The ZKS soon initiated the multi-party system which brought more democracy to Slovenia. In several important speeches, Kucan spoke eloquently about individual freedom and democracy. He saw that the old system was doomed if people were not granted a political voice. "The freedoms of an individual are limited solely by the boundaries of equal rights and the freedoms of others," he stated in a July 1986 political speech.
Kucan and the New Slovenia
By 1988, Slovenia was gaining a reputation as a forward-looking state with more political freedoms and more industrial base than most of its Slavic neighbors. The first multi-party elections were held in 1990, when Kucan became president of the Republic of Slovenia. In 1991, as the old Soviet Union was breaking up, Slovenia declared itself independent of Yugoslavia after a ten-day "war," perpetrated mostly by Serbians who wished to dominate the region. Border posts were seized and some bombing raids were initiated, but relatively few people were killed or injured before a cease-fire was initiated. Slovenia soon became a new nation independent of Yugoslavia, with Kucan as its new president.
As Kucan commented to World Statesman, "Slovenia avoided ... bloodshed ... because, of all the former Yugoslav republics, it is the most ethnically homogeneous." He also cited the "special character" of his country, which he said had never really been a Balkan state like Bosnia or Croatia.
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