Hungarian Alliance (Slovak political party) explained

Hungarian Alliance
Native Name:
Abbreviation:Szövetség–Aliancia
Chairman:Krisztián Forró
Leader1 Title:Deputy Chairman
Leader1 Name:György Gyimesi
Örs Orosz
Founder:Béla Bugár
(SMK-MKP)
Edit Bauer
Gábor Zászlós
(MKÖ-MKS)
Foundation:1994/2023
Predecessor:MKÖ-MKS (Alliance, legally)[1]
Merger:Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement
Coexistence
Hungarian Civic Party
(SMK-MKP)
Headquarters:Čajakova 4048/8
811 05 Bratislava
Website:
Country:Slovakia
Position:Centre-right
Membership: 10,285[2]
Membership Year:2023
European:European People's Party
Colours: Orange
Slogan:«Hungarians. Nationalities. Regions.»

Seats1 Title:National Council
Seats2 Title:European Parliament
Seats3 Title:Regional governors
Seats4 Title:Regional deputies[3]
Seats5 Title:Mayors
Seats6 Title:Local councillors

The Hungarian Alliance (;, Szövetség–Aliancia) is a political party in Slovakia for the ethnic Hungarian minority, previously known simply as the "Alliance", it was founded when "Party of the Hungarian Community" and Most–Híd merged into "Hungarian Community Togetherness". It is led by former SMK-MKP leader, Krisztián Forró.[4]

History

Party of the Hungarian Coalition

The SMK-MKP party was founded as Party of the Hungarian Coalition (Hungarian: Magyar Koalíció Pártja, Slovak: Strana maďarskej koalície) in 1998 in response to an anti-coalition law passed. The law prevented parties from forming electoral cartels at election time, which small parties had used to overcome the 5% electoral threshold. Three parties representing the Hungarian minority had formed such a cartel, called 'Hungarian Coalition' in the 1994 election, and had won 10.2% of the vote. To comply with the new law, the three parties – the Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement, Coexistence, and the Hungarian Civic Party – merged to form the Party of the Hungarian Coalition.

Following the 2002 parliamentary election in Slovakia, the Party of the Hungarian Coalition joined the Slovak governing coalition for the second time (after the 1998–2002 term), obtained 321,069 votes (11.16% of all votes), and was the most stable political party in the governing coalition. At the EU parliament election in 2004 the party won 13.24% of the vote.

The party had 4 ministers (Pál Csáky – Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Minority Rights, László Miklós – Minister of Environment, László Gyurovszky – Minister of Construction and Regional Development and Zsolt Simon – Minister of Agriculture) and 6 state secretaries (Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Construction and Regional Development) in the Slovak government. Béla Bugár, the president of the Party of the Hungarian Coalition at that time, was the Vice President of the National Council of the Slovak Republic.

In the parliamentary election of 17 June 2006, the party won 11.7% of the popular vote and 20 out of 150 seats, but lost its participation in the government.

Decline

In 2009, a moderate faction led by high-ranking SMK-MKP members founded Most–Híd. In the parliamentary election of 12 June 2010, the party missed the 5% border needed for participation in parliament by receiving 4.33% and lost its position in parliament. The SMK-MKP also proved unable to obtain 5% of the votes in the 2012 parliamentary election. On 22 September 2012, the party was renamed to Party of the Hungarian Community (Hungarian: Magyar Közösség Pártja, Slovak: Strana maďarskej komunity).

In the 2014 European elections, SMK–MKP came in seventh place nationally, receiving 6.53% of the vote and electing 1 MEP.[5] In the 2019 European elections, SMK–MKP fell just short of the 5% threshold with 4.96% thus losing their MEP.

