Union of the Workers of Slovakia

The Union of the Workers of Slovakia (Slovak: Združenie robotníkov Slovenska, ZRS) was a radical-left party in Slovakia.

Union of the Workers of Slovakia
Združenie robotníkov Slovenska
AbbreviationZRS
LeaderJán Ľupták [sk]
Founded26 April 1994 (1994-04-26)
Dissolved28 November 2017 (2017-11-28)
Split fromParty of the Democratic Left
HeadquartersNám. Š. Moysesa 31/3, Banská Bystrica
Membership (2008)Decrease 32[1]
IdeologyLeft-wing populism[2]
Slovak nationalism[3]
Anti-Western sentiment[3]
Agrarian socialism
Political positionFar-left[4][5]
Colours  Red

History

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The Union of the Workers of Slovakia (Združenie robotníkov Slovenska, ZRS) split from the Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) in 1994. In the 1994 parliamentary election the party gained 7.34% of the votes and 13 seats. Although calling themselves "agrarian-left" the deputies entered the coalition of the national-conservative People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia and the nationalist Slovak National Party. The ZRS occupied the Ministry of Privatization to ensure that key industries remained under state control. The ZRS stated on its webpage that it had prevented privatizations in the gas industry, energy sector, telecommunications, banks and insurance.[6]

The ZRS had no international affiliations[7] and did not run in the 2004 or 2009 European Parliament elections.

In the 1998 parliamentary election the ZRS received 1.30% of the votes. The ZRS received 0.54% of the vote in 2002 and 0.29% in 2006. In the 2010 parliamentary election the party received 0.24% of the votes – below the poll's error margin of 0.6%.[8]

The president of the ZRS was Ján Ľupták [sk].[9]

The party dissolved in November 2017.

References

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  1. ^ "VEC: Audit politickej strany (SUBJECT: Audit of a political party)" (PDF) (in Slovak).
  2. ^ Becker, Ute; Gawrich, Andrea; Widmaier, ulrich (2013). Regierungssysteme Zentral- und Osteuropas. Springer. p. 85. ISBN 9783663112761.
  3. ^ a b Brhlíková, Radoslava (2020). Seeking the national interest: Slovakia after 15 years of EU and NATO. p. 76. ISBN 9783838214177.
  4. ^ Koudelka, Zdeněk (14 February 1997). "Současná Slovenská politika" (PDF). Politologický Časopis: 199. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  5. ^ Muller, Thomas C.; Overstreet, William R.; Isacoff, Judith F.; Lansford, Tom (2011). Political Handbook of the World 2011. doi:10.4135/9781608717576. ISBN 9781608717347.
  6. ^ Homepage of the ZRS Archived 23 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Geoffrey Pridham: Complying with the European Union's Democratic Conditionality: Transnational Party Linkages and Regime Change in Slovakia, 1993–1998, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 51, No. 7 (Nov. 1999), pp. 1221–1244.
  8. ^ Poll of Focus Research.
  9. ^ "Zdru?Enie Robotn?Kov Slovenska - ?Stredn? Rada". Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
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