Despite questions of fairness in the elections, it is beyond doubt that before the outbreak of World War II, the SLS was still the largest and most powerful political party in Slovenia, enjoying the support of vast strata of the population. When Anton Korošec died in 1940, the party was left without any real leadership, because there was no charismatic personality that could effectively take on the role of leading the party. The new president of the SLS was Father Franc Kulovec, a Roman Catholic cleric, but he was killed in 1941 during the German bombardment of Belgrade. At the start of the war, the SLS had two leaders: Miha Krek and Marko Natlačen. After internal discussions, it was decided that Krek should leave with members of the Yugoslav government for London, while Natlačen, who was also governor (ban) of the Drava Banovina, should lead the party during the occupation. On 6 April 1941, in light of the combined German, Italian and Hungarian attacks on Slovenian territory, then still part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, SLS suggested the holding of a national council with the goal of achieving Slovenian autonomy under one sole occupier. The Slovenian parliamentary parties chose Marko Natlačen, as the head of the most powerful political party, to lead the council, but in 1942, an officer in the secret services working for the Communist Party of Slovenia assassinated Natlačen, leaving the SLS without a leader. Natlačen was replaced by various other politicians, but they did not have the same political convictions and there were numerous divisions within the party. During the civil war that took place during World War II, the SLS began to lose support and its former political influence because many of its politicians collaborated with the occupying forces. Despite his calls from London to stop collaborating, Miha Krek was not able to re-establish control over the Slovene People's Party.