirjevec, journalist, editor and historian Ivo Jevnikar and others.
