Leading the Way, but Also Following the Trend: The Slovak National Party

Tim Haughton,Marek Rybář,Kevin Deegan-Krause

doi:10.17645/pag.v9i4.4570

Tim Haughton, Marek Rybář + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i4.4570

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Abstract

Despite spells outside parliament, with its blend of nationalist and populist appeals the Slovak National Party (SNS) has been a prominent fixture on Slovakia’s political scene for three decades. Unlike some of the newer parties in Slovakia and across the region, partly as a product of the point of its (re-)creation, SNS has a comparable organizational density to most established parties in the country and has invested in party branches and recruiting members. Although ordinary members exercised some power and influence during the fissiparous era of the early 2000s, SNS has been notable for the role played by its leader in decision-making and steering the party. Each leader placed their stamp on the projection, pitch and functioning of the party, both as a decision-making organization and an electoral vehicle. Ordinary members have been largely—but not exclusively—relegated to the role of cheerleaders and campaigners for the party’s tribunes; a situation which has not changed significantly in the era of social media. The pre-eminent position of the leader and the limited options for “voice” has led unsuccessful contenders for top posts and their supporters to opt instead for “exit.” Despite having some of the traits of the mass party and having engaged in some of the activities common for mass parties, especially in the earlier years of its existence, in more recent times in particular, SNS falls short of the mass party model both in aspiration and reality.

Highlights

Slovenská národná strana (SNS, The Slovak National Party) has been one of the perennials of party politics in Slovakia
In the early 1990s, SNS followed the trend in Slovakia and built a party organization with branches across the country and a significant membership
Personnel politics and the idiosyncratic history of SNS explains much about the elevated position of the party leader, it is important to stress that a low level of intra‐ party democracy in parties in Slovakia is the norm, with ordinary members having minimal impact on decision‐ making (Dolný & Malová, 2016)

Summary

Introduction

Slovenská národná strana (SNS, The Slovak National Party) has been one of the perennials of party politics in Slovakia Even though it lost its parliamentary repre‐ sentation in 2002 and 2012, it managed to bounce back at the subsequent election regaining seats in parliament and go straight into government. In light of this thematic issue’s focus on orga‐ nizational structures, SNS is notable for being a strongly centralized party with its leader having almost dictato‐ rial powers. In the 1990s the party had links to var‐ ious nationalist organizations By the time it returned to government in 2016 after its second spell without par‐ liamentary representation, the party may have been more mass‐like than many of the newer parties in Slovakia, but it fell well short of the mass party model. As the timing of SNS’s formation and leadership choices is central to understanding the form, content, and dynamic of SNS, we devote more space in this con‐ tribution than others to the historical development of the party

The Trajectory of the Slovak National Party

Leading the Way

Findings

Conclusion