{{EngvarB|date=April 2023}} {{Short description|Communist political party in Serbia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Infobox political party | name = Yugoslav Left | native_name = Југословенска левица<br />Jugoslovenska levica | native_name_lang = sr | logo = Jugoslovenska levica.svg | colorcode = {{party color|Yugoslav Left}} | founder = [[Mirjana Marković]] | foundation = 23 July 1994 | dissolution = 12 April 2010 | headquarters = Venizelosova 31, [[Belgrade]] | predecessor = [[League of Communists – Movement for Yugoslavia]] | ideology = {{ubl|class=nowrap |[[Neocommunism]] |[[Serbian nationalism]]}} | position = [[Far-left]] | slogan = "Jul je kul!"<br />("JUL is cool!") | colours = {{Color box|{{party color|Yugoslav Left}}|border=darkgray}} Red | website = {{URL|https://web.archive.org/web/20000902233920/http://www.jul.org.yu/indexyu.htm|jul.org.yu}} (archived) | country = Yugoslavia | country2 = Serbia | flag = }} The '''Yugoslav Left''',{{efn|{{langx|sr|Југословенска левица|Jugoslovenska levica}}}} also known as the '''Yugoslav United Left'''{{efn|{{langx|sr|Југословенска удружена левица|Jugoslovenska udružena levica}}}} ('''JUL'''), was a [[List of political parties in Serbia|political party]] in [[Serbia]] and the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]].<ref name="Janusz Bugajski">{{cite book|title=''Political Parties of Eastern Europe: A Guide to Politics in the Post-Communist Era''|author=Janusz Bugajski|publisher=The Center for Strategic and International Studies|location=Armonk, New York, USA|page=407}}</ref> At its peak, the party had 20 seats in [[Republic of Serbia (1992–2006)|Republic of Serbia's]] [[National Assembly (Serbia)|National Assembly]] following the [[1997 Serbian general election|1997 general election]].
== History == The party was formed in 1994 by merging 19 left-wing parties, led by the [[League of Communists – Movement for Yugoslavia]] (SK-PJ). It was led by [[Mirjana Marković]], originally holding the title of President of the Directorate.
Unlike the [[Socialist Party of Serbia]] (SPS) and its ally the [[Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro]] (DPS) which were direct descendants of the [[League of Communists of Serbia]] and [[League of Communists of Montenegro|Montenegro]] respectively, the Yugoslav Left was an all-Yugoslav party with members from both constituent bodies.<ref>[http://www.ptb.be/scripts/article.phtml?section=A3ABBBAC&obid=7220 Yugoslav Left leader: "All people in Yugoslavia should live together"]{{dead link|date=July 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Despite these differences, the JUL and the SPS collaborated closely. The JUL generally did not take part in elections separately. Several members of the SPS [[Crossing the floor|crossed the floor]] to JUL at some stage.<ref name = "Free Serbia">{{cite web |title=Yugoslav Left |url=https://freeserb.home.xs4all.nl/politics/e-jul.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302213219/https://freeserb.home.xs4all.nl/politics/e-jul.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 March 2012 |website=Free Serbia |access-date=28 March 2019 |date=10 December 1999}}</ref>
On 24 and 25 March 1995, the party held its 1st Congress at the [[Sava Center]] in [[Belgrade]], and theatre director Ljubiša Ristić was elected president.{{sfn|Thomas|1999|pp=225–6}}
In 1996, the JUL joined the [[Left Coalition (Serbia)|Left Coalition]] with the SPS and [[Liberals of Serbia|New Democracy]]. Following the [[1997 Serbian parliamentary election|1997 election]], the party had 20 MPs and representatives in various local assemblies. It held five ministerial posts in the [[second cabinet of Mirko Marjanović]].
At the 2nd Congress in [[Kragujevac]] on 6 April 2002, Marković was elected President of the Yugoslav Left.<ref>{{cite news |title=MIRJANA MARKOVIC IZABRANA ZA PREDSEDNICU JUL-A |url=https://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2002&mm=04&dd=06&nav_category=1&nav_id=57898 |access-date=4 April 2019 |agency=B92 |date=6 April 2002 |language=sr}}</ref>
It had a minimal presence in Montenegrin politics. At its peak, the JUL was part of the [[Patriotic Coalition for Yugoslavia]] in the [[2002 Montenegrin parliamentary election|2002 election]] with the [[People's Socialist Party of Montenegro]], and the [[Serbian Radical Party]]. The coalition won less than 3% of the vote and no seats.