Hungarian Community Togetherness

Összefogás–Spolupatričnosť (Unity) was founded in the autumn of 2019, citing disputes between the Hungarian parties as a reason for its formation, which could have caused the Hungarian minority not to be represented on the National Council after the 2020 Slovak parliamentary elections. Former Member of the European Parliament for SMK-MKP, Edit Bauer, and former Deputy Chairman of Hungarian Civic Party (MNI), Gábor Zászlós, were instrumental in the formation of the party.[6]

In connection with the upcoming parliamentary elections, the members of Összefogás–Spolupatričnosť negotiated an electoral cooperation with four other ethnic Hungarian parties (Most–Híd, SMK-MKP, MKDA-MKDSZ, MF-MF).[7] [8] On 24 November 2019, Összefogás–Spolupatričnosť approved the joint action of the Hungarian parties in the parliamentary elections. Összefogás–Spolupatričnosť was then transformed into MKÖ-MKS, and gained 30 seats on the candidate list. Szabolcs Mózes, the party president, ran second on the list, Örs Orosz, the party vice president, ran sixth, and József Nagy, a former member of the European Parliament, ran ninth. Mózes stated that they were joining to ensure the representation of the Hungarian minority and to contribute to the change of government and the removal of the SMER-SD party from power.[9] Eventually, SMK-MKP and the Hungarian Forum agreed to run on the Összefogás–Spolupatričnosť list which renamed themselves to Hungarian Community Togetherness (Hungarian: Magyar Közösségi Összefogás, Slovak: Maďarská komunitná spolupatričnosť; MKÖ-MKS). They only reached 3.91% and Most–Híd got 2.05% in the 2020 parliamentary election. This was the first election, in which no Hungarian minority party reached the 5% threshold.

After their failure, MKÖ-MKS, SMK-MKP, and Most–Híd entered into negotiations about further cooperation. On 20 August 2020, they signed a declaration of cooperation in Komárno, a town in southwestern Slovakia.[10] In March 2021, they announced that the negotiations had been successful, and that a new party "Szövetség – Aliancia" would be established. The new party would have three officers: a chairman nominated by SMK-MKP, a chairman of the Republican Council nominated by Most–Híd, and the post of expert vice-chairman nominated by MKÖ-MKS.[11]

Alliance

Szövetség–Aliancia was formed by merging the parties SMK-MKP, Most–Híd, and MKÖ-MKS at the assembly in Šamorín on 2 October 2021.[12] The assembly was preceded by two years of negotiations between five Hungarian political parties about the possibility of cooperation. The goal of joining forces was declared as a return to parliament after the next election, or to be part of the governing coalition. SMK-MKP continued to exist as a faction within Alliance under the backronym Hungarian Conservative Platform (Hungarian: Magyar Konzervatív Platform, MKP).

Krisztián Forró, the then-chairman of the SMK-MKP, became the chairman of the party, and the then-chairman of MKÖ-MKS, Szabolcs Mózes, was elected vice-chairman. In addition, the chairman of the Republican Council, László Sólymos, the then-chairman of the Most–Híd party, was elected, as well as the vice-chairman and chairmen of the platforms, members of the republican presidency, republican committee and mandatory commissions. Sólymos said: "We have laid the foundations for the political, parliamentary representation of the Hungarians, the nationalities and the regions in which we live". The Alliance declared that it would negotiate cooperation with all Slovak parties, such as support for the EU, NATO, and Visegrad Four membership, but would not cooperate with extremist parties like the People's Party Our Slovakia and Direction – Slovak Social Democracy.

In 2023, a few months before the election, however Most–Híd left the united party again over a dispute about allowing former OĽaNO MP György Gyimesi on the list.[13] Leaving only the SMK-MKP and Összefogás factions in the party.

Hungarian Alliance

On the December 9, 2023 congress, the name of the party was changed to Hungarian Alliance, platforms were abolished and Gyimesi, who joined the party a few days earlier, became deputy chairman.[14] In the second round of the 2024 presidential election, MA endorsed Smer-backed Peter Pellegrini who won the election.[15]

International affiliations

SMK-MKP was said to be an ally of the right-wing ruling party of Hungary Fidesz.[16] The party became a member of the European People's Party (EPP) on 7 June 2000 and later their MEPs joined European People's Party group to which Fidesz belonged too. They also shared their affiliation to the Centrist Democrat International.

