View source for Liberalism in Slovakia

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This article is intended to give an overview of '''liberalism in Slovakia'''.

==History==

===During the Communist era===

In 1944, the conservative [[Democratic Party (Slovakia, 1944)|Democratic Party]] was founded. In 1948, the Democratic Party was replaced by the pro-communist [[Party of Slovak Revival]].

===Late 20th century===

In 1989, Hungarian liberals established the {{ill|Independent Hungarian Initiative|cs|Maďarská nezávislá iniciativa}}. In 1992, the party was renamed to the [[Hungarian Civic Party (Slovakia)|Hungarian Civic Party]]. In 1998, the party merged into the [[Hungarian Alliance (Slovak political party)|Hungarian Coalition Party]].

Also in 1989, the Party of Slovak Revival renamed itself to [[Democratic Party (Slovakia, 1989)|Democratic Party]]. During the same year, [[Public Against Violence]] was formed. In 1991, Public Against Violence was renamed to [[Civic Democratic Union (Slovakia)|Civic Democratic Union]].

In 1993, dissidents from the [[People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia|Movement for a Democratic Slovakia]] established the {{ill|Alliance of Democrats of the Slovak Republic|sk|Aliancia demokratov Slovenska}}, led by [[Milan Kňažko]]. In 1994, the party merged with another dissident group, the {{ill|Alternative of Political Realism|sk|Alternatíva politického realizmu}}, into the [[Democratic Union of Slovakia]] (''Demokratická Únia na Slovensku''). In 1995, the Democratic Union of Slovakia merged with the {{ill|National Democratic Party|sk|Národno-demokratická strana}} into the [[Democratic Union (Slovakia)|Democratic Union]].

===21st century===

In 2001, liberals around [[Pavol Rusko]] established the [[Alliance of the New Citizen]] (ANO). In 2006, [[Hope (political party)|Hope]] split from ANO. In March 2009, liberals around the economist Richard Sulík established the [[Freedom and Solidarity]] party, which is the ideological successor of the Alliance of the New Citizen. In 2016–17, liberals founded [[Progressive Slovakia]]. In 2018, [[Democrats (Slovakia)|Together – Civic Democracy]], led by former SDKÚ-DS member [[Miroslav Beblavý]], split from the [[Slovak Conservative Party]].

In 2018, widespread protests over the [[murder of Ján Kuciak]] were seen as a signal of a comeback for Slovak liberals. In the [[2019 Slovak presidential election]], [[Zuzana Čaputová]]'s election as president was described by ''[[Foreign Policy]]'' as "[seeming] to confirm the ascendance of Slovak liberals that had started the previous year".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hockenos|first=Paul|date=2023-12-27|title=The End of Eastern Europe's Great Liberal Hope|language=en-US|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/01/zuzana-caputova-slovakia-the-end-of-eastern-europes-great-liberal-hope/|access-date=2023-12-05}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[History of Slovakia]]
* [[Politics of Slovakia]]
* [[List of political parties in Slovakia]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Liberalism in Europe}}
[[Category:Liberalism in Slovakia| ]]
[[Category:Liberalism by country|Slovakia]]
[[Category:Political history of Slovakia]]
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