In the [[2003 Serbian parliamentary election|2003 election in Serbia]], the JUL received only 0.1% of the vote.<ref>[http://www.broadleft.org/yu.htm Broad Left entry on JUL] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190009/http://www.broadleft.org/yu.htm |date=3 March 2016 }}</ref> The party officially ceased to exist on 12 April 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mira Marković danas nema šanse kao politički lider|url=https://www.srbijadanas.com/clanak/miru-markovic-danas-ne-bi-niko-podrzao-kao-politickog-lidera-28-03-2015|website=srbijadanas.com|publisher=Srbija Danas|access-date=20 March 2018|date=28 March 2015}}</ref>
== Ideology and platform == JUL has been described as a [[radical politics|radical]] or [[Far-left politics|far-left]] political party by various sources.<ref>{{Cite book |last=March |first=Luke |title=Radical left parties in Europe |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-15487-8 |location=Abingdon, Oxon |oclc=782918602}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Milosevic Moves to Stifle Dissent in Academia |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/world/europe/110198yugoslavia-purges.html |access-date=16 April 2022 |website=archive.nytimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Goati |first=Vladimir |title=Societies in conflict: the contribution of law and democracy to conflict resolution |publisher=European Commission For Democracy Through Law |year=1999 |location=Bled, Slovenia |pages=105 |chapter=The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia}}</ref> It has been described as [[neocommunist]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Serb Reformers Claim Victory |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=81861&page=1 |access-date=16 April 2022 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Serbia, Montenegro Future Undecided |url=https://apnews.com/article/8b4a9e47404b47da95485b91a92ca80d |access-date=16 April 2022 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Steele |first=Jonathon |year=2000 |title=Yugoslavia's hated regime crumbles |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/06/yugoslavia-milosevic-revolution-2000 |access-date=9 January 2018 |website=Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Goati |first=Vladimir |url=http://www.cesid.rs/images/1372054311_Vladimir%20Goati_knjiga.pdf |title=Izbori u Srbiji i Crnoj Gori od 1990. do 2013. i u SRJ od 1992. do 2003. |publisher=CeSID |year=2013 |isbn=978-86-83491-53-7 |location=Belgrade |pages=132 |language=sr}}</ref> [[communist]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 August 1999 |title=Porodične vrednosti Miloševićevih |language=sr |work=Vreme |url=https://www.vreme.rs/arhiva_html/451/13.html |access-date=27 April 2023 |archive-date=27 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427182335/https://www.vreme.rs/arhiva_html/451/13.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Marxist]],<ref name="Free Serbia" /> [[Serbian nationalism|nationalist]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Breuilly |first=John |title=The Oxford Handbook of the History of Nationalism |publisher=OUP Oxford |year=2013 |page=527}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Golubović |first=Zagorka |title=Politika i svakodnevni život: Srbija 1999–2002 |publisher=IFDT |year=2003 |page=225}}</ref> and [[Eurosceptic]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stojic |first=Marko |title=Party responses to the EU in the western Balkans : transformation, opposition or defiance? |date=2018 |isbn=978-3-319-59563-4 |location=Cham, Switzerland |oclc=1003200383}}</ref> In its political platform, it supported communism and general [[Yugoslavism]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 August 2015 |title=ŽIVA JE LEVICA, UMRLA NIJE: Evo da li je JUL JOŠ UVEK KUL. Iznenadiće vas čime se bave bivši funkcioneri partije Mire Marković! (VIDEO) |url=https://www.telegraf.rs/vesti/politika/1700433-ziva-je-levica-umrla-nije-evo-da-li-je-jul-jos-uvek-kul-iznenadice-vas-cime-se-bave-bivsi-funkcioneri-partije-mire-markovic-video |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=Telegraf.rs |language=sr}}</ref> JUL declared itself to be a party of all "left-wing and progressive forces that believed that the general interest always comes above private interest", including communists, [[Socialism|socialists]], [[Green politics|greens]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vulić |first1=Zorica |date=8 April 2000 |title=Ko je ovaj čovek: Vladimir Štambuk |language=sr |agency=Glas javnosti |url=http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2000/04/08/srpski/P00040710.shtm |access-date=22 August 2019 |archive-date=23 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123055710/http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2000/04/08/srpski/P00040710.shtm |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Social democracy|social democrats]], and [[Democratic socialism|democratic socialists]].<ref name="Janusz Bugajski" />
