Progressive Slovakia

Progressive Slovakia (Slovak: Progresívne Slovensko) is a social-liberal,[4][5] progressive,[6] pro-European[7] political party in Slovakia established in 2017. In present is party chairwoman human rights activist Irena Bihariová. Tomáš Valášek is only one parliamentary deputy of Progressive Slovakia in National Council, he left parliamentary group of centrist party For the People. In European Parliament party has 3 deputies - Michal Šimečka, vicepresident of liberal group Renew Europe and vicepresident of EP, Martin Hojsík and Michal Wiezik(environmentalist activists). Wiezik left EPP group and Together – Civic Democracy. With these deputies cooperating also Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová (as member of RE but she isn't member of Progressive Slovakia). Party rejects cooperating with nationalist and populist parties as for example Direction – Slovak Social Democracy, Slovak National Party, Republic, People's Party Our Slovakia but they also don't want cooperating with social democrats (for their coruption scandals) and with social conservatives from We Are Family.

Progressive Slovakia
Progresívne Slovensko
AbbreviationPS
ChairpersonIrena Bihariová
Vice-chairpersons
Parliamentary leader
  • Tomáš Valášek
EP leader
FounderIvan Štefunko
Founded13 September 2016 (2016-09-13) (Civic association)
28 November 2017 (2017-11-28) (Party)
HeadquartersTallerova 10, Bratislava
Youth wingYoung Progressives
Women's wingProgressive Women
Membership (2020) 702 [1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left[2][3]
National affiliationIn coalition with SPOLU (until 2020)
European affiliationAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
European Parliament groupRenew Europe
Colours    Light blue and magenta (from 2021)
  Light blue (until 2021)
National Council
1 / 150
European Parliament
3 / 14
Parliament of Bratislava
17 / 45
Local councils
3 / 2,904
Website
www.progresivne.sk

Member of party and presidential candidate of party in 2019 was Zuzana Čaputová, who was elected as new president of Slovakia (first woman in this office). She had very social, green and pro-European program.

Party is member of liberal group in European Parliament - Renew Europe and is full member of Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

History
Original logo of Progressive Slovakia
Logo of Progressive Slovakia before 2021

The party was registered with the Slovak Interior Ministry on 28 November 2017, after the submission of 13,500 signatures.[8] The party's founding congress was held on 20 January 2018, which resulted in Ivan Štefunko being elected as the party's chairman. Štefunko views the left–right political spectrum as obsolete, instead aiming for the party to be a centrist and liberal political movement, claiming that "Slovakia is full of people who want a modern, open and European country".[9] However, Štefunko stepped down as the party's leader in 2019 following criticism of his past involvement in business and politics, although the official reasoning for his resignation was due to health issues.[10] Štefunko was replaced by former deputy leader Michal Truban.[11] Truban is an IT professional, an entrepreneur, and an anti-corruption activist, who also favors digitalization of governance and bureaucracy.[10]

Zuzana Čaputová, who was a former member of Progressive Slovakia, became the first female president in Slovakia's history.

The party first gained attention in 2018 when its favored candidate, Matúš Vallo, won the 2018 municipal elections in Bratislava, and subsequently became the city's mayor.[10] After the 2019 presidential election, the victory of Progressive Slovakia's presidential candidate, 45-year-old lawyer Zuzana Čaputová,[12] was hailed by international media commentators as a victory of liberalism over right-wing populism.[13] According to Professor Michael Rossi, Čaputová's popularity is related to her appeal as an outsider amidst frustration over political corruption and clientelism among the electorate. Čaputová first gained fame as a campaigner against a toxic waste dump created by real estate brokers who were connected to the ruling Smer-SD, which led to many commentators describing her as the "Slovak Erin Brockovich".[13] While campaigning for the presidency, Čaputová focused on the issues of corruption, inflation, justice, the environment, and overhaul of healthcare, and ran on the slogan "stand up to evil". She stayed silent on the issue of immigration and open borders, which most Slovaks are opposed to, and was the only major candidate not to condemn the Global Compact on Migration.[14][15]

The party also got the highest share in the 2019 European Parliament election in Slovakia, earning over 20.1% of the vote and becoming the largest party represented in the Slovak section of the European Parliament, with the establishment Direction – Social Democracy's 15.7% and the neo-fascist Kotleba – People's Party Our Slovakia's 12.1%.[16] For the 2020 parliamentary election, Progressive Slovakia signed a cooperation agreement and non-aggression pact with former president Andrej Kiska's extra-parliamentary For the People party and the Christian Democratic Movement.[17][18] However on election day, in rather stunning fashion, the PS/Spolu coalition narrowly missed on entering the National Council after finishing with 6.96% of the vote,[19] as coalitions must reach a threshold of 7% in order to enter parliament.[20]

