Most–Híd (, ; from the
Slovak and
Hungarian words for "bridge") was an inter-ethnic
political party in Slovakia
This article lists political parties in Slovakia.
Slovakia has a democratic multi-party system with numerous political parties, established after the fall of communism in 1989 and shaped into the present form with Slovakia's independence in 1993. ...
. Its programme calls for greater cooperation between the country's
Hungarian minority and
ethnic Slovak majority. It was one of four parties in the
Fico III government coalition, but lost all its seats in the
National Council in the
2020 Slovak parliamentary election.
The party was formed in June 2009 by dissidents from the
Party of the Hungarian Coalition
The Party of the Hungarian Community ( hu, Magyar Közösség Pártja, sk, Strana maďarskej komunity; SMK-MKP), formerly known as Party of the Hungarian Coalition ( hu, Magyar Koalíció Pártja, sk, Strana maďarskej koalície), was a politi ...
(SMK-MKP), which they accused of being too
nationalistic
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...
. Most–Híd seeks to offer an alternative to ethnic politics by promoting inter-ethnic cooperation. Led by the SMK-MKP's former chairman
Béla Bugár
Béla Bugár (born 7 July 1958) is a Slovak politician of Hungarian ethnicity. He was a member of the Slovak parliament from 1992 to 2020, briefly serving as its acting Speaker in 2006. He was the former leader of the political party Most–H ...
, the party claimed to have an electorate that is two-thirds ethnic Hungarian and one-third ethnic Slovak. The party remerged with SMK-MKP and a smaller Hungarian minority party (Unity) in late 2021 to form the
Alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
.
History
The party was established on 30 June 2009 by
Béla Bugár
Béla Bugár (born 7 July 1958) is a Slovak politician of Hungarian ethnicity. He was a member of the Slovak parliament from 1992 to 2020, briefly serving as its acting Speaker in 2006. He was the former leader of the political party Most–H ...
, Gábor Gál, László A. Nagy, Tibor Bastrnák and Zsolt Simon, who had previously left the
Party of the Hungarian Coalition
The Party of the Hungarian Community ( hu, Magyar Közösség Pártja, sk, Strana maďarskej komunity; SMK-MKP), formerly known as Party of the Hungarian Coalition ( hu, Magyar Koalíció Pártja, sk, Strana maďarskej koalície), was a politi ...
(SMK-MKP). Béla Bugár, who had also been the president of his former party for 10 years, was elected its president. It was established as an inter-ethnic Hungarian-Slovak alternative to the Party of the Hungarian Coalition. This commitment was cemented by electing
Rudolf Chmel
Rudolf Chmel (born 11 February 1939) is a Slovak politician who was Minister of Culture in the government of Slovakia from 2002 to 2005 and again in 2006. He was also the last ambassador of Czechoslovakia accredited to Hungary, a member of the Pa ...
, an
ethnic Slovak, as one of the party's vice presidents representing.
The party sought to represent the interests of the ethnic Hungarians while working together with the Slovaks. According to Peter Huncik about 60 to 65 percent members were Hungarians, while 35 to 40 were Slovaks. This programme and political ideology manifested itself in the party first taking part in the centre-right
Radičová-government between 2010 and 2012, and also cooperating with the centre-left
Fico government in minority issues in the next electoral cycle.
Polls from mid-September 2009 gave Most–Híd between 3 and 5.6 percent of the vote. An opinion poll by Focus in May 2010 gave Most–Híd 5.6% of the vote. In the
2010 election, the party received 8.12% of the popular vote, and thus won fourteen seats in the
National Council. This, however, included four seats for
Civic Conservative Party
The Civic Conservative Party ( sk, Občianska konzervatívna strana, OKS) is a centre-right liberal conservative political party in Slovakia. It has two seats in the National Council, following the 2020 election. It has also representation at ...
politicians running within the party's list of candidates. At the same time, Most–Híd's main rival, SMK-MKP, fell short of the 5%
threshold and thus did not gain any seats.
In 2010, Most–Híd entered the four-party government of
Iveta Radičová, and sought to advance its agenda, including in language rights, citizenship, agriculture and environmental policy. The government, however, turned out to be unstable and finally collapsed during October 2011, leading to snap elections. After months of steady polling between 6 and 9 percents, the party received 6.89% of the popular vote in the
2012 elections, winning 13 seats. As in 2010, SMK-MKP failed to reach the required threshold, leaving Most–Híd as the only parliamentary party representing the interest of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia.
In the
2014 European elections
Fourteen or 14 may refer to:
* 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15
* one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014
Music
* 14th (band), a British electronic music duo
* ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013
*''14'', an unrel ...
, Most–Híd came in eighth place nationally, receiving 5.83% of the vote and electing 1
MEP.
In the
2016 Slovak parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Slovakia on 5 March 2016 to elect the 150 members of the National Council. The ruling left-wing populist Direction – Social Democracy (SMER–SD) party remained the strongest party, but lost its majority. Th ...
, Most–Híd received 6.50% of the vote – 11 seats – and joined
Fico's Third Cabinet
Robert Fico's Third Cabinet was government of Slovakia, headed by prime minister Robert Fico. It replaced Fico's Second Cabinet on 23 March 2016 following the 2016 parliamentary election, in which Fico's Direction – Social Democracy party ( s ...
as a
coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
partner.
Election results
National Council
European Parliament
Presidential
Footnotes
External links
Most–Híd official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Most-Hid
Centrist parties in Slovakia
Conservative parties in Slovakia
Defunct political parties in Slovakia
Liberal conservative parties in Slovakia
Hungarians in Slovakia
Political parties of minorities in Slovakia
Pro-European political parties in Slovakia
Political parties established in 2009
Political parties disestablished in 2021
2009 establishments in Slovakia
2021 disestablishments in Slovakia
Hungarian minority interests parties