Slovak National Party
Slovenská národná strana
AbbreviationSNS
ChairmanAndrej Danko
General SecretaryStanislav Kmec
Founded7 March 1990; 33 years ago (1990-03-07)
Preceded bySlovak National Party (not legal predecessor)
HeadquartersBratislava
Youth wingSlovak National Party Youth
Women's wingMarína – Club of Slovak National Party Women
Membership (2021)Decrease 2,423[1]
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[10] to far-right[11]
European affiliationIdentity and Democracy Party
Colours  White   Blue   Red (Slovak national colors)
Slogan"To serve and work for the nation."
National Council
10 / 150
European Parliament
1 / 14
Regional governors
0 / 8
Regional deputies
15 / 416
Mayors[a]
395 / 2,904
Party flag
Website
www.sns.sk

The Slovak National Party (Slovak: Slovenská národná strana, SNS) is an ultranationalist[16] political party in Slovakia. The party characterizes itself as a nationalist party based on both social and European Christian values.[17]

Since 1990 SNS has won seats in every Slovak parliament but three (in 2002, 2012 and 2020) and was part of the coalition government formed after the 2006 election with Robert Fico's Direction – Social Democracy (Smer-SD). In the 2012 parliamentary election, SNS failed to meet the 5% electoral threshold and thus lost parliamentary representation. At the following party congress in October 2012, the delegates chose lawyer Andrej Danko as the new chairman of the party.[18] Under Danko SNS returned to another coalition government with Smer-SD after the 2016 Slovak parliamentary election. In the next election in 2020, the party again failed to meet the threshold for parliamentary representation, though it again returned in 2023.

History

The party was founded in December 1989 and perceives itself as an ideological heir to the historical Slovak National Party. The party declares its three pillars: Christian, national and social. One of the biggest events the SNS has participated in since then was the establishment of an independent Slovakia on 1 January 1993. The SNS has had deputies in the Slovak parliament in the years 1990–2002 and 2006–2012. The party also had deputies in the Slovak government. Marián Andel, Jozef Prokeš, Jaroslav Paška and Ľudovít Černák were in the second Mečiar government (1992–1994), Ján Sitek and Eva Slavkovská in the third Mečiar government (1994–1998) and other deputies were in the government of Robert Fico from 2006 to 2010 (see below).

Between 2001 and 2005 there was a Real Slovak National Party (Pravá slovenská národná strana, PSNS), a party of SNS splinters, which remerged with SNS later. Since 2005, there is also a United Slovak National Party (Zjednotená slovenská národná strana, ZSNS), also formed of former SNS members. In February 2006, PSNS changed its name into the Slovak National Coalition – Slovak Mutuality (Slovenská národná koalícia – Slovenská vzájomnosť). However, only the Slovak National Party is currently relevant.

In 2008 a €120 million tender for establishing the rules and guidelines and logos for distribution of funds from the European Union, was won by a consortium of firms with close ties to SNS leader Ján Slota. The tender notice had been posted for only five days on a bulletin board in the ministry run by the SNS party behind a locked door, which resulted in a single bid. Following the scandal, the SNS minister in charge of the contract was fired, and the European Commission has launched an investigation.[19] In 2009 SNS proposed a law to create barriers for women seeking abortion in Slovakia.[20]

Election results

National Council

Election Leader Votes % Rank Seats +/– Status
1990 Víťazoslav Móric 470,984
13.9%
 3rd
22 / 150
 Opposition
1992 Jozef Prokeš 244,527
7.9%
 4th
15 / 150
 Decrease 7 HZDS–SNS
(1992–1994)
Opposition
(1994)
1994 Ján Slota 155,359
5.4%
 7th
9 / 150
 Decrease 6 HZDS–SNS–ZRS
1998 304,839
9.1%
 5th
14 / 150
 Increase 5 Opposition
2002 Anna Malíková 95,633
3.3%
 9th
0 / 150
 Decrease 14 Extra-parliamentary
2006 Ján Slota 270,230
11.7%
 3rd
20 / 150
 Increase 20 Smer–SNS–HZDS
2010 128,490
5.1%
 6th
9 / 150
 Decrease 11 Opposition
2012 116,420
4.6%
 7th
0 / 150
 Decrease 9 Extra-parliamentary
2016 Andrej Danko 225,386
8.6%
 4th
15 / 150
 Increase 15 Smer–SNS–Bridge–Network
(2016)
Smer–SNS–Bridge
(2016–2020)
2020 91,171
3.2%
 10th
0 / 150
 Decrease 15 Extra-parliamentary
2023 166,995
5.6%
 7th
10 / 150
 Increase 10 Smer–Hlas–SNS