After the split and formation of Most–Híd, Fidesz maintained close ties to SMK-MKP.[17] After Fidesz' victory in the 2018 Hungarian parliamentary election József Menyhárt called it "good news" for ethnic Hungarian communities.[18] In the 2019 European Parliament election Viktor Orban even publicly endorsed SMK-MKP.[19] [20] Like their predecessors SMK-MKP and MKÖ-MKS, Alliance is a member of EPP and an observer of the CDI.

Organisation

The primary party organisations made up the basis of the party. By the end of March 2003, the number of these local organisations of SMK-MKP was 521 and the number of members was 10,983. The party congress was the highest body of the party. Between two congresses the highest body of the party is the National Council.

Each elected functionary and body gets elected in form of democratic, secret elections. The party leadership of the districts co-ordinates the work of local institutions within district.

Between 1998 and 2007 the chairman of SMK-MKP was Béla Bugár. The Chairman of the National Council was Zsolt Komlósy, the Parliamentary Group Leader was Gyula Bárdos and Executive Deputy Chairman was Miklós Duray. Pál Csáky was the chairman of the Minister's Club.

On 31 March 2007 Pál Csáky was elected for chairman by the assembly of party, thus succeeding the more moderate Béla Bugár.[21]

Béla Bugár established the party Most–Híd on 30 June 2009, stating that Csáky was too nationalist. His new party (its name meaning "bridge" in Hungarian and Slovak) wants to emphasise cooperation between Hungarians and Slovaks.[22]

After the merger, the three former parties remained platforms within the party responsible for upholding the quotas between the factions with MKP hold the largest portion.[23] After a dispute over the candidacy György Gyimesi, the Most–Híd platform left the party and used the MKDA-MKDSZ party to regain their party status under the new name "Most–Híd 2023".

Party of the Hungarian Coalition

Chairmen

Vice-chairmen

Chairmen of the National Council

Hungarian Community Togetherness

Chairmen

Vice-chairmen

Alliance

Chairman

Vice-chairman

Chairmen of the National Council

Hungarian Alliance

Chairman

Vice-chairmen

Chairman of the National Council

Election results

National Council

ElectionVotes%Seats+/–Government
Hungarian Coalition (MKDMEMPP)
1994292,93610.19 (#3)New
Party of the Hungarian Coalition
1998306,6239.12 (#4) 2
2002321,06911.16 (#4) 5
2006269,11111.68 (#4) 0
2010109,6384.33 (#7) 20
2012109,4844.28 (#8) 0
Party of the Hungarian Community
2016105,4954.05 (#10) 0
Hungarian Community Togetherness
2020112,6623.90 (#9) 0
Alliance
2023130,1834.39 (#9) 0

European Parliament

ElectionList leaderVotes%RankSeats+/–EP Group
Party of the Hungarian Coalition
2004Edit Bauer92,9275thNewEPP-ED
200993,7503rd 0EPP
Party of the Hungarian Community
2014Pál Csáky36,6297th 1EPP
2019József Menyhárt48,9297th 1
Alliance
2024József Berényi57,3508th 0

President

Election! rowspan="2"
Candidate1st round2nd round
Votes%RankVotes%Rank
Party of the Hungarian Coalition
1999Endorsed
Rudolf Schuster
1,396,9501st1,727,481
2004Endorsed
Eduard Kukan
438,9203rd
2009Endorsed
Iveta Radičová
713,7352nd988,808
Party of the Hungarian Community
2014Gyula Bárdos97,0355th
2019József Menyhárt1,20815th
Endorsed
Robert Mistrík
3,31814th
Hungarian Alliance
2024Krisztián Forró65,5884th

