Marjan Šarec, a former journalist, actor, and comedian,[12][13] founded the party (initially as List of Marjan Šarec – Onward Kamnik) during his first mayoral term to contest the 2014 Slovenian Local Elections[2] providing candidates for the municipal council of Kamnik. For most of Šarec's second term as mayor of Kamnik, the party was active only at the local level.[12]
In an interview with the weekly political magazine Mladina, Šarec argued against comparisons of LMŠ with Mayor Zoran Janković's Positive Slovenia and incumbent PM Miro Cerar's Modern Centre Party (SMC) which both emerged as preeminent political forces after being established just months prior to parliamentary elections. He has spoken out in favour of judicial,[3] regulatory,[3][17] procedural, and electoral reforms (including the introduction of preferential voting,[17] and raising the parliamentary threshold to achieve more stable governments[3]), rectifying the inefficient healthcare system, and doing more to address climate change (including an expansion of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant).[17] He has also expressed opposition to privatising infrastructural and strategic firms (and the complete privatisation of the banking sector), argued in favour of running a balanced budget and reducing the public debt (if this was allowed for by future economic growth), and reform of the pension system, including by promoting private pension schemes.[3] He has stated the party will be willing to politically cooperate with anyone, except for "people who are involved in any suspicious deals".[17] The party has expressed support for the complete legalisation of cannabis.[9]
On his electoral website, Šarec listed advocacy for public education and healthcare, environmental responsibility, intergenerational cooperation, transparency and meritocracy, and research and development as some of the integral components of his political vision. He also declared his unwavering support for abortion rights, called for tolerance of homosexuality, and linked true socialism with the social teachings of Jesus Christ.[18]
^Zulianello, Mattia; Larsen, Erik Gahner (June 2021). "Populist parties in European Parliament elections: A new dataset on left, right and valence populism from 1979 to 2019". Electoral Studies. 71 (1): 10–12. doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2021.102312. ISSN0261-3794.