Presidential

Election Candidate First round Second round Result
Votes % Votes %
1999 Ján Slota 73,836 2.50 Lost
2004 Vladimír Mečiar 650,242 32.73 722,368 40.08 Lost
2009 Ivan Gašparovič 876,061 46.71 1,234,787 55.53 Won

European Parliament

Election Votes % Seats +/–
2004 14,150 2.01 (#9)
0 / 14
2009 45,960 5.55 (#6)
1 / 13
 Increase 1
2014 20,244 3.61 (#10)
0 / 13
 Decrease 1
2019 40,330 4.09 (#8)
0 / 13
 Steady

2006–2010: In Slovak government

SNS entered the current Slovak government after Chairman Ján Slota and Robert Fico agreed to create a coalition government. This created an unusual situation of an alleged far-right party, SNS being accepted and taken as a partner by SMER, a party describing itself as leftist. Three SNS ministers were sworn in on 4 July 2006:

Politics of Slovakia
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Recent elections
Political parties
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations

Further ministers, delegated by SNS:

The coalition agreement between Smer-SD and SNS resulted in the suspension of Smer-SD from the Party of European Socialists (PES). The PES considered SNS a "political party which incites or attempts to stir up racial or ethnic prejudices and racial hatred."[22] However, in 2008 Smer's membership suspension ended with no further PES's demands regarding SNS.[23]

2016 election

In the 2016 Slovak parliamentary election, the Slovak National Party won 8.64% of the vote, and joined Fico's Third Cabinet on 22 March.

Controversy

In April 2008, a map was published on the official web page discussion forum of the party where the territory of Hungary was divided between Slovakia and Austria, eliminating Hungary from the map.[24][25][26] After receiving media attention the map was promptly removed and the party has denied responsibility, referring to the free access policy of the forum section, where the map was posted.[27] The former party leader Ján Slota is the source of considerable controversy, Slota is frequently criticized for arrogance, nationalism,[28] and extremism.[29] The Slovak Spectator reports that most of the media attention Slota receives is because of statements that cross "the line not just of political but also human decency."[30] Documents about party leader Slota's criminal past, detailing arson, grand theft auto and assault, were broadcast by Markíza, the leading private television station in Slovakia, which resulted in a court case Markíza v Slota.[31] During the court proceedings Slota admitted to some of the crimes and even said he was proud of assaulting and beating a Hungarian saying "I am proud of giving that Hungarian a black eye".[32] Another physical assault was committed by Anna Belousovová of SNS against fellow parliamentarian Igor Matovič of SaS.[33] The SNS politician slapped Matovič saying she disliked an article written by him.

Allegations of racism and discrimination

The party under the leadership of Ján Slota had been sometimes described as ultra-nationalist,[34][35][36][37][38][39] Hungarophobic,[40] right-wing extremist,[34][41][42][43] and far-right,[20] due to its statements[44] about Hungarians and Romani which have been characterised as racist.[45][46][47] The alleged party's major concern after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia has been the danger of "irredentism".[48] Any moves and changes toward broader rights for the national minorities living in Slovakia, especially the sizeable Hungarian minority living in southern Slovakia, was seen as a step toward territorial autonomy.[48]

The party had been known for its inflammatory rhetoric against ethnic Roma and Hungarians.[39][49] The Party of European Socialists, considered SNS as a "political party which incites or attempts to stir up racial or ethnic prejudices and racial hatred."[22] The former party's leader Ján Slota, referred to by Earthtimes as "a xenophobic politician who has stirred anti-Hungarian sentiments",[50] said the best policy for dealing with the Romani was "a long whip in a small yard."[51][52] He is quoted as saying "we will sit in our tanks and destroy Budapest"[51] and questioning if homosexuals are normal people.[53] Slota stated that "The Hungarians are a cancer in the body of the Slovak nation."[54] Slota called the fascist leader Jozef Tiso "one of the greatest sons of the Slovak nation"[34] and on 17 February 2000, 40 of the 41 city council members in Žilina, where Slota was mayor at the time, voted to dedicate a plaque honouring Jozef Tiso,[34] who was convicted and executed for the breaking Czechoslovak state and for collaboration with Nazi Germany. Later in a move that was described as absurd by a Slovak journalist, SNS demanded the seat of deputy prime minister responsible for human rights and national minorities. The party did not manage to obtain the seat.[21] The party abandoned anti-Hungarian rhetoric under Danko's leadership, praising Hungary under the leadership of Viktor Orbán as a model for Slovakia.[55]

