People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia

Velvet Revolution

The party was created as a Slovak nationalist faction of Public Against Violence (VPN), from which it seceded at an extraordinary VPN congress on 27 April 1991.^[25] Called 'Movement for a Democratic Slovakia' (HZDS), it was led by Vladimír Mečiar, who had been deposed as Slovak Prime Minister a month earlier, and composed mostly of the VPN's cabinet members. The HZDS claimed to represent Slovak national interest, and demanded a more decentralised Czechoslovak confederation. On 7 May 1992, the HZDS voted for a declaration of independence, but this was defeated 73-57.^[26]

At the first election in which it took part, on 5–6 June, the HZDS won an overwhelming victory, with 74 seats on the National Council: two short of an absolute majority. Mečiar was appointed prime minister on 24 June. Whereas the HZDS wanted a confederation, the Czech elections on the same day were won by Civic Democratic Party, which preferred a tighter federation. Recognising that these positions were irreconcilable, the National Council voted for Slovakia's Declaration of Independence by 113 votes to 24,^[27] and Mečiar concluded formal negotiations over the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

Dominant party

The party adopted an economically populist position,^[28] and sought to slow the post-Soviet privatisation and liberalisation.^[29]

In the first elections after independence, in late 1994, the HZDS retained its dominant position, winning 58 seats (the Peasant's Party of Slovakia won a further 3 on its list).^[30]

Decline in opposition

Originally designating itself as a centre-left party, the party moved towards the mainstream right and, in March 2000, renamed itself the 'People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia' (ĽS-HZDS) to try to achieve membership of the European People's Party (EPP).^[31] However, lingering memories of former anti-Europeanism, conflicting rhetoric,^[31] and the presence of three Slovak parties already in the EPP prevented this.^[32] The ĽS-HZDS then looked to the Euro-integrationist European Democratic Party,^[32] which it joined in 2009.

The build-up to the 2002 election saw Mečiar exclude a number of prominent members from the party's list of candidates. Several of the excluded members, led by Ivan Gašparovič, split from the party and founded the similarly titled Movement for Democracy (HZD). The new party won 3.3% of the vote, eating significantly into the ĽS-HZDS's position, and contributing to it winning only 36 seats. By 2006, further divisions and splits had reduced it to only 21 MPs.

Back in government

In the parliamentary election of 17 June 2006, the party won 8.8% of the popular vote and 15 out of 150 seats.

Two ĽS-HZDS ministers were sworn in with the Robert Fico government on July 4, 2006:

• Štefan Harabin (deputy prime minister; minister of justice);
• Miroslav Jureňa (minister of agriculture).

In the 2010 election the party lost all its seats, after its share of the vote halved to below the 5% threshold for entering parliament.

National Council

More information Election, Leader ...

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Rank	Seats	+/–	Status
1992	Vladimír Mečiar	1,148,625	37.3%	1st	74 / 150		ĽS HZDS–SNS (1992–1994)
							Opposition (1994)
1994		1,005,488	34.9%	1st	58 / 150	16	ĽS HZDS–SNS–ZRS–RSS
		In coalition with the Peasants' Party of Slovakia, which won 61 seats in total.
1998		907,103	27.0%	1st	43 / 150	15	Opposition
2002		560,691	19.5%	1st	36 / 150	7	Opposition
2006		202,540	8.8%	5th	15 / 150	21	Smer–SNS–ĽS HZDS
2010		109,480	4.3%	8th	0 / 150	15	Extra-parliamentary
2012		23,772	0.9%	13th	0 / 150	0	Extra-parliamentary

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European Parliament

More information Year, Vote ...

Year	Vote	Vote %	Seats	Place
2004	119,582	17.04	3 / 14	2nd
2009	74,241	8.97	1 / 13	5th

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Presidential