Socialist Party of Serbia
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Socialist Party of Serbia
Социјалистичка Партија Србије Socijalistička Partija Srbije |
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| President | Ivica Dačić |
| Deputy president | Aleksandar Antić |
| Honorary president | Milutin Mrkonjić |
| Founder | Slobodan Milošević and Milutin Mrkonjić |
| Founded | July 17, 1990 |
| Preceded by | League of Communists of Serbia |
| Headquarters |
Studentski trg 15 Belgrade |
| Membership (2014) | 200,000 |
| Ideology |
Populism Social democracy National conservatism Left-wing nationalism Serbian nationalism |
| Political position | Centre-left to Left-wing |
| European affiliation | None |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colours | Red |
| National Assembly |
20 / 250
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| Assembly of Vojvodina |
8 / 120
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| City Assembly of Belgrade |
11 / 110
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| Website | |
| www |
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The Socialist Party of Serbia (Serbian: Социјалистичка партија Србије, СПС / Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS) is a political party in Serbia that identifies itself as a democratic socialist and social democratic party. Throughout its existence, the party has utilised some nationalist rhetoric and themes, and has therefore been labelled a Serbian nationalist party, although the SPS has never identified itself as such.
The Socialist Party of Serbia was founded in 1990 as a merger between the League of Communists of Serbia, led by Slobodan Milošević, and the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Serbia, led by Radmila Anđelković.
Its membership from its foundation in 1990 to 1997 involved many elements of the social strata of Serbia, including: state administrators, including business management elites of state-owned enterprises; employees in the state-owned sector; less privileged groups farmers; and dependants (the unemployed and pensioners). From 1998 to 2000, its membership included: apparatchiks at administrative and judicial levels; the nouveau riche, whose business success was founded solely from their affiliation with the regime; top army and police officials and a large majority of the police force. Following its foundation, the SPS demanded strict loyalty to its leader, Milošević, by top party officials and any sign of independence from such loyalty led to expulsion from the party. Anyone who went against policy as defined by the party leadership could face sanctions or expulsion.
The SPS during the Milošević era, has been accused by opposition of using an authoritarian style of rule and allowing a criminal economy to exist in Serbia including personal profiteering by the Milošević family from illegal business transactions in the arms trade, cigarettes and oil, although this illegal business was caused by the UN sanctions, and none of accusations for personal profiteering were ever proven at the court. Opposition media to the SPS or Milošević's administration were harassed by threats; media members involved were fired or arrested; independent media faced high fines mostly by Ministry of information led by the Serbian Radical Party's Aleksandar Vučić; state-sponsored paramilitaries seized radio equipment of opposition supporters; and in April 1999, the owner and distributor of the most popular daily newspaper in Serbia was killed, and although it was never proven on court that murder had any connections to SPS, opposition media and parties claimed so, but couldn't prove it even after they came to power. The SPS maintained the Communist era policy of maintaining connection with official trade unions; however, independent trade unions faced hostility and their activists were brutalized by police while in custody.
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Wikipedia