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Voice – Social Democracy

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Voice – Social Democracy (Slovak: Hlas – sociálna demokracia, Hlas), is a social democratic and populist political party in Slovakia.[13] It was founded in 2020 by dissidents from Direction – Social Democracy (Smer)[14] led by former prime minister Peter Pellegrini. In October 2022, it was admitted as an associate member of the Party of European Socialists (PES),[15] although its membership was later suspended in October 2023.[16]

Voice – Social Democracy
Hlas – sociálna demokracia
AbbreviationHlas-SD
ChairpersonMatúš Šutaj Eštok
Vice-Chairpersons
See list
General ManagerTBD
FounderPeter Pellegrini
Founded29 June 2020; 4 years ago (2020-06-29)
Registered11 September 2020; 4 years ago (2020-09-11)
Split fromDirection – Social Democracy (Smer-SD)
HeadquartersLazaretská 2400/15, Bratislava
Think tankInstitute of Social Democracy
Membership (2022)Increase 2,711[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left[10]
European affiliationParty of European Socialists (suspended)
European Parliament groupNon-Inscrits
Colors  Red
  Red-violet
  Blue
Slogan"Only a strong state will help people" (2023)[11]
National Council
27 / 150
European Parliament
1 / 15
Regional governors[12]
1 / 8
Regional deputies[a][12]
60 / 419
Mayors[b][12]
649 / 2,904
Local councillors[c][12]
2,700 / 20,462
Website
strana-hlas.sk

Several members of the party's presidium, including its founder Peter Pellegrini, are associated with bribery and abuse of power in the testimonies of cooperating defendants. In December 2020, the National Crime Agency charged Peter Žiga, a member of the party's presidium, with bribery.

History

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Party leader Peter Pellegrini joined Direction – Social Democracy (Smer–SD) in 2000. After being elected to the National Council in the 2006 parliamentary election, Pellegrini served in several positions as state secretary, minister and speaker of the National Council. He was elected vice-chairman of Smer–SD in 2014. Pellegrini succeeded Robert Fico as prime minister after the 2018 government crisis triggered by the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak. Fico remained the party chairman.

Pellegrini led Smer–SD electoral list in the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election, while still serving as party vice-chairman. After winning 170,000 more personal votes than Fico, Pellegrini called for a party convention and expressed his intention to run for party chairman.

The political party was announced on 29 June 2020[17] and registered by the Ministry of the Interior on 11 September 2020.[18] The party was launched by the former prime minister Peter Pellegrini. On the day of the launch of the new party, Pellegrini left Smer–SD, along with ten more of the party's members of the National Council. It had to obtain 10,000 signatures by 25 December 2020 to be registered as a party. Pellegrini, Matúš Šutaj Eštok, and Peter Kmec formed the party's preparatory committee, and Pellegrini became the party's chairman.[19] Until the end of the term, the 11 deputies were classified as non-inscrits within the National Council.[20]

Immediately after the party was formed, its support was about 16%. In October 2020, the party became the most popular for the first time, and remained ahead in most opinion polls until January 2023. After Pellegrini visited Olaf Scholz in March 2023, some commentators perceived a shift in the preferred Slovak party of the Party of European Socialists (PES) from Smer–SD to Hlas–SD, due to more radical rhetoric from the former party.[21] Both parties were suspended from PES in October 2023 after forming a coalition with the far-right Slovak National Party.[22]

Ideology

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Hlas–SD states that it has a pro-European outlook and promotes traditional social-democratic goals within the welfare state. Reflecting a more conservative stance, especially on social issues, the party refuses to promote liberalism on social issues, which it argues are not in demand. Party vice-chairman Erik Tomáš was quoted as saying: "We have a conservative voter if we talk about polls, and I can assure everyone that we have our priorities, and they are not opening up some liberal issues."[23]

In July 2024, Erik Tomáš also said that the party will support intentions of Smer-SD to fight against liberalism and progressive ideologies.[8]

Hlas–SD has been described as a catch-all party.[24][25]

Criminal charges and accusations

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In December 2020, the National Crime Agency charged the incumbent member of the party's presidium and former Minister of Environment in Pellegrini's cabinet Peter Žiga with bribery. According to the testimony of the former Deputy Minister of Justice in Pellegrini's cabinet Monika Jankovská (pleading guilty of bribery and abuse of power), Žiga was to offer a bribe of €100,000 to the judge deciding the international dispute Gabčíkovo–Nagymaros Dams.[26]

In August 2021, former President of the Financial Administration František Imrecze and IT entrepreneur Michal Suchoba (both pleading guilty of bribery) testified that in 2014, incumbent party leader Peter Pellegrini then serving as Deputy Minister of Finance had asked for and subsequently received a bribe of €150,000 for political support for the adoption of a virtual treasury.[27] As of January 2023, the National Crime Agency has not filed charges in this case. In 2018, Pellegrini had a property case,[28] having bought a luxury apartment in Bratislava for €410,000. According to his property declaration, Pellegrini was to cover €246,000 from his own income and borrow the remainder, despite reports suggesting that since 2006 he has earned a total of €460,000 from public office.[29]

In April 2022, as a part of the testimony of former President of the Financial Administration František Imrecze about an alleged criminal organization led by former prime minister of Slovakia and incumbent leader of Direction – Slovak Social Democracy Robert Fico, the current party deputy chairman Erik Tomáš was to illegally obtain compromising materials on their political rival and then opposition leader Igor Matovič by abusing state bodies. The National Crime Agency has not filed charges in this case because it is barred by the statute of limitations.[30]

Election results

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National Council

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Election Leader Votes % Rank Seats +/– Status
2023 Peter Pellegrini 436,415
14.7%
 3rd
27 / 150
 Smer–Hlas–SNS

European Parliament

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Election List leader Votes % Rank Seats +/– EP Group
2024 Branislav Becík 106,076
7.2%
 4th
1 / 15
 NI

Presidential

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Election Candidate First round Second round
Votes % Rank Votes % Rank
2024 Peter Pellegrini 834,718
37.0%
 2nd 1,409,255
53.1%
 1st

Party chairmen

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Leader Year
1 Peter Pellegrini 2020–2024
2 Matúš Šutaj Eštok 2024–present

Notes

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  1. ^ Also with coalitions.
  2. ^ Also with coalitions.
  3. ^ Also with coalitions.

