Abstract
This chapter outlines the evolution of the Slovak party system since 1990. It is characterized by a changing dynamic of political cleavages, charismatic party leaders, and high electoral volatility. The chapter underscores the loose link between voters and parties, the diminishing significance of the once-dominant two-bloc setting, and the challenges associated with the formation of government coalitions. Moreover, the critical role of party leaders often restricts intra-party debate and democratic control, and institutional fragility is observed in declining party memberships and a growing reliance on public funding. The emergence of anti-establishment sentiments and the ascent of radical movements further compound the intricate landscape of Slovakia’s party system.
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Notes
- 1.
In addition to the participation of Slovak politicians in Czechoslovak parties of the interwar First Republic (1918–1938), there existed several political parties exclusively dedicated to advancing the interests of Slovakia and minorities living in Slovakia between the wars and after the Second World War (see Lipták 1992; Leff and Mikula 2002). Although these parties played a vital role in the development of political life in Slovakia, their impact on governance and policy-making during both periods remained notably limited. It is worth noting that alongside the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, there existed a distinct Communist Party of Slovakia after 1948.
- 2.
Since 2003 until its dissolution in 2014, the party was formally registered as the People’s Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (Ľudová strana – Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko, ĽS-HZDS).
- 3.
The Slovak Democratic Coalition was initially a pre-electoral coalition of five political parties, including the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH). Due to an instrumental change in legislation that put restrictions on electoral coalitions, the grouping transformed itself into a new political party.
- 4.
Similarly to the Slovak Democratic Coalition, the creation of the Party of the Hungarian Coalition was also a reaction to the amendment of the electoral law that disadvantaged coalitions. Parties of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia have been present in the Slovak parliament since 1990 in a grouping called Hungarian Coalition (Magyar Koalíció – Maďarská koalícia, MK).
- 5.
This was the first time since 1990 that the Slovak National Party was not represented in the parliament. It returned in 2006 but in 2020 it again did not reach the 5% threshold, becoming an extra-parliamentary party for the second time.
- 6.
Recently, in 2021, the party added the adjective “Slovak” into its official logo (Smer – Slovak Social Democracy), to highlight its “national” character (see Marušiak 2021). However, this rebranding does not relate to its official name under which it is registered; it rather reflects a pragmatic attempt of the party to capture the nationalist-oriented electorate.
- 7.
In 2021, long after the end of his active political career, Rusko was sentenced to nineteen years in prison for forgery of bills of exchange and, in addition, remained accused of preparing the murder he was supposed to have ordered.
- 8.
In recent years, however, its conservative component has strengthened especially regarding LGBTIQ+ rights or the issue of abortions.
- 9.
In 2000–2001, SNS went through significant internal turbulence and split into two political parties that eventually re-merged before the 2006 election.
- 10.
The polarising character of Smer’s leader intensified and reached its peak later as a result of the political crisis after the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée in 2018 (see Mrvová and Turček 2018).
- 11.
After joining the government coalition in 2016, the party started to disintegrate. Its founder Radoslav Procházka resigned on his parliamentary mandate on 31 October 2016 and eventually withdrew from politics.
- 12.
The change in the social and political climate was apparent already before the election, when several members of the Smer party broke off and established a party called Good Choice (Dobrá voľba). However, they received only 3% of the votes in the following election. In 2023, the party merged with Hlas (see below) and ceased to exist.
- 13.
The already wide range of this type of party has constantly been expanding. An example is the initiative of the owner of the public opinion polling agency and well-known pundit Ján Baránek, who in February 2023 announced the founding of the party “Common Sense – Christian and Conservative Movement”.
- 14.
Based on their success in 2019 elections to the European Parliament, the two liberal parties Progressive Slovakia (Progresívne Slovensko, PS) and Together (Spolu) decided to repeat its strategy of an electoral coalition. However, they remained just 0.03 points below the seven-per-cent threshold set for coalitions.
- 15.
In fact, the Democrats are not a new party, but a result of the rebranding of the Together (Spolu) movement founded in 2018.
- 16.
However, this legal provision can be easily bypassed, as already done by the People’s Party Our Slovakia, which used “Kotlebovci” instead of citing the name of its leader directly.