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Register of Political Parties and Political Movements . 2023-12-20 . ives.minv.sk.
  2. Web site: Výročná správa politickej strany Magyar Szövetség - Maďarská Aliancia za rok 2023. Ministry of the Interior (Slovakia). sk.
  3. Web site: Történelmi siker a megyei választásokon: Önálló pártszínekben a Szövetség adja a legtöbb megyei képviselőt . Historic success in the regional elections: the Alliance gives the most regional deputies among individual parties . ma7 . hu . Pomichal . Krisztián . 30 October 2022 . 30 October 2022 . A korábbi, összesen 42 megyei testületi pozíció a következő négy évben 54 főre duzzad. . The previous total of 42 regional council posts will swell to 54 for the next four years..
  4. Web site: 2021-10-02 . Predsedom Aliancie-Szövetség sa stal Forró, doterajší predseda SMK . 2023-12-23 . Pravda.sk . sk-SK.
  5. Web site: Elections to the European Parliament 2014 . 2014-05-28 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140528053354/http://ep2014.statistics.sk/EP-dv/Tabulka3_en.html . 28 May 2014.
  6. Web site: Teraz.sk . 2019-09-02 . Vzniká nové hnutie Spolupatričnosť, sú za ním aj členovia SMK . 2022-12-17 . TERAZ.sk . sk.
  7. Web site: Mikušovič . Dušan . 2019-10-18 . Maďarské strany sa dohodli na spoločnej kandidátke s názvom "Strana regiónov Most MK" . 2022-12-17 . Denník N . sk-SK.
  8. Web site: Teraz.sk . 2019-10-23 . B. Bugár: Rozhodnutie SMK berieme na vedomie . 2022-12-17 . TERAZ.sk . sk.
  9. Web site: 2019-11-24 . Hnutie Spolupatričnosť schválilo spoločný . 2022-12-17 . Denník N . sk-SK.
  10. Web site: a.s . Petit Press . Maďarské strany dolaďujú dohodu o spolupráci v jednej strane . 2022-12-17 . domov.sme.sk . sk.
  11. Web site: TASR . Dianie v opozícii / Maďarské strany sa zjednotili do strany Aliancia . 2022-12-17 . www.postoj.sk . sk.
  12. Web site: Na Slovensku pribudla nová politická strana Aliancia - Szövetség. Vznikla zlúčením viacerých subjektov . 2022-12-17 . www.noviny.sk . 2 October 2021 . sk.
  13. Web site: PÁRTSZAKADÁS: A Híd kilép a Szövetségből . 2023-05-16 . 2023-05-16.
  14. Web site: A Magyar Szövetség kongresszusa megerősítette Forró Krisztián elnöki pozícióját - VIDEÓKKAL .
  15. Web site: A Magyar Szövetség elnökségi tagjainak közös nyilatkozata Peter Pellegrini államfőjelölti támogatását illetően. 3 April 2024. 3 April 2024. Hungarian Alliance.
  16. Web site: Ergebnisse der Europawahlen in Ungarn. 27 May 2019. www.kas.de.
  17. Web site: Orbán sa stretáva s SMK, s vládnym Mostom-Híd nekomunikuje. 17 April 2017. domov.sme.sk.
  18. Web site: Election 2018 – Ethnic Hungarian leaders welcome Fidesz election win. Alexandra Béni. 10 April 2018.
  19. Web site: EP-Wahl: Orbán ermutigt in der Slowakei, MKP zu unterstützen. 13 June 2023.
  20. Web site: Orbán prijal predsedu SMK, vyjadril mu podporu vo voľbách do EP. 22 April 2019.
  21. Web site: Is Slovakia's Hungarian minority becoming more radical?. Respekt. 2007-04-02. 2011-12-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20120524190800/http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/results/archiv_article/ARTICLE15829-Is-Slovakia-s-Hungarian-minority-becoming-more-radical. 24 May 2012. dead.
  22. Web site: Neue Partei der "Ungarischen Koalition". de. Der Standard. 2009-06-30. 2011-12-08.
  23. Web site: Az MKP-platform parlamenti képviselőjelöltjeinek teljes listája. hu. Hungarian Conservative Platform. 2023-05-13. 2023-08-03.
  24. Web site: Menyhárt József lett az MKP új elnöke. 2016-06-11. Alfahír. 2016-06-11.