Sajus na democratichnite Sili

Sajus na democratichnite Sili
Party leader	Emil Kabaiwanow
founding	December 7, 1989
Alignment	conservative , Christian democratic
Colours)	blue
International connections	IDU , CDI
European party	EPP
Website	www.sds.bg

The Union of Democratic Forces ( Bulgarian Съюз на демократичните сили / Sajus na Demokratitschnite Sili , СДС / SDS for short) is a conservative party in Bulgaria . The SDS is a member of the International Democratic Union , the Christian Democratic International and the European People's Party . The party color is blue. The newspaper Demokrazija (Bulgarian for 'democracy') is the party organ.

The SDS was founded in 1989 by a number of opposition parties and groups against communist rule. From the first free election in 1990 to 2001, it was one of the two strongest parties in the country. 1991–92 and 1997–2001 she led the government. Since then, their share of the vote has steadily decreased. She has not been represented in the Bulgarian Parliament since 2013.

history

Foundation and first successes

Shelju Shelev, first chairman of the SDS and President of Bulgaria

The SDS was founded on December 7, 1989 as an alliance of the following ten opposition parties and groups in communist Bulgaria : Klub sa glastnost i demokrazija (bulg. Клубът за гласност и демокрация), association Ekoglastskonpa ("Светалия" Светка Светка сладра "Светка Светка Светка Сергенскит" Светка Светка Светали сласност за гласност и демокрация) . Конфедерацията на труда "Подкрепа"), Independent society for the protection of human rights bulg (. Независимото дружество за защита на правата на човека), Committee for protection of religious rights, freedom of conscience and spiritual values bulg (. Комитетът за защита на религиозните права , свободата на съвестта и духовните ценности), Club after 1945 unjust oppressed (bulg. Клубът на незаконно репресираните след 1945 г.), Independent Student association (bulg. Независимото студентско дружество), movement of citizens initiative (bulg. Движение "Гражданска инициатива") , BRSDP (o) (bulg. БРСДП (о)), BSNS - Nikola Petkow (bulg. БЗНС "Никола Петков"). Later the Radical Democratic Party , the Green Party , the New Social Democratic Party (bulg. Нова социалдемократическа партия), the United Democratic Center (bulg. Обединен Обединен демократичетан чораненен демократичен чоранен демократичен чораненен демократичен демократичен демократичен чоранен ченраненен демократичен чораненен демократичен. The first chairman of the Union was the philosopher and then dissident Schelju Schelew , who also became the first democratically elected President of Bulgaria in 1990 and led the party until 1996.

The SDS participated in the first democratic government led by the socialists . After the coalition collapsed in 1991, the SDS led the government alone. A year later, the socialists again took over the government with Schan Widenow . Under the policies of the ex-communists, the state fell into economic ruin in 1996. During this period, the Coalition United Democratic Forces (ODS) was founded in 1996 with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation . In addition to the SDS, the People's Union (a coalition of the Democratic Party and BSNS-NS ) and the DPS were represented in the coalition . The goal of the coalition was to oust the ex-communists of the BSP from political power. The economic situation in the country deteriorated, leading to hyperinflation and mass protests across the country in the winter of 1996/97 , which were led by the ODS. On February 13, 1997 Widenow resigned after long negotiations with the ODS opposition in favor of an interim government under Stefan Sofijanski .

Government of Ivan Kostov

In the early elections in April 1997 , the SDS (again in a coalition with the ODS) won an absolute majority in parliament in 1997. Ivan Kostov became Bulgarian Prime Minister and chairman of the Union, which was now organized as a party. Another member, Petar Stoyanov , succeeded Schelev as president that year.

The unpopular reforms carried out by Kostow, but necessary for EU accession, led to the defeat of the SDS in the 2001 elections , which the National Movement Simeon the Second won. The SDS received only 18.2% of the vote and 51 of the 240 seats.

From 2001 onwards

After Kostov resigned after the election, Ekaterina Mikhailova took over the party chairmanship for a short time, followed by former Foreign Minister Nadejda Michajlowa . In 2002 President Stoyanov was replaced by the socialist Georgi Parvanov . After Kostov left the party in 2004 and founded the Democrats for a strong Bulgaria , the SDS was further weakened and lost again in the 2005 elections . It now only got 7.7% and 20 out of 240 seats, making it the fifth strongest force behind the right-wing extremist coalition Ataka .

The party chairman from 2005 to 2007 was the former President Petar Stoyanov . After the unsuccessful European elections, in which the SDS could not obtain a single mandate, the XVII followed on July 15, 2007. National Conference of the SDS. The National Conference also elected a new party leader - businessman Plamen Yurukov .

In December 2008, all party members voted for Martin Dimitrov as chairman of the party. This happened for the first time in the history of the party on the initiative of Plamen Jurukow, who did not run, but supported the second-ranked Rumen Christow .

In the European elections in Bulgaria in 2009 and in the Bulgarian national elections on July 5, 2009, the SDS ran as part of the Blue Coalition . After the European elections, the coalition was able to appoint one member. In the parliamentary elections, it was again able to convince 6.76% of the voters and provide 15 members in the 41st Bulgarian parliament.

See also : Elections in Bulgaria

Party leader

• Schelju Shelev (1989–1990)
• Petar Beron (1990)
• Filip Dimitrov (1990-1994)
• Ivan Kostov (1994-2001)
• Ekaterina Michailowa (2001-2002)
• Nadeschda Michajlowa (2002-2005)
• Petar Stoyanov (2005-2007)
• Plamen Jurukow (July 15, 2007 to December 21, 2008)
• Martin Dimitrov (December 21, 2008 to June 5, 2012)
• Emil Kabaiwanow (since July 15, 2012)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Coordinating Council of the Union of Democratic Forces. Demokratsiya Newspaper , April 27, 1990.
2. ↑ Targeted attacks against the bourgeois parties with the help of the courts?  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

• Official website of the SDS (Bulgarian)
• History of SDS on Capital -Online (Bulgarian)