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People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia

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The People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (Slovak: Ľudová strana – Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko, ĽS–HZDS), known as the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (Slovak: Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko, HZDS) until 2003, was a conservative and populist political party in Slovakia. It was founded in 1991 following a split from Public Against Violence and dissolved in 2014. Throughout its existence, the party was led by its founder, Vladimír Mečiar. HZDS was considered a personalistic party built around Mečiar's cult of the leader.[11][12][13] At the same time, it was a mass party with over 70,000 members at its peak.

People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
Ľudová strana – Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko
LeaderVladimír Mečiar (1991–2013)
FounderVladimír Mečiar
Founded27 April 1991
Dissolved11 January 2014
Split fromPublic Against Violence
Succeeded byParty of Democratic Slovakia
HeadquartersTomášikova 32/A, Bratislava
Youth wingDemocratic Youth Forum
Membership (2013)4,175[1]
Ideology
Political positionSyncretic[10]
European affiliationEuropean Democratic Party (2009–2014)
European Parliament groupAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (2009–2014)
International affiliationAlliance of Democrats
Colours  Blue
Anthem"Vivat Slovakia"
Former headquarters of the ĽS-HZDS political party at Tomášikova Street 32/A in Bratislava

The party dominated Slovak politics from 1992 to 2002 and led two non-consecutive governments between 1992 and 1998. During its time in power, HZDS oversaw the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia and the independent Slovakia state formation period. It also oversaw democratic backsliding, the growing influence of organized crime on the state, and the emergence of a Slovak business oligarchy.[14][15][16]

Although uncategorized on the left–right spectrum, HZDS utilized nationalist and statist rhetoric to gain popular support.[17][18] Its position toward European integration was considered ambiguous,[19][20] evolving from soft Euroscepticism[21][22] throughout the 1990s to self-proclaimed pro-Europeanism[23][24] during the 2000s. On European level it was affiliated within the European Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group from 2009 until 2014. It was also a member of the Alliance of Democrats international.

History

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Velvet Revolution

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The party was created as a Slovak nationalist faction of Public Against Violence (VPN), from which it seceded at an extraordinary VPN congress on 27 April 1991.[25] Called 'Movement for a Democratic Slovakia' (HZDS), it was led by Vladimír Mečiar, who had been deposed as Slovak Prime Minister a month earlier, and composed mostly of the VPN's cabinet members. The HZDS claimed to represent Slovak national interest, and demanded a more decentralised Czechoslovak confederation. On 7 May 1992, the HZDS voted for a declaration of independence, but this was defeated 73-57.[26]

At the first election in which it took part, on 5–6 June, the HZDS won an overwhelming victory, with 74 seats on the National Council: two short of an absolute majority. Mečiar was appointed prime minister on 24 June. Whereas the HZDS wanted a confederation, the Czech elections on the same day were won by Civic Democratic Party, which preferred a tighter federation. Recognising that these positions were irreconcilable, the National Council voted for Slovakia's Declaration of Independence by 113 votes to 24,[27] and Mečiar concluded formal negotiations over the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

Dominant party

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The party adopted an economically populist position,[28] and sought to slow the post-Soviet privatisation and liberalisation.[29]

In the first elections after independence, in late 1994, the HZDS retained its dominant position, winning 58 seats (the Peasant's Party of Slovakia won a further 3 on its list).[30]

Decline in opposition

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Originally designating itself as a centre-left party, the party moved towards the mainstream right and, in March 2000, renamed itself the 'People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia' (ĽS-HZDS) to try to achieve membership of the European People's Party (EPP).[31] However, lingering memories of former anti-Europeanism, conflicting rhetoric,[31] and the presence of three Slovak parties already in the EPP prevented this.[32] The ĽS-HZDS then looked to the Euro-integrationist European Democratic Party,[32] which it joined in 2009.

The build-up to the 2002 election saw Mečiar exclude a number of prominent members from the party's list of candidates. Several of the excluded members, led by Ivan Gašparovič, split from the party and founded the similarly titled Movement for Democracy (HZD). The new party won 3.3% of the vote, eating significantly into the ĽS-HZDS's position, and contributing to it winning only 36 seats. By 2006, further divisions and splits had reduced it to only 21 MPs.

Back in government

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In the parliamentary election of 17 June 2006, the party won 8.8% of the popular vote and 15 out of 150 seats.

