Voice – Social Democracy

Voice – Social Democracy ( sk, Hlas – sociálna demokracia, HLAS–SD) is a social-democratic political party in Slovakia. The party was founded in June 2020 and officially registered by the Ministry of the Interior in September 2020. The entire party presidium and most of its members are former senior members of the then left-wing populist Direction – Social Democracy (SMER–SD). The leader and chairman of the party is the former prime minister of Slovakia and former SMER–SD vice-chairman Peter Pellegrini.

Voice – Social Democracy has been described as a catch-all party of a populist nature, often reluctant to take positions opposed by a significant segment of the electorate.

History

Party leader Peter Pellegrini joined Direction – Social Democracy (SMER–SD) in 2000. After being elected to the National Council in the 2006 parliamentary election, Pellegrini served in several positions as state secretary, minister and speaker of the National Council. He was elected vice-chairman of SMER–SD in 2014. Pellegrini succeeded Robert Fico as prime minister after the 2018 government crisis triggered by the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak. Fico remained the party chairman.

Pellegrini led SMER–SD electoral list in the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election, while still serving as party vice-chairman. After winning 170,000 more personal votes than Fico, Pellegrini called for a party convention and expressed his intention to run for party chairman.

The political party was announced on 29 June 2020 and registered by the Ministry of the Interior on 11 September 2020. The party was launched by the former prime minister Peter Pellegrini. On the day of the launch of new party, Pellegrini left SMER–SD, along with ten more of the party's members of the National Council. To be registered as a party, it had to obtain 10,000 signatures by 25 December 2020. Pellegrini, Matúš Šutaj Eštok, and Peter Kmec formed the party's preparatory committee, and Pellegrini became the party's chairman. For the time being, the 11 deputies are classified as non-inscrits within the National Council.

According to opinion polling for the next Slovak parliamentary election, Pellegrini is the second most popular Slovak politician. Immediately after the party was formed, its support was about 16%. In October 2020, the party became the most popular for the first time. As of November 2021, the party is still the most popular with stable support around 20%.

Ideology

In line with the European centre-left, the HLAS–SD has a pro-European outlook and wants to promote traditional social democratic goals within the welfare state. Reflecting a more conservative stance, especially on social issues, among mainstream parties in the Eastern European region, the party refuses to promote liberalism on social issues, which it argues are not in demand. Party vice-chairman Erik Tomáš was quoted as saying: "We have a conservative voter if we talk about polls, and I can assure everyone that we have our priorities and they are not opening up some liberal issues."

Controversy

Accusations of corruption

Following the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election and subsequent return to the opposition of SMER–SD, for which all HLAS–SD Members of Parliament (MPs) were elected, investigations and indictments of top party officials and members began. Key figures to be accused of corruption, extortion, or formation of a criminal group included former Special Prosecutor Dušan Kováčik, the two most recent Slovak Police Force presidents (Milan Lučanský), former president of the Financial Administration František Imrecze, dozens of judges, including from the Supreme Court, and employees of ministries, the police force, and state-owned enterprises. All of them were direct or indirect nominees of SMER–SD.

Members of Pellegrini's Cabinet were also among those accused or mentioned in the allegations. Deputy Minister of Justice Monika Jankovská was accused of corruption and extortion, confessing to several acts. According to one of the accused, Peter Kažimír, the Minister of Finance, was to receive a regular annual bribe of €500,000. Peter Žiga, a member of the presidency and a party MP, was accused of allegedly paying a bribe of €100,000 to a Supreme Court judge. According to witnesses, the party's deputy chairman, Erik Tomáš, mediated a bribe of several tens of thousands of euros for obtaining information from state authorities to discredit opposition leaders.

According to witnesses, party leader Peter Pellegrini, as Deputy Minister of Finance in 2013, asked for and subsequently received a bribe of €150,000. In 2018, Pellegrini had a property case, having bought a luxury apartment in Bratislava for €410,000. According to his property declaration, Pellegrini was to cover €246,000 from his own income and borrow the remainder, despite reports suggesting that since 2006 he has earned a total of €460,000 from public office.

Representation

Deputies of the National Council

As of 2021, the party claims 11 members of the National Council, all of whom are former members of Direction – Social Democracy (SMER–SD) elected for this party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voice - Social Democracy
2020 establishments in Slovakia
Political parties established in 2020
Social democratic parties in Slovakia
Direction – Social Democracy breakaway groups