Direction - Social Democracy
Encyclopedia
The party Direction – Social Democracy , often abbreviated to Smer, is a centre-left political party in Slovakia
. It is led by Robert Fico
, who was Prime Minister from 2006 to 2010. It is the largest party in the National Council
, with 62 seats.
(SDĽ) in 1999. Under Fico, at the time one of the most popular politicians in the country, it quickly surpassed the SDĽ. In 2003 it changed its formal name to Direction (Third Way) . In 2005, it absorbed SDĽ and several other centre-left parties and adopted its current name. Following the party's victory in 2006, Smer entered into a coalition with the nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS). For this, it was suspended from membership of the Party of European Socialists
(PES). The PES Chairman, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
, explained in The Slovak Spectator
that "Most of our members stood solidly behind our values, according to which forming a coalition with the extreme right is unacceptable." Smer was readmitted in 2008.
(SDĽ) in 1999 (Robert Fico being the most popular SDĽ member at that time) and quickly became one of the most popular parties in Slovakia, while the popularity of the SDĽ, which was the successor of the original Communist Party of Slovakia
and was a government party from 1998 to 2002, was steadily decreasing.
As of 2004, it was the third largest party in the National Council of the Slovak Republic
, with 25 out of 150 seats. As of early 2005, it was in the first place among all Slovak political parties in opinion polls with 30% support.
As from 1 January 2005, Smer merged with the small social-democratic
parties:
The resulting entity was renamed Smer – Social Democracy.
, the party won 29.1% of the popular vote and 50 out of 150 seats. Following the election, Smer formed a coalition government
with the People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and Slovak National Party (SNS), an "extremist" nationalist party. Smer was then temporarily suspended from membership in the Party of European Socialists
(PES) on 12 October 2006 because the PES considers SNS a "political party which incites or attempts to stir up racial or ethnic prejudices and racial hatred." but was readmitted on 14 February 2008.
Although the party won the most votes in the 2010 parliamentary election
, with a lead of 20% over second-placed SDKÚ, they were not able to form a government, due to the losses of their coalition partners. Their result, 34.8%, won 62 seats in the National Council for them, but the HZDS failed to cross the 5% threshold, losing all their seats, and the Slovak National Party was reduced to nine seats. As a result, the four opposition centre-right parties – SDKÚ, SaS
, KDH
and Most–Híd
– were able to form a new government.
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. It is led by Robert Fico
Robert Fico
Robert Fico served as the Prime Minister of Slovakia from July 4, 2006 to July 8, 2010.He is the leader of the left-wing party Direction – Social Democracy . The party won the parliamentary elections in 2006, receiving approximately 30 percent of the cast votes...
, who was Prime Minister from 2006 to 2010. It is the largest party in the National Council
National Council of the Slovak Republic
The National Council of the Slovak Republic , abbreviated to NR SR, is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameral, and consists of 150 MPs, who are elected by universal suffrage under proportional representation every four years....
, with 62 seats.
History
Originally named Direction, the party emerged as a breakaway from the Party of the Democratic LeftParty of the Democratic Left (Slovakia)
The Party of the Democratic Left was a social-democratic political party in Slovakia from 1990 to 2004.It was founded in 1990, out of the Communist Party of Slovakia....
(SDĽ) in 1999. Under Fico, at the time one of the most popular politicians in the country, it quickly surpassed the SDĽ. In 2003 it changed its formal name to Direction (Third Way) . In 2005, it absorbed SDĽ and several other centre-left parties and adopted its current name. Following the party's victory in 2006, Smer entered into a coalition with the nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS). For this, it was suspended from membership of the Party of European Socialists
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
(PES). The PES Chairman, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen , informally Poul Nyrup, born 15 June 1943), was Prime Minister of Denmark from 25 January 1993 to 27 November 2001 and is currently President of the Party of European Socialists . He was the leader of the governing Social Democrats from 1992 to 2002...
, explained in The Slovak Spectator
The Slovak Spectator
The Slovak Spectator is Slovakia's only English-language newspaper.It is published weekly by The Rock, s.r.o. publishing house and covers local news, culture and business...
that "Most of our members stood solidly behind our values, according to which forming a coalition with the extreme right is unacceptable." Smer was readmitted in 2008.
Foundation
The party arose as a breakaway from the Party of the Democratic LeftParty of the Democratic Left (Slovakia)
The Party of the Democratic Left was a social-democratic political party in Slovakia from 1990 to 2004.It was founded in 1990, out of the Communist Party of Slovakia....
(SDĽ) in 1999 (Robert Fico being the most popular SDĽ member at that time) and quickly became one of the most popular parties in Slovakia, while the popularity of the SDĽ, which was the successor of the original Communist Party of Slovakia
Communist Party of Slovakia
The Communist Party of Slovakia is a communist party in Slovakia, formed in 1992, through the merger of the Communist Party of Slovakia – 91 and the Communist League of Slovakia.According to Luboš Blaha the KSS supported the government of Robert Fico....
and was a government party from 1998 to 2002, was steadily decreasing.
As of 2004, it was the third largest party in the National Council of the Slovak Republic
National Council of the Slovak Republic
The National Council of the Slovak Republic , abbreviated to NR SR, is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameral, and consists of 150 MPs, who are elected by universal suffrage under proportional representation every four years....
, with 25 out of 150 seats. As of early 2005, it was in the first place among all Slovak political parties in opinion polls with 30% support.
