Politics of SlovakiaMade by: Benedict S. Gombocz

Government (Vláda): Parliamentary republic and multi-party democracy

President (Prezident Slovensko): Ivan Gašparovič

Prime Minister (Predseda vlády Slovenskej republiky): Robert Fico 

Government of Slovakia

Direction – Social Democracy (Smer - sociálna demokracia, Smer)

Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party (Slovenská demokratická a kresťanská únia - Demokratická strana, SDKÚ–DS)

Freedom and Solidarity (Sloboda a Solidarita, SaS)

Christian Democratic Movement (Kresťanskodemokratické hnutie, KDH)

Parliamentary parties

Most–Híd (literally Bridge, Most) Slovak National Party

(Slovenská národná strana, SNS)

Civic Conservative Party (Občianska konzervatívna strana, OKS)

Party of the Hungarian Coalition (Strana maďarskej koalície - Magyar Koalíció Pártja, SMK-MKP)

People’s Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (Ľudová strana - Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko, LS-HZDS)

Parliamentary parties (cont.)

1998◦ PM before election: Vladimír Mečiar (HZDS) ◦ Elected PM: Mikuláš Dzurinda (KDH)

2002◦ PM before election: Mikuláš Dzurinda (SDKÚ)◦ Elected PM: Mikuláš Dzurinda (SDKÚ)

2006◦ PM before election: Mikuláš Dzurinda (SDKÚ)◦ Elected PM: Robert Fico (Smer-SD)

2010◦ PM before election: Robert Fico (Smer-SD)◦ Elected PM: Iveta Radičová (SDKÚ-DS)

2012◦ PM before election: Iveta Radičová (SDKÚ-DS)◦ Elected PM: Robert Fico (Smer-SD)

Years of Slovak parliamentary elections and the prime minister before election and elected prime minister

Centre-left, social democratic, left-wing nationalist and populist party

Founded in 1999 when it emerged as a breakaway from the Party of the Democratic Left

Led by Robert Fico, current PM of Slovakia, who was also PM from 2006 to 2010

Largest party in the National Council and has 62 seats

Entered a coalition with the Slovak National Party after its victory in 2006 parliamentary election and lost its membership in the Party of European Socialists

Direction – Social Democracy

Liberal conservative, Christian democratic party

Founded in 2000 Was called the Slovak

Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) prior to its merger with the Democratic Party on 21 January 2006

Won 18.4% of the popular vote and 31 out of 150 total seats in the National Council in 2006 parliamentary election

Member of the European People’s Party

Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party

Centre-right classical liberal party

Founded on 28 February 2009 and is led by its founder and designer of Slovakia’s flat tax system, economist Richard Sulík

Has 21 seats in the National Council and four positions in the Slovak Government

Narrowly failed to cross the 5% threshold in 2009 European Parliament election, but came in third and won 22 seats in 2010 parliamentary election

Part of the four-party centre-right coalition with four cabinet positions

Freedom and Solidarity

Christian democratic and social conservative party

Founded in 1990 Represented in the National

Council with 15 seats Was a member of the previous

government coalition, but abandoned that coalition on 7 February 2006 because of disputes regarding an international treaty between Slovakia and the Holy See dealing with the Conscientious objection

Won 8.3% of the popular vote in 2006 parliamentary election and 14 out of 150 seats

Member of the European People’s Party

Christian Democratic Movement

Centre-right inter-ethnic cooperation party

Founded on 30 June 2009 by defectors from the Party of the Hungarian Coalition

Calls for cooperation and understanding between ethnic Slovaks and Hungarian minority

Has ten members of the National Council and is part of the centre-right coalition government

Led by Béla Bugár; the party claims to have a membership that is two-thirds Hungarian and one-third ethnic Slovak

Won ten seats in National Council in 2010 parliamentary election

Most–Híd (literally Bridge)

Ultranationalist, Anti-Hungarian, Right-wing populist party

Characterizes itself as socialist, nationalist party on what it calls the “European Christian system of values”

Founded in December 1989 Has won seats in every Slovak

parliamentary election since 1990 except one (in 2002) ; formed a coalition with Smer

Was considered by Party of European Socialists a “political party which incites or attempts to stir up racial or ethnic prejudices and racial hatred”

Slovak National Party

Centre-right conservative soft eurosceptic party

Founded on 10 November 2001 as a parliamentary schism from the Democratic Party

Has won four seats in National Council, which it won in an electoral alliance with Most–Híd in 2010 parliamentary election

Has relied on electoral alliances with other centre-right parties like the Christian Democratic Movement and Conservative Democrats of Slovakia

Member of Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists

Civic Conservative Party

Christian democratic, liberal conservative party for ethnic Hungarian minority

Founded in 1998 Led by Pál Csáky (formerly by

Béla Bugár) until 2010 parliamentary election where it did not receive 5% of the popular vote; Csáky responded by resigning

Became a member of European People’s Party on 7 June 2000

Its MEPs sit in the EPP-ED Group in European Parliament

Party of the Hungarian Coalition

Centrist national conservative, right-wing populist party

Founded on 27 April 1991 Was the governing party from

1992 to 1998 (with a short break in 1994) and the largest party from 1991 to 2006

Led by Vladimír Mečiar Has been part of the Slovak

Government three times: twice as leading partner with Mečiar as PM (1992-94 and 1994-98) and once from 2006-2010 as junior partner under Robert Fico

People’s Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia

3rd and current President of the Slovak Republic

Born on 27 March 1941 in Poltár Is the first Slovak president to

be re-elected Previously served as Member of

National Council from 23 June 1992-15 October 2002 and Speaker of National Council 1 January 1993-30 October 1998

After the Velvet Revolution and the collapse of the Communist government, he was chosen by democratically elected president Václav Havel to be the country’s federal Prosecutor-General

Ivan Gašparovič

Current PM of Slovakia Born 15 September 1964 in Topoľčany Was also PM from 2006-2010 Graduated from Law Faculty of Comenius

University at Bratislava, in former Czechoslovakia, later working for Institute of State and Law of Slovak Academy of Sciences

Joined Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1987

After non-violent Velvet Revolution of 1989, and fall of the communist government in Czechoslovakia, he joined Party of the Democratic Left (SDL), a heir to Communist Party of Slovakia

Represented Slovakia as its legal counsel at European Court of Human Rights between 1994 and 2000, but did not win any of the 14 cases he handled

Departed from SDL in 1999, when endorsement for SDL fell below threshold needed to get into parliament and founded Direction – Social Democracy (SMER), becoming popular opposition politician while critizcing changes of right-wing government of Mikuláš Dzurinda

Robert Fico

Direction – Social Democracy: 29.5% Slovak National Party: 7.7% People’s Party – Movement for a Democratic

Slovakia: 5% Slovak Democratic and Christian Union –

Democratic Party: 12.1% Freedom and Solidarity: 12.4% Christian Democratic Movement: 9.2% Most–Híd: 6.5% Party of the Hungarian Coalition: 5.2%

Results of 2010 parliamentary election (June)

Direction – Social Democracy: 44.41% Christian Democratic Movement: 8.82% Ordinary People and Independent Personalities:

8.55% Most–Híd: 6.89% Slovak Democratic and Christian Union –

Democratic Party: 6.09% Freedom and Solidarity: 5.88%

Results of 2012 parliamentary election

Koniec (The End)