Life – National Party (, Život), formerly known as Christian Democracy – Life and Prosperity – Alliance for Slovakia (, KDŽP), is a
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
political party in Slovakia.
History
The split between the
Christian Democratic Movement
The Christian Democratic Movement (, KDH) is a Christian democratic political party in Slovakia that is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and an observer of the Centrist Democrat International
The Centrist Democrat International ...
(KDH) and the KDŽP was sparked by a dispute between the presidency of the party and its member Peter Molda. Molda wanted the
right to life
The right to life is the belief that a human (or other animal) has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including: capital punishment, with some ...
to be a condition for any future KDH participation in government, a move which was not permitted by the more liberal presidency of the KDH. On the 26 April 2018, Molda attacked this move on
Conservative Daily Postoj, a conservative website founded after the
2015 Slovak same-sex marriage referendum, stating "I am amazed that it is said on Christian soil that we will conclude the status quo with the Liberals again" and emphasising that the KDH should be focused on "the question of life".
Alojz Hlina, the president of the KDH, criticised Molda's article on 12 May, with Molda announcing his intent to form a new party the same day.
Alongside Tibor Pénzeš (former assistant deputy of the
National Council of the Slovak Republic
The National Council of the Slovak Republic (, abbreviated to ''NR SR'') is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameralism, unicameral and consists of 150 members, who are elected by universal suffrage under proportional representation ...
),
Pavol Abrhan (former member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic) and Miroslav Vetrík, Molda began collecting the 10,000 signatures needed to register the party. By 16 January 2019, they had collected over 14,000 signatures, meaning that the party was officially registered on 4 February.
In September 2019, KDŽP and the
Slovak National Party
The Slovak National Party (, SNS) is an ultranationalist political party in Slovakia. The party characterizes itself as a nationalist party based on both social and European Christian values.
Since 1990 SNS has won seats in every Slovak pa ...
entered into a cooperation agreement, signing a memorandum concerning "Life and Homeland". They also expressed their support for March for Life, an
anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...
event in Slovakia.
Their first contested national election was the
2020 parliamentary election, in which 3 candidates were elected on joint tickets with the neo-nazi
People's Party Our Slovakia
Kotlebists – People's Party Our Slovakia (, ĽSNS) is a far-right, neo-Nazi political party in Slovakia. The party claims to derive its origin from the legacy of Andrej Hlinka and Jozef Tiso.
Positioned on the far-right of the political spect ...
(L'SNS). However, on 27 May 2020, all three members left the ĽSNS parliamentary club due to a dispute with ĽSNS National Council member
Milan Mazurek
Milan Mazurek (born 24 January 1994) is a far-right Slovak politician who serves for the Republic party (formerly People's Party Our Slovakia). In 2019, he was convicted of defamation of race based on his anti-Romani statements, and became the ...
.
In February 2021, the party was renamed from ''KDŽP'' to ''Life - National Party''.
In April 2023, the party's former chairperson,
Tomáš Taraba
Tomáš Taraba (born 13 February 1980) is a Slovak politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia and Minister of Environment in the Fico's Fourth Cabinet, Fourth cabinet of Robert Fico since 25 October 2023.
With a previous ...
, and other prominent members of the party reached an agreement with
Andrej Danko
Andrej Danko (born 12 August 1974) is a Slovak politician who was the speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic from 2016 to 2020 and Chairman of the nationalist Slovak National Party since 2012.
Early life
Born in Revúca, Danko ...
to run on the list of the
Slovak National Party
The Slovak National Party (, SNS) is an ultranationalist political party in Slovakia. The party characterizes itself as a nationalist party based on both social and European Christian values.
Since 1990 SNS has won seats in every Slovak pa ...
for the
September 2023 elections.
Ideology
The ideology of the party is based around a fundamentalist, far right understanding of Christianity.
The party advocates for a ban on abortions, fights against LGBT+ rights, sexual education, and transgender care, while also advocating for an increased support for families with children and financial assistance to the elderly.
It also calls for increased environmental protections and the introduction of language lessons to schools.
The party was described as
far right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...
or
fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
by mainstream media and political scientists,
however this was disputed by others, such as the liberal-leaning National Council MP
Martin Klus, who has since decided to run on the list of the national-conservative
Sme Rodina
We Are Family () is a National conservatism, national-conservative and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist List of political parties in Slovakia, political party in Slovakia founded in 2011. It is led by businessman Boris Kollár who was List ...
party.
List of party presidents
Source
MINV
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Life - National Party
Political parties in Slovakia
Political parties established in 2019
Christian Democratic Movement breakaway groups
Far-right political parties in Slovakia
National conservative parties
Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Slovakia
Socially conservative parties
2019 establishments in Slovakia
Anti-LGBTQ Christian organizations
Christian nationalism in Europe
Anti-abortion organizations in Europe
Christian fundamentalist organizations in Europe