The party has been described as spreading hate against the LGBTI+ community as recently as July 2023.[56]

Allegations of neo-fascism

In the past when Ján Slota was its leader, the SNS party was accused of being a fascist party (or having its origins in a far right ideology[56]).[57] The allegations are sometimes connected to various statements of party members or that SNS was behind "the continuing campaign to rehabilitate Jozef Tiso, head of the wartime fascist regime, which was responsible for the deportation of the country's Jews to the death camps" might also be a contributing factor.[58] One high-profile fascist allegation was when in 2006 in a live interview with Inforadio, a politician of the Party of the Hungarian Coalition, Miklós Duray described SNS as a "fascist party".[59] Duray said "one third of the Slovak government is made up of Slota's party which is fascist"[60] describing the 2006 governing coalition between Robert Fico's Smer, Ján Slota's SNS, and HZDS, making SNS one of the three governing parties. SNS sued for financial damages, alleging the statement caused it loss of votes, image, and reputation.[61] The District Court ruled that Duray was to pay one million crowns as a compensation and to apologize for his statements.[62] The Slovak Supreme Court ultimately decided that SNS is not entitled for the financial compensation, because the party did not sufficiently document the alleged damage.[63][64] SNS party chairman Ján Slota denounced the Supreme Court of Slovakia for that decision.[65]

Party leaders

Leader Year
1 Víťazoslav Móric 1990–1991
2 Jozef Prokeš 1991–1992
3 Ľudovít Černák 1992–1994
4 Ján Slota 1994–1999
5 Anna Malíková 1999–2003
6 Ján Slota 2003–2012
7 Andrej Danko 2012–present

Notes

  1. ^ Also with coalitions.

References

  1. ^ https://www.minv.sk/swift_data/source/statna_komisia_pre_volby/30_annual_report/ar2021/VS21_R_SNS.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  2. ^ a b "Slovakia's president asks a populist ex-premier to form government after winning early election". The Independent. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b Tarnok, Balazs (12 March 2022). "Why Is Ethnic Discrimination Still Legal in Slovakia?". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Slovakia elections: Pro-Russia former PM Robert Fico wins poll but must forge coalition". Sky News. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  5. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Slovakia". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d Algan, Yann (2017). "The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism: Supplementary Online Appendix" (PDF). Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: 55.
  7. ^ "European Public Opinion Three Decades After the Fall of Communism: Political parties". Pew Research Center. 14 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Marching towards Eurasia. The Kremlin connections of the Slovak far-right". Juraj Marusiak, Daniel Milo, Peter Kreko, Anita Lencses. January 2015.
  9. ^ "АНДРЕЈ ДАНКО: Срби не дајте своју воду, минерале и кључна предузећа!". 7 June 2018.
  10. ^ Hornak, Daniel (11 October 2023). "Slovakia's Fico to Return to Power as Coalition Deal Sealed". Bloomberg. Retrieved 17 December 2023. Fico's Smer party signed an agreement with two preferred partners, Voice and the right-wing Slovak National Party, to form a coalition.
  11. ^
  12. ^ "Pro-Russia ex-PM leads party to win in Slovakia's parliamentary elections". TheJournal.ie. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Slovakia's populist party opposed to Ukraine aid wins vote". Al Jazeera. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  14. ^ Henley, Jon (30 September 2023). "Slovakia election: polls open in knife-edge vote with Ukraine high on agenda". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  15. ^ Leff, Carol (2018). The Czech And Slovak Republics: Nation Versus State. Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 9780429965241.
  16. ^ [2][4][12][13][14][3][15]
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  18. ^ "Z politiky neodchádzam, tvrdí Slota". HNonline.sk. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  19. ^ "By hook or crook, Slovak EU funds find their way to govt supporters". Businessneweurope.eu. 18 June 2009. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  20. ^ a b "HUMAN RIGHTS-SLOVAKIA: Barriers Go Up For Abortion". Ipsnews.net. 26 June 2009. Archived from the original on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  21. ^ a b c d e Beata Balogová (31 August 2009). "People often get what they want, not what they need – The Slovak Spectator". Spectator.sk. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  22. ^ a b SMER suspended from PES political family Archived 14 October 2006 at archive.today, Party of European Socialists, 12 October 2006
  23. ^ "PES REHABILITATES FICO'S SMER PARTY. (Party of European Socialists meeting)". 22 February 2008. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
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  59. ^ Ingyen nevezte fasisztának a Szlovák Nemzeti Pártot Duray Miklós Origo
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  65. ^ Zrt., HVG Kiadó (11 August 2011). "Slotát megvádolták, hogy kettős állampolgár".

External links

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