The Unity List ( Slovene: ''Enotna lista'', german: Einheitsliste) or EL seeks to represent the indigenous Slovene minority in

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...

. It came into existence in 1991, replacing the "Club of Slovenian Local Councillors" (Slovene: , German: ), which had existed as an initiative of local Slovenian party lists from various local councils. Slovenian party lists have regularly contested elections in Carinthia since 1950. The current chairperson of the EL is Vladimir Smrtnik. Since the percentage of Slovenians in Carinthia is below the

election threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

in the Carinthian Parliament (10%), the EL cannot represent the Carinthian Slovenes in the Carinthian or Austrian Parliament. In 1975 the EL missed a mandate in the Carinthian parliament by a few hundred votes (the vote tally then, of 6130, is the highest the party ever got after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

). In 1979, however, Carinthia was split up in four electoral districts, making it impossible for the EL to pass the threshold on its own, without making any electoral alliance. Therefore, on both Land and national levels, the EL has tended to participate in electoral unions (sometimes with the Greens, sometimes with the

Liberal Forum The Liberal Forum (german: Liberales Forum, LiF) was a centrist, liberal political party in Austria. The party was active from February 1993 to January 2014, when the party merged into NEOS – The New Austria. A member of the Liberal Intern ...

). The party is represented on its own on the local level. It has councilors in several local councils in the bilingual region of Carinthia. Currently, 52 local councillors are members of the EL. Since March 2009, the municipality of

Eisenkappel-Vellach Eisenkappel-Vellach ( sl, Železna Kapla-Bela) is a market town in the Völkermarkt District in the Austrian state of Carinthia. The spa town is the southernmost municipality of Austria, close to the border with Slovenia. Geography The municipal ...

( sl, Železna Kapla-Bela) is run by a mayor of the EL. The party is full member of the

European Free Alliance The European Free Alliance (EFA) is a European political party that consists of various regionalist, separatist and ethnic minority political parties in Europe. Member parties advocate either for full political independence and sovereignty, ...

References

External links

Party website
Political parties in Austria Political parties of minorities Carinthian Slovenes European Free Alliance 1973 establishments in Austria {{austria-party-stub

See also

References

External links