Democratic Party of Serbia

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Democratic Party of Serbia
Демократска странка Србије
Demokratska stranka Srbije
Leader	Vojislav Koštunica
Founded	1992
Headquarters	Pariska 13, Belgrade
Political ideology	National conservatism, Christian Democracy
International affiliation	International Democrat Union
European affiliation	European People's Party
Colour(s)	(Serbian tricolour) Red, Blue, White
Website	www.dss.org.yu
Also about Serbian politics	Politics List of political parties Elections

The Democratic Party of Serbia (Serbian: Демократска странка Србије or Demokratska stranka Srbije ) is one of the main centre-right political parties in Serbia. It is a national conservative party.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Foundation 1.2 1992-1999 1.3 Events since 2000 2 See also 3 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation

Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) was founded when a wing of the Democratic Party (DS) that supported the DS's involvement in DEPOS coalition decided to leave the party and form a new one in the summer of 1992.

The split within DS was initiated much earlier, having to do with more than just day-to-day political direction. Soon after the bloody anti-Milošević demonstrations of March 9, 1991, significant differences surfaced within DS ranks in regards to the national question in former Yugoslavia. The DS' wing that eventually left to form DSS thought the party needed to take a clear stance on the national question in the former Yugoslavia especially as it relates to the position of Serbs in it. In the atmosphere of what they viewed to be grave manipulation of Serbian national interests by Slobodan Milošević's regime, this wing approached the Serbian position in Yugoslavia neither as question of political democracy nor economic equality but as larger question of Serbian national survival.

The other DS wing basically did not believe a genuine national issue in former Yugoslavia existed and tended to write it off as mere manipulation within local national bureaucracies. The extent of their involvement in such discussion went as far as noting that Serbian nation as the most populous one within the then still existing SFR Yugoslavia has a special responsibility for that country's survival.

The DSS founding assembly was held on July 26, 1992 and Vojislav Koštunica was elected party president. First regular party assembly took place on December 5, 1992, which is when the founding manifesto was adopted, as well as the party program and statute.

[edit] 1992-1999

The first ever elections DSS took part in were the December 1992 parliamentary ones. As part of DEPOS, DSS received 18 seats in the National Assembly of Serbia - a number that grew to 20 after non-party-aligned members of DEPOS decided to leave the Parliament.

Soon, similar differences of opinion over ways in which to fight the Milošević regime as well as approach to national issue that led to division in DS, appeared in DEPOS too. DSS decided to leave the coalition in mid-1993.

Next parliamentary elections in Serbia were called prematurely in late 1993. This time DSS entered alone and got seven seats. This was a period of party's political stagnation as it did not have enough MPs to significantly influence matters in Serbia and it was also left without representation in the Federal Assembly.

In 1996, another opposition bloc coalition -- 'Zajedno' -- was created. DSS entered the 1996 federal parliamentary elections as part of the coalition and won four seats in the Federal Assembly.

[edit] Events since 2000

The party was a founding member of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia but split from the coalition in late 2001. At the legislative elections of 28 December 2003, the party won 17.7% of the popular vote, translating into 53 Serbian National Assembly seats (out of 250). Of these 53 seats, three went to the People's Democratic Party (NDS), one to the Serbian Liberal Party and one to the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS)^{[citation needed]}.

In 2004 NDS left the coalition with DSS, leaving it with 50 seats in the National Assembly. However, in 2005 both the NDS and the SDS merged into the DSS, bringing its caucus size in parliament to 52.

Its leader, Vojislav Koštunica, is currently the Prime Minister of Serbia.

The Democratic Party of Serbia won 47 seats in coalition with New Serbia in the Serbian parliamentary election, 2007, receiving 667,615 votes or 16.55% of the total popular vote. DSS itself received 33 seats in the parliament, and formed a group together with New Serbia, the Serbian Democratic Renewal Movement and United Serbia, with DSS MPs Miloš Aligrudić as president and Miroslav Markićević as vice-president.

[edit] See also

• Conservativism in Serbia

[edit] External links

• Official web site