References

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  1. ^ "Predlozenie vronej správy politickej strany HAS - sociáina demokracia za predchádzajúci kalendarny rok 2023" (PDF). minv.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  2. ^ Benedikovič, Tomáš; Osvaldová, Lucia (1 October 2022). "Pellegrini na sneme Hlasu: Smer uviazol v minulosti, my sme budúcnosť". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press.
  3. ^ Cameron, Rob (7 April 2024). "Peter Pellegrini: Russia-friendly populist elected Slovak president". BBC News. BBC.
  4. ^ Nicholson, Tom (10 October 2023). "Slovakia's kingmaker party only wants coalition with populist Fico". Politico Europe. Axel Springer SE.
  5. ^ "Peter Pellegrini tvrdí, že Slovensko musí na hranici "ukázať silu", aby odstrašilo migrantov". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press. 24 September 2023.
  6. ^ Janíček, Karel (1 October 2023). "A populist ex-premier who opposes support for Ukraine leads his leftist party to victory in Slovakia". AP News. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  7. ^ [3][4][5][6]
  8. ^ a b "Strana Hlas je pripravená zúčastniť sa rokovaní, pokiaľ bude potrebná zmena ústavy v súvislosti s bojom proti progresívnej ideológii, ktorý ohlásil Robert Fico". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press. 7 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Slovakia". Europe Elections.
  10. ^ Hovet, Jason; Richardson, Alex; Heinrich, Mark; Janowski, Tomasz (16 October 2023). "Slovakia's populist ex-PM Fico seals coalition deal for new government". Reuters. Prague. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Fiasko, zavádzanie aj nevyužitá šanca. Ako hodnotia billboardovú kampaň odborníci na marketing?". Pravda (in Slovak). 13 August 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d "Súhrnné výsledky hlasovania". volbysr.sk (in Slovak). 30 October 2022. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022.
  13. ^ Mikušovič, Dušan (10 June 2020). "Pellegrini sa odhodlal: odmietol Fica a odíde zo Smeru" [Pellegrini decided: He rejected Fico and left Smer]. Denník N (in Slovak). N Press.
  14. ^ "Hlas – Sociálna demokracia". Peter Pellegrini's Official Website (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  15. ^ "PES Congress welcomes new PES leadership team and four new member parties". Party of European Socialists. 15 October 2022.
  16. ^ "European socialists suspend Robert Fico's Smer party and its ally Hlas". Politico Europe. 12 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Announcement of the Preparatory Committee of the political party with the start of collecting signatures for the registration of the political party called HLAS – Social Democracy". Ministry of the Interior (in Slovak). 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Pellegrini's Voice-SD Party Now Registered". NewsNow. News Agency of the Slovak Republic. 11 September 2020.
  19. ^ Bariak, Ladislav (29 June 2020). "Pellegriniho jedenástka končí. Nastupuje Hlas – sociálna demokracia" [Pellegrini's eleven exit. Voice – Social Democracy is coming.]. Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Ringier Axel Springier Slovakia. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  20. ^ "Poslanci, ktorí nie sú členmi poslaneckých klubov" [Deputies who are not members of parliamentary caucus]. National Council of Slovakia. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  21. ^ Hanus, Martin. "Smer verzus Hlas / Prečo Fico predbieha Pellegriniho a čo to znamená pre krajinu". Postoj (in Slovak). Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  22. ^ Jochecová, Katrin; Wax, Eddy; Barigazzi, Jacopo (12 October 2023). "European socialists suspend Robert Fico's Smer party and its ally Hlas". Politico Europe.
  23. ^ "Peter Pellegrini zakladá stranu Hlas-Sociálna demokracia". Teraz (in Slovak). 29 June 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  24. ^ Kern, Miro (25 January 2021). "Pellegrini berie hromadne voličov koalície, ulovil ich už viac ako 100-tisíc (+ grafy)". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press.
  25. ^ Gális, Tomáš (29 June 2020). "Dutý Pellegriniho Hlas". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press.
  26. ^ "Petra Žigu obvinili z podplácania, usvedčuje ho Monika Jankovská". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press. 17 December 2020.
  27. ^ "Imrecze a Suchoba trvajú na výpovediach, že Výboh prevzal úplatok pre Pellegriniho. Predseda Hlasu: "Môžu si robiť srandu zo šampanského"". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press. 18 August 2021.
  28. ^ "Imrecze a Suchoba ukázali na Petra Pellegriniho. Hovoria o úplatku vo výške 150-tisíc eur". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Ringier Axel Springier Slovakia. 7 July 2021.
  29. ^ Kováč, Peter (3 April 2020). "Pellegrini bude bývanie vysvetľovať podobne ako Fico". Sme (in Slovak). Petit Press.
  30. ^ "Prečo s Ficom neobvinili aj Erika Tomáša? Imrecze vypovedá, že pýtal kompro na Matoviča, je to však už premlčané". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press. 21 April 2022.
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