The Hungarian Workers' Party ( hu, Magyar Munkáspárt) is a
communist party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
led by
Gyula Thürmer
Gyula Thürmer (born 14 April 1953) is a Hungarian communist politician and a former diplomat, who has been the chairman of the Hungarian Workers' Party
The Hungarian Workers' Party ( hu, Magyar Munkáspárt) is a communist party in Hungary ...
. Established after the fall of the communist
Hungarian People's Republic
The Hungarian People's Republic ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság) was a one-party socialist state from 20 August 1949
to 23 October 1989.
It was governed by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence of the Soviet Uni ...
, the party has yet to win a seat in the Hungarian parliament. Until May 2009, it was a member of the
Party of the European Left
The Party of the European Left (PEL), commonly abbreviated European Left, is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. ...
. It was formed from, and considers itself the successor to, the former ruling
Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party
The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party ( hu, Magyar Szocialista Munkáspárt, MSZMP) was the ruling Marxist–Leninist party of the Hungarian People's Republic between 1956 and 1989. It was organised from elements of the Hungarian Working Peop ...
.
History
The party was established as the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party on 17 December 1989 as a successor party of the
Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party
The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party ( hu, Magyar Szocialista Munkáspárt, MSZMP) was the ruling Marxist–Leninist party of the Hungarian People's Republic between 1956 and 1989. It was organised from elements of the Hungarian Working Peop ...
(MSZMP) by a small group of old MSZMP members who opposed its transformation into the
Hungarian Socialist Party
The Hungarian Socialist Party ( hu, Magyar Szocialista Párt), commonly known by its acronym MSZP, is a centre-left social-democratic and pro-European political party in Hungary.
It was founded on 7 October, 1989 as a post-communist evolution a ...
(MSZP). Among them was
Károly Grósz
Károly Grósz (1 August 1930 – 7 January 1996) was a Hungary, Hungarian communism, communist politician, who served as the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party from 1988 to 1989.
Early career
Grósz was born in Misko ...
, the last general secretary of the old MSZMP, who became the new party's acting chairman
In the
1990 elections it received around 3% of the national vote, the largest share for a party that failed to win a seat.
In 1993 the party adopted the name Workers' Party, and in the same year a group of hard-liners broke away to form another
Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party
The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party ( hu, Magyar Szocialista Munkáspárt, MSZMP) was the ruling Marxist–Leninist party of the Hungarian People's Republic between 1956 and 1989. It was organised from elements of the Hungarian Working Peop ...
. In the
1994 elections, the party won a similar share of the vote, again emerging as the largest party without a seat. Despite increasing its vote share to around 4% in the
1998 elections, the party again remained seatless. In the
2002 elections, the party's vote share fell to around 2%, and for the first time since 1990, not the largest party without parliamentary representation.
On 12 November 2005 it became the Hungarian Communist Workers' Party when a split led to the formation of the
Workers' Party of Hungary 2006 led by János Fratanolo. In the
2006 elections the party received less than 0.5% of the national vote, whilst in the
2010 elections, its vote share fell to just 0.1%. On 11 May 2013 the party was renamed again, this time becoming the Hungarian Workers' Party due to a law passed the previous year banning the public use of names associated with "authoritarian regimes of the 20th century."
In the
2014 parliamentary election, the party received 0.56% of the votes, again the largest party without parliamentary seats.
On the question of the
2016 migrant quota referendum, the party called for a "no" vote, expressing opposition to what it perceives as "EU aggression" against Hungary.
The Party was on the NO vote side during the
2003 Hungarian European Union membership referendum
A referendum on joining the European Union was held in Hungary on 12 April 2003. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p899 The proposal was approved by 83.8% of voters, with a voter turnout of 45.6%.Nohlen & St ...
.
Ideology
The party opposed Hungary joining
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
. In 1996 the party organised a countrywide collection of signatures for a referendum on NATO membership. This HCWP-led referendum drive failed, although
another referendum on NATO membership was held in 1997, which resulted in a vote in favour. The party continues to oppose the country's participation in NATO and other military organisations. It campaigns to have all Hungarian forces returned from abroad and to reduce the military budget. The party opposed Hungary's participation in the "democratisation" program that has previously targeted the governments of
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
and strongly opposed NATO campaigns in Yugoslavia against
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
and the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
.
Other foreign policies are in favour of
*a peaceful and just settlement of the Middle East crisis, in favour of the "progressive" Arab countries.
*a foreign policy based upon "good relations" with all parts of the world.
Election results
National Assembly
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
Gallery
File:Logo of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (1989-1993).svg, Logo from 1989 to 1993
File:Logo of the Workers' Party of Hungary (1993-2005).svg, Logo from 1993 to 2005
File:Magyar Kommunista Munkáspárt old logo.svg, Logo from 2005 to 2013
File:Flag of the Hungarian Communist Workers' Party.svg, Flag from 1993 to 2013
Notes
References
*
External links
Party website
A szabadságWeekly newspaper of the party
Baloldali FrontParty's youth organization
Hungarian Workers' Party FacebookHungarian Workers' Party Twitter
{{Authority control
1989 establishments in Hungary
Communist parties in Hungary
Eurosceptic parties in Hungary
Party of the European Left former member parties
Political parties established in 1989
Opposition to NATO
Marxist parties in Hungary
Hungarian Socialist Party breakaway groups
International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties