Slovene People's Party (historical)

Šusteršič, Krek and their colleagues worked to establish a broad network of cooperatives and lenders, which offered credit on favourable terms and assistance.

[citation needed] In October 1909, the Carniolan SLS joined with related Catholic organisations from Lower Styria, Carinthia, Gorizia and Gradisca and Istria.

In 1917, the SLS had a decisive influence on the adoption of the May Declaration, in which members of the Reichsrat called for the union of South Slav lands under the Habsburg crown.

From a federalist program, it turned back on the defence of purely Slovenian interests, trying to form a compromise with the centralist establishment.

After multiple unsuccessful attempts, the SLS was included in the Yugoslav government in 1927, when it formed a coalition with the Serbian People's Radical Party.

After some initial opposition to the dictatorship, the leadership of the Slovene People's Party started to collaborate with the government, in the hope to alleviate possible negative consequences for Slovenia.

[citation needed] After King Alexander’s death in 1934, the SLS started working for a gradual re-approachment to the central government.

The three groups formed a unified coalition party, called Yugoslav Radical Community, led by the Prime Minister Milan Stojadinović.

[citation needed] Despite questions of fairness in the elections, it is beyond doubt that before the outbreak of World War II, the SLS was still the largest and most powerful political party in Slovenia, enjoying the support of vast strata of the population.

The new president of the SLS was Father Franc Kulovec, a Roman Catholic cleric, but he was killed in 1941 during the German bombardment of Belgrade.

After internal discussions, it was decided that Krek should leave with members of the Yugoslav government for London, while Natlačen, who was also governor (ban) of the Drava Banovina, should lead the party during the occupation.

It was in that year that the party merged with the Slovene Christian Democrats (SKD), led by Lojze Peterle, and Marko Kremžar was elected its vice-president.

Representatives of the Slovene People's Party in the Provincial Diet of Carniola shortly before World War I . The party's president Ivan Šušteršič sits in the middle.
The funeral of Janez Evangelist Krek in Ljubljana in 1917 turned into a manifestation of the Party popular support.
Cultural meeting organized by the Slovene People's Party during the January 6th Dictatorship , when the SLS became the main opposition to the authoritarian regime of Alexander I of Yugoslavia in Slovenia.