European representation

In the European Parliament, Progressive Slovakia sits in the Renew Europe group with two MEPs.[21][22]

In the European Committee of the Regions, Progressive Slovakia sits in the Renew Europe CoR group with one full member for the 2020-2025 mandate.[23]

Election results

National Council
Election Leader Votes  % Seats +/– Government
2020[lower-alpha 1] Michal Truban 200,780 6.96 (#5)
0 / 150
 Extra-parliamentary

European Parliament
Election Group Leader Votes  % Seats +/–
2019[lower-alpha 1] RE Michal Šimečka 198,255 20.11 (#1)
2 / 14

Presidential
Election Candidate First round Second round Result
Votes  % Votes  %
2019 Zuzana Čaputová 870,415 40.57 1,056,582 58.41 Won

Leaders
Image Name Entered office Left office Length of Leadership
1 Ivan Štefunko 20 January 2018 8 May 2019 1 year, 3 months and 18 days
2 Michal Truban 8 May 2019 6 June 2020 1 year and 29 days
3 Irena Bihariová 6 June 2020 present 1 year, 10 months and 25 days

See also

Notes
  1. In alliance with SPOLU

References
  1. "Výročná správa politického hnutia: Progresívne Slovensko" (PDF). Ministry of the Interior (Slovakia) (in Slovak). 2021. p. 68.
  2. Rohac, Dalibor (11 March 2019). "A Rebuke for Populism?". The American Interest. New political parties emerged, one on the center-Left (Progressive Slovakia) and another on the center-Right (SPOLU-Civic Democracy), both backing Ms. Čaputová in her run for president.
  3. "Slovakia". Europe Elects. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  4. Daniel Matthews-Ferrero; Patrik Fritz; Robert Steenland (24 April 2019). "EU country briefing: Slovakia". EURACTIV. Recent presidential elections were seen as a crossroads: sticking with the old establishment in the form of SMER-supported EC Vice-President for Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič, or a desire for change embodied in the political novice Zuzana Čaputová from the relatively new social liberal Progressive Slovakia (PS) party.
  5. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Slovakia". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  6. Peter Daubner (3 June 2019). "The Slovak Paradox". Transform Europe. The winner of the EP election, surprisingly, is a coalition of two new political parties: the liberal, progressive, pro-European Progressive Slovakia and the liberal conservative center-right TOGETHER - Civic Democracy (Spolu – Občianska demokracia).
  7. Teraz.sk (11 November 2018). "Hnutie Progresívne Slovensko sa stalo členom liberálnej ALDE". TERAZ.sk.
  8. "Interior Ministry registers new political party: Progressive Slovakia". The Slovak Spectator. 29 November 2017.
  9. "Newly launched Progressive Slovakia aims for 20 percent of the vote in the next election". The Slovak Spectator. 22 January 2018.
  10. Potočár, Libor (6 May 2019). "Čaputová's Progressive Slovakia Party on the rise ahead of EU elections". Kafkadesk. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  11. Jeseňák, Šimon (18 November 2019). "Michal Truban: Nemám dojem, že sme Kisku odplašili". .týždeň (in Slovak). Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  12. "Zuzana Čaputová elected President of Slovakia". TASS. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  13. Rossi, Michael (14 June 2019). "Slovakia's 'progressive turn' is a rejection of corruption – not a stand against populism". EUROPP—European Politics and Policy. London School of Economics. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  14. Lindsay, Frey. "Will Slovakia's New Progressive President Change Anything On Migration?". Forbes. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  15. Walker, Shaun (13 April 2019). "Zuzana Čaputová, the spiritual liberal who beat Slovakia's populists". The Observer. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  16. Jancarikova, Tatiana (26 May 2019). "Liberal coalition Progressive Slovakia/Together wins EU vote in Slovakia". Reuters. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  17. "Kiska: We will defeat Fico". The Slovak Spectator. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  18. "For the People Joins Non-Aggression Pact of PS-Together and KDH". News Agency of the Slovak Republic. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  19. "Valid Votes Cast for Political Parties by Territorial Division". The Election to the National Council of the Slovak Republic—29th February 2020. Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 1 March 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  20. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Slovakia". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  21. "Home | Martin HOJSÍK | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  22. "Home | Michal ŠIMEČKA | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  23. "CoR Members Page".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.