The Istrian Democratic Assembly ( hr, Istarski demokratski sabor, it, Dieta democratica istriana or IDS-DDI) is a
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
to
centre-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
,
regionalist,
liberal political party in Croatia
This article lists political parties in Croatia.
Croatia has a multi-party system with numerous parties that must collaborate to form coalition governments; a party rarely has a chance of gaining power alone. Between January 1990 (when political ...
primarily operating in
Istria County
Istria County (; hr, Istarska županija; it, Regione istriana, "Istrian Region") is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula ( out of , or 89%).
Administrative centers in the county are ...
.
IDS was founded on the 14 February 1990 by the writer
Ivan Pauletta
Ivan Corrado Pauletta (December 22, 1936 – March 18, 2017) was an Istrian Italian politician, journalist and writer active in Croatia.
Early life and education
Pauletta was born in Premantura, a village in the municipality of Medulin, in the ...
. IDS embraces principles of respect for human rights and freedoms, regionalism and historical characteristics of
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwe ...
, protection of private property and anti-fascism. Party advocates decentralization of Croatia,
further development of the
Adriatic Euroregion
The Adriatic Ionian Euroregion is a Euroregion comprising countries and their subdivisions bordering the Adriatic and Ionian Sea. The president of the organization is Nikola Dobroslavić, President of the Region of Dubrovnik. The Euroregion is ...
and the establishment of a transnational and cross-border euro-region encompassing the whole of Istria. The party president is currently
Dalibor Paus Dalibor may refer to:
* Dalibor (name), Slavic surname and masculine given name
* ''Dalibor'' (film), a 1956 Czech film
* ''Dalibor'' (opera), 1868 opera by Bedřich Smetana, based on the life of Dalibor z Kozojed, the 15th century Czech knight ...
, municipal mayor of
Barban. IDS held the
Ministry of European Integration between 2000 and 2001 in the
Cabinet of Ivica Račan and
Ministry of Tourism between 2011 and 2015 in the
Cabinet of Zoran Milanović. IDS member
Boris Miletić
Boris Miletić (; born 2 September 1975) is a Croatian economist and politician who has been prefect of Istria County since 2021 and president of the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) from 2014 to 2021.
Miletić did his undergraduate studies a ...
serves as current
County Prefect of the Istrian County, while former prefect
Valter Flego serves as a member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
. All
prefects of Istria County were members of IDS. In addition, out of 10 towns in Istria county, IDS rules over 5.
IDS is member of the
Liberal International
Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...
and
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europ ...
.
Symbols
The three rams on the party coat of arms represent a historical symbol of the region, which is also represented by the ram in the fourth of the five parts of the crown resting atop the
Croatian coat of arms
The coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Grb Republike Hrvatske) consists of one main shield and five smaller shields which form a crown over the main shield. The main coat of arms is a checkerboard (chequy) that consists of 13 red and ...
, 25-field white and red chequerboard, on the Croatian flag.
History
The party was founded in 1990 by Ivan Pauletta, Elio Martinčić and Mario Sandrić, on the eve of the
first multi-party elections in Croatia after
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
. The party decided not to participate, thus allowing the post-communist
Social Democratic Party of Croatia
The Social Democratic Party of Croatia ( hr, Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske, SDP) is a social-democratic political party in Croatia. The SDP is anti-fascist, progressive, and strongly pro-European. The SDP was formed in 1990 as the succes ...
(SDP) to sweep the region's votes.
The party was led by
Ivan Jakovčić between 1991 and 2014. IDS instead made its electoral debut in the
1992 elections and used the collapse of the SDP to take all three Istrian constituencies.
This result turned Istria into an area of significant concern for Croatian President
Franjo Tuđman
Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...
and his
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Cr ...
(HDZ), which had dominated every other region in Croatia. For the
first elections for Croatian Chamber of Counties, which also coincided with the first election for newly formed
Istria County
Istria County (; hr, Istarska županija; it, Regione istriana, "Istrian Region") is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula ( out of , or 89%).
Administrative centers in the county are ...
, state-controlled media launched an unprecedented media blitz directed almost exclusively at Istria. This effort spectacularly backfired as Istrian voters gave almost three quarters of their votes to IDS. After that no party challenged IDS supremacy in Istria, at least not directly.
The main policy of the IDS is intercession of cultural and economical identity of Istria and equal status for
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
and
Croatian in Istria. This was in opposition to Tuđman and his hard-line nationalism. Other Croatian political parties were more pragmatic, and IDS cooperated with them in the Croatian Parliament and during elections. In Istria, however, IDS is bitterly opposed by local branches of SDP, as well as their former member and first Istrian prefect
Luciano Delbianco who had defected and formed a new party called
Istrian Democratic Forum.
IDS was briefly part of the national government following 2000
parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
and
presidential elections. One year later, IDS, dissatisfied with the way
Ivica Račan
Ivica Račan (; 24 February 1944 – 29 April 2007) was a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2000 to 2003, heading two centre-left coalition governments.
Račan became the first prime minister of Croatia not to be ...
and his coalition partners treated Istria, left the government, although they continued to support it in Parliament.
In 2006, IDS joined the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europ ...
(ALDE) Party.
From 2010–2015 IDS was a member of the
Kukuriku coalition. Its member
Darko Lorencin served as the minister of tourism in the Croatian government; he is a cousin of
Beatrice Lorenzin: they are of a same Italian-Croat family.
In the
Croatian Parliament
The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sa ...
,
Damir Kajin
Damir Kajin (born 3 February 1962) is a Croatian politician.
Born in Koper, he grew up in Buzet.
Kajin was the Istrian Democratic Assembly
The Istrian Democratic Assembly ( hr, Istarski demokratski sabor, it, Dieta democratica istriana or I ...
most frequently acted as the party's spokesperson, and he headed the party list in the 2007 elections where the party gained 3 representatives. Kajin was however removed from the party's membership on 3 January 2013 after forming his own coalition for the 2013 local elections in Istria. This reduced the IDS from three to two representatives in the
Croatian Sabor
The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people ...
, and forced the party's parliamentary club to dissolve due to insufficient membership.
On February 4, 2022, the party's presidency launched disciplinary proceedings against former President
Boris Miletić
Boris Miletić (; born 2 September 1975) is a Croatian economist and politician who has been prefect of Istria County since 2021 and president of the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) from 2014 to 2021.
Miletić did his undergraduate studies a ...
, leading Miletić to leave party a day later and leaving the IDS without an
Istrian county prefect for the first time since the
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
was introduced in 1993.
Electoral history
Parliament (''
Sabor
The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabo ...
'')
European Parliament
See also
*
Istrianism
Istrianism or Istrianness is the name given to the regionalist identity developed by the inhabitants of the part of Istria located in Croatia. Istria is the biggest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea and a multiethnic region divided between Croatia ...
*
List of active separatist movements in Europe
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1990 establishments in Croatia
Political parties established in 1990
Regionalist parties in Croatia
Liberal International
Liberal parties in Croatia
Social liberal parties
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party member parties
Pro-European political parties in Croatia