As from 1 January 2005, Smer merged with the small social-democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
parties:
- Party of the Democratic LeftParty of the Democratic Left (Slovakia)The Party of the Democratic Left was a social-democratic political party in Slovakia from 1990 to 2004.It was founded in 1990, out of the Communist Party of Slovakia....
(see above) - Social Democratic AlternativeSocial Democratic AlternativeThe Social Democratic Alternative was a political party in Slovakia.In 2001 the Party of the Democratic Left more and more turned away from the Dzurinda-government - the then finance minister Brigita Schmögnerová and other popular politicians from the social-liberal wing of the SDL the SDL...
(Sociálnodemokratická alternatíva); a small modern-style social-democratic party that split from the SDĽ somewhat later than Smer did, and - Social Democratic Party of SlovakiaSocial Democratic Party of SlovakiaThe Social Democratic Party of Slovakia was a left wing political party in Slovakia...
(Sociálnodemokratická strana Slovenska); founded in 1990, the party became known under the leadership of Alexander DubčekAlexander DubcekAlexander Dubček , also known as Dikita, was a Slovak politician and briefly leader of Czechoslovakia , famous for his attempt to reform the communist regime during the Prague Spring...
.
The resulting entity was renamed Smer – Social Democracy.
Government
In the parliamentary election of 17 June 2006Slovak parliamentary election, 2006
The 2006 parliamentary elections in Slovakia took place on Saturday June 17, 2006. The voters selected 150 representatives for the National Council of the Slovak Republic. The highest number of seats, 50, was won by left-wing party Direction - Social Democracy led by Robert Fico. In total, six...
, the party won 29.1% of the popular vote and 50 out of 150 seats. Following the election, Smer formed a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
with the People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and Slovak National Party (SNS), an "extremist" nationalist party. Smer was then temporarily suspended from membership in the Party of European Socialists
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
(PES) on 12 October 2006 because the PES considers SNS a "political party which incites or attempts to stir up racial or ethnic prejudices and racial hatred." but was readmitted on 14 February 2008.
Although the party won the most votes in the 2010 parliamentary election
Slovak parliamentary election, 2010
A parliamentary election took place in Slovakia on 12 June 2010. The elections were contested by eighteen parties, six of which passed the 5% threshold for sitting in parliament...
, with a lead of 20% over second-placed SDKÚ, they were not able to form a government, due to the losses of their coalition partners. Their result, 34.8%, won 62 seats in the National Council for them, but the HZDS failed to cross the 5% threshold, losing all their seats, and the Slovak National Party was reduced to nine seats. As a result, the four opposition centre-right parties – SDKÚ, SaS
Freedom and Solidarity
Freedom and Solidarity , abbreviated to SaS, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Slovakia. The party was established in 2009 and is led by its founder, the economist Richard Sulík, who designed Slovakia's flat tax system...
, KDH
Christian Democratic Movement
The Christian Democratic Movement is a political party in Slovakia.It is represented in the parliament. It was also member of the government coalition, but it left that coalition on 7 February 2006 due to disputes over an international treaty between Slovakia and the Holy See dealing with the...
and Most–Híd
Most–Híd
Most–Híd is a centre-right political party in Slovakia. Its programme calls for greater cooperation between the country's Hungarian minority and ethnic Slovaks...
– were able to form a new government.
Current Representatives
Smer provided the following members of the government (2006–2010):- Robert FicoRobert FicoRobert Fico served as the Prime Minister of Slovakia from July 4, 2006 to July 8, 2010.He is the leader of the left-wing party Direction – Social Democracy . The party won the parliamentary elections in 2006, receiving approximately 30 percent of the cast votes...
(prime minister) - Miroslav LajčákMiroslav LajcákDr. Miroslav Lajčák is a Slovak diplomat.Lajčák is a law graduate from the Comenius University in Bratislava. He holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the State Institute of International Relations in Moscow and is also a graduate of the George C...
(minister of foreign affairs) - Dušan ČaplovičDušan ČaplovičPhD. Dušan Čaplovič, DrSc. is a Slovak politician, formerly a historian and archaeologist. He is the Deputy Prime Minister for Knowledge Society, European Affairs, Human Rights and Minorities...
(deputy prime minister) - Robert KaliňákRobert KalinákRobert Kaliňák is a Slovak politician, formerly served as Interior Minister of Slovakia in the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico. He is currently a member of parliament. He studied Law at Univerzita Komenského in Bratislava....
(deputy prime minister and minister of the interior) - Ľubomír Jahnátek (minister of the economy)
- Ján PočiatekJán PociatekJán Počiatek is a Slovak politician and economist. He served as the Minister of Finance.He speaks English fluently and also has an advanced knowledge of German and Russian . Počiatek is a graduate of the University of Economics in Bratislava...
(minister of finance) - Marek Maďarič (minister of culture)
- Viera TomanováViera TomanováViera Tomanová is a Slovak politician, former Minister of Labour of Slovakia under Prime Minister Robert Fico.As a Minister she became known for her wild statements and many controversies, most famously claiming her dog was poisoned in her house, prompting Prime Minister Fico to accuse Slovak...
(minister of labour, social affairs and family) - Jaroslav Baška (minister of defence, since 30. January 2008, when he changed František KašickýFrantišek KašickýFrantišek Kašický was defence minister of Slovakia from 4 July 2006 to 25 January 2008.He is a former chief of Office of the Minister of Defence, Director of Communication Department and the ministry spokesman...
) - Richard Raši (minister of health, since 3. June 2008 when he changed Ivan Valentovič)
- Ľubomír Vážny (minister of transportation, posts and communication)