Two ĽS-HZDS ministers were sworn in with the Robert Fico government on July 4, 2006:

In the 2010 election the party lost all its seats, after its share of the vote halved to below the 5% threshold for entering parliament.

Election results

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National Council

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Election Leader Votes % Rank Seats +/– Status
1992 Vladimír Mečiar 1,148,625
37.3%
 1st
74 / 150
 ĽS HZDS–SNS
(1992–1994)
Opposition
(1994)
1994 1,005,488
34.9%
 1st
58 / 150
 Decrease 16 ĽS HZDS–SNS–ZRS–RSS
In coalition with the Peasants' Party of Slovakia, which won 61 seats in total.
1998 907,103
27.0%
 1st
43 / 150
 Decrease 15 Opposition
2002 560,691
19.5%
 1st
36 / 150
 Decrease 7 Opposition
2006 202,540
8.8%
 5th
15 / 150
 Decrease 21 Smer–SNS–ĽS HZDS
2010 109,480
4.3%
 8th
0 / 150
 Decrease 15 Extra-parliamentary
2012 23,772
0.9%
 13th
0 / 150
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary

European Parliament

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Year Vote Vote % Seats Place
2004 119,582 17.04
3 / 14
 2nd
2009 74,241 Decrease 8.97 Decrease
1 / 13
 5th Decrease

Presidential

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Election year Candidate 1st round 2nd round
# of overall votes % of overall vote # of overall votes % of overall vote
1999 Vladimír Mečiar 1,097,956 37.24% (#2) 1,293,642 42.82% (#2)
2004 Vladimír Mečiar 650,242 32.74% (#1) 722,368 40.09% (#2)
2009 Milan Melník 45,985 2.45% (#5) Supported Ivan Gašparovič