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Annex I: Electoral Results, Parliamentary Elections 1990–2023
Annex I: Electoral Results, Parliamentary Elections 1990–2023
Election year | Party, movement, coalition | Share of votes (%) | Share of seats (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
1990 Turnout: 95.39% | Public against Violence (VPN) | 29.35 | 32.00 |
Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) | 19.21 | 20.67 | |
Slovak National Party (SNS) | 13.94 | 14.67 | |
Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) | 13.35 | 14.67 | |
Hungarian Coalition (MK) | 8.66 | 9.33 | |
Democratic Party (DS) | 4.40 | 4.67 | |
Green Party (SZ) | 3.49 | 4.00 | |
Other | 7.60 | 0.00 | |
1992 Turnout: 84.20% | Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) | 37.26 | 49.33 |
Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) | 14.70 | 19.33 | |
Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) | 8.89 | 12.00 | |
Slovak National Party (SNS) | 7.93 | 10.00 | |
Hungarian Coalition (MK) | 7.42 | 9.33 | |
Other | 23.80 | 0.00 | |
1994 Turnout: 75.65% | Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) | 34.97 | 40.67 |
Common Choice (SV) | 10.42 | 12.00 | |
Hungarian Coalition (MK) | 10.19 | 11.33 | |
Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) | 10.08 | 11.33 | |
Democratic Union (DU) | 8.57 | 10.00 | |
Association of Workers of Slovakia (ZRS) | 7.35 | 8.67 | |
Slovak National Party (SNS) | 5.40 | 6.00 | |
Other | 13.02 | 0.00 | |
1998 Turnout: 84.24% | Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) | 27.00 | 28.67 |
Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) | 26.33 | 28.00 | |
Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) | 14.66 | 15.33 | |
Party of the Hungarian Coalition (SMK) | 9.12 | 10.00 | |
Slovak National Party (SNS) | 9.07 | 9.33 | |
Party of Civic Understanding (SOP) | 8.01 | 8.67 | |
Other | 5.81 | 0.00 | |
2002 Turnout: 70.06% | Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) | 19.50 | 24.00 |
Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party (SDKU-DS) | 15.09 | 18.67 | |
Direction – Social Democracy (Smer-SD) | 13.46 | 16.67 | |
Party of the Hungarian Coalition (SMK) | 11.16 | 13.33 | |
Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) | 8.25 | 10.00 | |
Alliance of the New Citizen (ANO) | 8.01 | 10.00 | |
Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) | 6.32 | 7.33 | |
Other | 18.21 | 0.00 | |
2006 Turnout: 54.67% | Direction – Social Democracy (Smer-SD) | 29.14 | 33.33 |
Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party (SDKU-DS) | 18.35 | 20.67 | |
Slovak National Party (SNS) | 11.73 | 13.33 | |
Party of the Hungarian Coalition (SMK) | 11.68 | 13.33 | |
Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) | 8.79 | 10.00 | |
Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) | 8.31 | 9.33 | |
Other | 12.00 | 0.00 | |
2010 Turnout: 58.83% | Direction – Social Democracy (Smer-SD) | 34.79 | 41.33 |
Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party (SDKU-DS) | 15.42 | 18.67 | |
Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) | 12.14 | 14.67 | |
Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) | 8.52 | 10.00 | |
Most-Híd | 8.12 | 9.34 | |
Slovak National Party (SNS) | 5.07 | 6.00 | |
Other | 15.94 | 0.00 | |
2012 Turnout: 59.11% | Direction – Social Democracy (Smer-SD) | 44.41 | 55.33 |
Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) | 8.82 | 10.67 | |
Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) | 8.55 | 10.67 | |
Most-Híd | 6.89 | 8.67 | |
Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) | 5.88 | 7.33 | |
Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party (SDKU-DS) | 6.09 | 7.33 | |
Other | 19.36 | 0.00 | |
2016 Turnout: 59.82% | Direction – Social Democracy (Smer-SD) | 28.28 | 32.67 |
Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) | 12.10 | 14.00 | |
Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) | 11.02 | 12.67 | |
Slovak National Party (SNS) | 8.64 | 10.00 | |
Kotleba – People’s Party Our Slovakia (LSNS) | 8.04 | 9.33 | |
We Are a Family – Boris Kollár (Sme Rodina – Boris Kollár) | 6.62 | 7.33 | |
Most-Híd | 6.50 | 7.33 | |
Network (Sieť) | 5.60 | 6.67 | |
Other | 13.20 | 0.00 | |
2020 Turnout: 65.80% | Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) | 25.02 | 35.33 |
Direction – Social Democracy (Smer-SD) | 18.29 | 25.33 | |
We Are a Family (Sme rodina) | 8.24 | 11.33 | |
Kotlebovci – People’s Party Our Slovakia (ĽSNS) | 7.97 | 11.33 | |
Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) | 6.22 | 8.67 | |
For the People (Za ľudí) | 5.77 | 8.00 | |
Other | 28.49 | 0.00 | |
2023 Turnout: 68.51% | Direction – Social Democracy (Smer-SD) | 22.94 | 28.00 |
Progressive Slovakia (PS) | 17.96 | 21.33 | |
Voice – Social democracy (Hlas) | 14.70 | 18.00 | |
Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) | 8.89 | 10.67 | |
Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) | 6.82 | 8.00 | |
Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) | 6.32 | 7.33 | |
Slovak National Party (SNS) | 5.62 | 6.67 | |
Other | 16.75 | 0.00 |
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Sekerák, M., Němec, J. (2023). Slovak Political Parties and Party System: Between Cleavages and Strong Leaders. In: Lorenz, A., Dalberg, D. (eds) Das politische System der Slowakei. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-42633-0_8
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