Most–Híd (, ; from the Slovak and Hungarian words for "bridge") was an inter-ethnic political party in Slovakia. 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 Parliamentary elections were held in Slovakia on 29 February 2020 to elect all 150 members of the National Council. The anti-corruption list led by Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) movement emerged as the largest parliam ...

. 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

, Gábor Gál, László A. Nagy, Tibor Bastrnák and Zsolt Simon, who had previously left the

(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 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 The following elections occurred in the year 2012. International * 2012 United Nations Security Council election Africa Egypt * 2012 Egyptian presidential election Mali * 2012 Malian presidential election * 2012 Malian parliamentary electio ...

, 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 as a coalition 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