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ↑ https://www.teraz.sk/slovensko/hzds-regiony-volby-politika/46469-clanok.html?combinedGlobalTab_zamestnajsa=0
  2. ↑ Tomini, Luca (2015). Democratizing Central and Eastern Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 39. HZDS often changed its own ideology ... gradually moving to right-wing and conservative positions
  3. ↑ Popic, Tamara (2021). Health Politics in Europe. Oxford University Press. p. 774. conservative party Movement for Democratic Slovakia (HZDS)
  4. ↑ "Pred 30 rokmi sa začala štiepiť VPN, Mečiar zakladal vlastné hnutie". 5 March 2021.
  5. ↑ "Byl jsem pro něj selský nacionalista, vzpomíná Mečiar na Havla". 28 December 2012.
  6. ↑ Minkenberg, Michael (2015). Transforming the Transformation?: The East European Radical Right in the Political Process. Routledge. p. 242. ISBN 978-1-317-54939-0.
  7. ↑ Pytlas, Bartek (2015). Radical Right Parties in Central and Eastern Europe: Mainstream Party Competition and Electoral Fortune. Routledge. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-317-49586-4.
  8. ↑ Auer, Stefan (2004). Liberal Nationalism in Central Europe. Routledge. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-134-37860-9.
  9. ↑ Bergman, Torbjörn; Ilonszki, Gabriella; Müller, Wolfgang C., eds. (2019). Coalition governance in Central Eastern Europe. Comparative Politics (1 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 440. ISBN 978-0-19-884437-2.
  10. ↑ Trencsényi, Balázs; Kopeček, Michal; Gabrijelčič, Luka Lisjak; Falina, Maria; Baár, Monika; Janowski, Maciej (2018). A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe. Volume 2 Part 2: Negotiating Modernity in the "Short Twentieth Century" and Beyond 1968–2018 / Balázs Trencsényi, Michal Kopeček, Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič, Maria Falina, Mónika Baár, and Maciej Janowski (First ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-19-882960-7.
  11. ↑ Wallace, Richard (March 1996). "The Objective is Objectivity: Nationalism Among Slovak Public Radio Journalists in the New Slovakia". Institute on East Central Europe, Columbia University. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  12. ↑ Kopeček, Lubomír (2004). "Institutionalization of Slovak Political Parties and Charismatic Leaders". Středoevropské politické studie [Central European Political Studies Review]. 6 (1). ISSN 1212-7817. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "95/65: Encore! –8– Meciarism". Rádio RSI English – STVR. STVR. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  14. ↑ Trantidis, Aris (2022). "Building an authoritarian regime: Strategies for autocratisation and resistance in Belarus and Slovakia". The British Journal of Politics and International Relations. 24 (1): 113–135. doi:10.1177/1369148120978964. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  15. ↑ Abrahám, Samuel (12 August 2002). "The End of Illiberal Democracy in Slovakia?". Eurozine. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  16. ↑ Barański, Marek (2020). "The political party system in Slovakia in the era of Mečiarism: The experiences of the young democracies of central European countries". Eastern Review. 9: 33–48. doi:10.18778/1427-9657.09.03. hdl:11089/37672. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  17. ↑ Ferencei, Lucia (2020). "The Ethnopolitics of the HZDS‑SNS‑ZRS Coalition Government in Slovakia from 1994 to 1998". Border and Regional Studies. 8 (4): 161–185. doi:10.25167/brs2155. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  18. ↑ "Movement for a Democratic Slovakia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  19. ↑ Deegan-Krause, Kevin. "The Lion in the Flag: The Ambivalent Influence of the European Union on Eastern European Democratization". academia.eu. Statements by party leaders and party appointees occupied literally the full spectrum of possible positions toward the EU from the determined and deferential statements of Slovakia's foreign ministers to the fury of HZDS parliamentary deputies on the pages of Slovensko do toho! Avoiding inconsistencies and even outright contradictions did not appear to play a role in party strategy.
  20. ↑ Čižik, Tomáš (2021). "Security perception and security policy of the Slovak Republic, 1993–2018". Defense & Security Analysis. 37 (1): 23–37. doi:10.1080/14751798.2020.1831228. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  21. ↑ Hancová, Eva. Komparácia slovenských parlamentných volieb v rokoch 2012 a 2016 so zameraním na stranícky euroskepticizmus (Thesis). Masaryková univerzita. p. 6. Aj z toho dôvodu boli v 90. rokoch euroskeptické postoje strán veľmi rezervované a nedali sa označiť za systematickú kritiku. Náznaky mäkkého euroskepticizmu bolo však možné identifikovať napríklad u Ľudovej strany – Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko (HZDS) na čele s Vladimírom Mečiarom (...).
  22. ↑ Kopecký, Petr; Mudde, Cas (2002). "The Two Sides of Euroscepticism: Party Positions on European Integration in East Central Europe". European Union Politics. 3 (3): 297–326. doi:10.1177/1465116502003003002. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  23. ↑ Šmihula, Daniel. "Postoje slovenskej verejnosti a politických elít k zahraničnej politike a k európskej integrácii". Czech Journal of International Relations. Medzi PRÍVRZENCOV západoeurópskej orientácie a integrácie podľa programu môžeme zaradiť (...) i predsa len trocha atypické štruktúry ako HZDS, SOP, SMK a maďarské straníčky, z ktorých sa SMK skladá.
  24. ↑ Domanovský, Daniel (27 March 2000). "HZDS apologises, embraces West". The Slovak Spectator. Bratislava. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  25. ↑ Archleb Gály (2006), p. 534
  26. ↑ Bartl (2002), p. 171
  27. ↑ Bartl (2002), p. 173
  28. ↑ Whitefield, Stephen; Evans, Geoffrey (1999). "Political Culture Versus Rational Choice: Explaining Responses to Transition in the Czech Republic and Slovakia". British Journal of Political Science. 29 (1): 129–154. doi:10.1017/S000712349900006X. S2CID 155059839.
  29. ↑ Elster, Jon; Offe, Claus; Preuss, Ulrich Klaus (1998). Institutional Design in Post-Communist Societies: Rebuilding the ship at sea. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-521-47931-8.
  30. ↑ Krause, Kevin (1996). "Dimensions of Party Competition in Slovakia". Sociológia - Slovak Sociological Review. 1 (2): 169–86.
  31. 1 2 Szczerbiak et al (2008), p. 285
  32. 1 2 Henderson (2009), p. 4
  • Archleb Gály, Tamara (2006). The Encyclopaedia of Slovakia and the Slovaks: a concise encyclopaedia. Bratislava: Encyclopaedic Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. ISBN 978-80-224-0925-4.
  • Bartl, Július (2002). Slovak History: Chronology & Lexicon. Chicago: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. ISBN 978-0-86516-444-4.
  • Henderson, Karen (11 September 2009). "The European Parliament election in Slovakia, 6 June 2009" (PDF). European Parties Elections and Referendums Network.[permanent dead link]
  • Szczerbiak, Aleks; Taggart, Paul A. (2008). Opposing Europe?: The Comparative Party Politics of Euroscepticism Volume 1: Case Studies and Country Surveys. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-19-925830-7.
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