“The time before us can be most picturesquely expressed with the words that were 100 years ago written by the Slovenian poet and general Rudolf Maister: Brothers, our spring is pushing up from the ground, lively as the fierce north-east wind, strong as a wave,” President of the Slovenian Democratic Party Janez Janša said at the celebration of its 28th anniversary.
On Saturday 18 February, members and supporters of the biggest opposition party marked the 28th anniversary of the existence of the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) in Žalec. More than 400 people attended the celebration. It is a party with a rich tradition, a family which continues to fight for the Slovenian nation and its rights as well as, as stated by its president Janša, “against the division into first and second class citizens”. SDS is also the only party in the current composition of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia which has entered the “house of democracy” more than once and has more than 10 elected deputies.
Knowledge, internet, and constant changes
In his speech, Janez Janša highlighted for the members of the great SDS family the famous thought that had been uttered by the English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon about five centuries ago, namely that knowledge is power. “This great equaliser, knowledge, education, has been joined in the last 15 years by the internet. Firstly, because the technology allows everyone, whether poor or rich, to access vast amounts of knowledge. Ten million times more knowledge and a faster access than 20 years ago,” said Janša, stressing that all this has also drastically changed the way the economy works and the process of forming a political authority.
“If there is anything that marked these 28 years of the political activity of SDS, it is that we have faithfully followed Dr Jože Pučnik’s tradition, ”Janša emphasised, stressing: “It is this fight against the division of Slovenians into first and second class citizens, the fight for the equal opportunities of children, that is the fundamental tenet of the party. I believe that this tenet will remain a central part of the core of our programme for many decades to come.”