Political scientist {{ill|Srbobran Branković|sr}} stated about JUL that "its policies were totally opposite to its rhetoric."<ref>{{cite book |last=Branković |first=Srbobran |author-link=:sr:Srbobran Branković |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003063629-12/yugoslav-left-parties-srbobran-brankovi%C4%87 |title=The Communist Successor Parties of Central and Eastern Europe |chapter=The Yugoslav “Left” Parties |year=2003 |pages=206–223 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9781003063629 |doi=10.4324/9781003063629-12|s2cid=225474951 }}</ref> [[Aleksandar Vulin]], a co-founder and spokesman for JUL, left the party after perceiving it to have "betrayed its program and became a political mask for the wealthy sitting in the party", and later went on to found the [[Movement of Socialists]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nacional.hr/vucicev-klaun-s-misijom-otkrivanja-neprijatelja-srbije/ |title=Vučićev klaun s misijom otkrivanja neprijatelja Srbije |newspaper=[[Nacional (weekly)|Nacional]] |date=7 April 2015 |access-date=7 December 2023 |language=hr}}</ref>
=== Demographic characteristics === Its supporters believed in [[postmaterialism]], were opposed to private ownership, and supported law and order.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pavlović |first=Zoran M. |title=Stranačke pristalice i komponente političke kulture u Srbiji |publisher=Institute of Social Studies |year=2006 |location=Belgrade |language=sr}}</ref> Its social base was mainly amongst peasants and pauperised workers, but it also had members from the so-called ''[[nouveau riche]]'' of Serbia during [[Slobodan Milošević|Milošević's]] terms in office, and many high-ranked civil servants and army staff. During the 1990s, opponents of Milošević's government sometimes referred to the JUL "a branch of [[Communist Party of China]] in Yugoslavia".<ref name="Free Serbia" />
== Organisation == [[Mirjana Marković]], one of the original co-founders, was the first president of JUL.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Umrla Mira Marković |language=sr-latn |work=BBC News na srpskom |url=https://www.bbc.com/serbian/lat/srbija-47928797 |access-date=27 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=14 April 2019 |title=Preminula Mira Marković |url=https://www.danas.rs/vesti/politika/preminula-mira-markovic/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=Danas |language=sr-RS}}</ref>
=== International cooperation === The JUL visited the gatherings of several far-left political groups in [[Europe]] and worldwide. It held ties with the [[Communist Party of China]], the [[Communist Party of Cuba]] and the [[Workers' Party of Korea]].<ref name="Free Serbia"/>
== Electoral results == === Serbian parliamentary elections === {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" ! Year ! Popular vote ! % of popular vote ! # of seats ! Seat change ! Coalition ! Status |- ! [[1997 Serbian general election|1997]] | 1,418,036 | 34.26% | {{Composition bar|20|250|red}} | {{increase}} 20 | [[Left Coalition (Serbia)|Left Coalition]] | {{yes|government}} |- ! [[2000 Serbian parliamentary election|2000]] | 14,324 | 0.38% | {{Composition bar|0|250|red}} | {{decrease}} 20 | | style="background:#ddd;"| no seats |- ! [[2003 Serbian parliamentary election|2003]] | 3,771 | 0.09% | {{Composition bar|0|250|red}} | {{steady}} 0 | | style="background:#ddd;"| no seats |}
=== Montenegrin parliamentary elections === {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" ! Year ! Popular vote ! % of popular vote ! # of seats ! Seat change ! Coalition ! Government |- ! [[1996 Montenegrin parliamentary election|1996]] | 1,668 | 0.55% | {{Composition bar|0|250|red}} | New | | style="background:#ddd;"| no seats |- ! [[1998 Montenegrin parliamentary election|1998]] | 345 | 0.10% | {{Composition bar|0|250|red}} | {{steady}} 0 | | style="background:#ddd;"| no seats |- ! [[2001 Montenegrin parliamentary election|2001]] | 190 | 0.05% | {{Composition bar|0|250|red}} | {{steady}} 0 | | style="background:#ddd;"| no seats |- ! [[2002 Montenegrin parliamentary election|2002]] | 9,911 | 2.84% | {{Composition bar|0|250|red}} | {{steady}} 0 | [[Patriotic Coalition for Yugoslavia|PKJ]] | style="background:#ddd;"| no seats |}
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== Sources == {{Refbegin}} *{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Robert |title=Serbia Under Milošević: Politics in the 1990s |date=1999 |publisher=Hurst & Company |location=London |isbn=1-85065-341-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ih_Is_q4Rz8C |access-date=4 April 2019}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090519095942/http://www.pravda.rs/kolumne/1398/23-ul M. Marković interview on the party (2008)] {{in lang|sr}} {{Refend}}
{{Serbian political parties}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yugoslav Left}} [[Category:1994 establishments in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] [[Category:2010 disestablishments in Serbia]] [[Category:Communist parties in Montenegro]] [[Category:Communist parties in Serbia]] [[Category:Defunct political parties in Montenegro]] [[Category:Defunct political parties in Serbia]] [[Category:Political parties disestablished in 2010]] [[Category:Political parties established in 1994]] [[Category:Socialist parties in Yugoslavia]] [[Category:Socialist Party of Serbia]] [[Category:Far-left political parties]] [[Category:Eurosceptic parties in Serbia]] [[Category:Nationalist parties in Serbia]] [[Category:Marxist parties in Europe]]