Direction – Social Democracy
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Direction – Social Democracy
Direction – Social Democracy (, Smer–SD), also commonly referred to as Smer, is a left-wing nationalism, left-wing nationalist and left-wing populism, left-wing populist political party in Slovakia led by the incumbent Prime Minister of Slovakia, prime minister Robert Fico. The party identifies as Social democracy, social-democratic, and was described as a combination of "leftist economics and nationalist appeal". Founded by Fico in 1999 as a split from the post-communist Party of the Democratic Left (Slovakia), Party of the Democratic Left, Smer initially defined itself as the Third Way party. It adopted the epithet ''Social Democracy'' after merging with several minor centre-left parties in 2005. It has dominated Slovak politics since 2006, leading three coalition governments (Fico's First Cabinet, 2006–2010, Fico's Third Cabinet, 2016–2020, Fico's Fourth Cabinet, 2023–present) and one single-party government (Fico's Second Cabinet, 2012–2016). During its rule in ch ...
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Robert Fico
Robert Fico (; born 15 September 1964) is a Slovak politician who has served as the prime minister of Slovakia since 2023. He previously served as prime minister from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018. He founded the left-wing political party Direction – Social Democracy in 1999 and has led the party since. Fico holds a record as the longest-serving prime minister in the country's history, having served for over years. First elected to parliament in 1992, he was appointed the following year to the Czechoslovak delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly to the Council of Europe. Following his party's victory in the 2006 parliamentary election, he formed his first Cabinet. His political positions have been described as populist, left-wing and conservative. After the 2010 parliamentary election, Fico served as an opposition member of parliament, effectively holding the position of the leader of the opposition. Following a motion of no confidence against the Iveta Radičová c ...
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France24
France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux, the service started on 6 December 2006. It is aimed at a worldwide market and is generally broadcast by pay television providers around the world, but additionally, in 2010, France 24 began broadcasting online through its own iPhone and Android apps. It is a provider of live streaming world news which can be viewed via its website, YouTube, and various mobile devices and digital media players. The stated mission of the channels is to "provide a global public service and a common editorial stance". Since 2008 the channel has been wholly owned by the French government, via its holding company France Médias Monde, having bought out the minority share of the former partners: Groupe TF1 and France Télévisions. T ...
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Juraj Blanár
Juraj Blanár (born 16 May 1966) is a Slovak politician. He is currently the minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia. He served as a member of the National Council from 2002 to 2006 and again from 2010 to 2023. Blanár was a Deputy Speaker of the National Council from 2020 until 2023. Between 2005 and 2017 he served as the governor of the Žilina Region. He is a member of the Direction – Social Democracy party. Early life Juraj Blanár was born on 16 May 1966 in Žilina. He studied at the University of Žilina. Before starting his political career, Blanár worked for the construction company Váhostav in his hometown. Political positions Foreign policy Regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Blanár opposes military help for Ukraine and supports improving diplomatic relations with Russia. He was one of the few Slovak MPs who did not vote for a parliamentary resolution condemning Russian killings of Ukrainian civilians passed after the Bucha massacre. In 20 ...
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Ľuboš Blaha
Ľuboš Blaha (born 7 December 1979) is a Slovak politician, academic, post-Marxist philosopher and political scientist. He is a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, a presidium member of the left-wing populist party Direction – Slovak Social Democracy and Robert Fico's foreign-policy aide. Blaha has served as a Member of the European Parliament since 2024, having previously served as an MP of the National Council of Slovakia from 2012 to 2024. Blaha's has described his political positions as left-wing populist, anti-capitalist and left-wing nationalist. He describes himself as an "anti-globalist neo-Marxist" in the tradition of Wallerstein's world-systems theory, Robinson's concept of global capitalism and Hardt and Negri's theory of Empire. Blaha was member of Slovakian metal band Ethereal Pandemonium where he was active as a keyboardist. Political career He graduated from elementary school and gymnasium in Bratislava. He studied political science at t ...
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Councillor
A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regional government, or other local authority. The title of a councillor varies geographically, with a name generally being preceded by their title (or the shortened version Cllr when written) in formal or council-related situations in many places. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unlike most provincial elections, municipal elections are usually held on a fixed date of 4 years. Finland ''This is about honorary rank, not elected officials.'' In Finland councillor (''neuvos'') is the highest possible title of honour which can be granted by the President of Finland. There are several ranks of councillors and they have existed si ...
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Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as the means by which a mayor is elected or otherwise mandated. Depending on the system chosen, a mayor may be the chief executive officer of the municipal government, may simply chair a multi-member governing body with little or no independent power, or may play a solely ceremonial role. A mayor's duties and responsibilities may be to appoint and oversee municipal managers and employees, provide basic governmental services to constituents, and execute the laws and ordinances passed by a municipal governing body (or mandated by a state, territorial or national governing body). Options for selection of a mayor include direct election by the public, or selection by an elected governing council or board. The term ''mayor ...
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Regions Of Slovakia
Since 1949 (except 1990–1996), Slovakia has been divided into a number of (singular ; usually translated as "Regions" with capital R). Their number, borders and functions have been changed several times. There are eight regions of Slovakia and they correspond to the European Union, EU's Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS 3 level of local administrative units. Each kraj consists of (counties or districts), which are further divided into (municipalities). There are 79 Districts of Slovakia, districts. List After a period without kraje and without any equivalent (1990–1996), the kraje were reintroduced in 1996. As for administrative division, Slovakia has been subdivided into 8 kraje since 24 July 1996: Since 2002, Slovakia is divided into 8 (self-governing regions), which are called by the Constitution (Higher Territorial Units), abbr. VÚC. The territory and borders of the self-governing regions are identical with the territory and borders of the ...
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European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts European legislation, following a proposal by the European Commission. The Parliament is composed of 720 members (MEPs), after the June 2024 European elections, from a previous 705 MEPs. It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India), with an electorate of around 375 million eligible voters in 2024. Since 1979, the Parliament has been directly elected every five years by the citizens of the European Union through universal suffrage. Voter turnout in parliamentary elections decreased each time after 1979 until 2019, when voter turnout increased by eight percentage points, and rose above 50% for the first time since 1994. The voting age is 18 in all EU member states e ...
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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 with seats distributed via largest remainder method with Hagenbach-Bischoff quota every four years. Slovakia's parliament has been called the 'National Council' since 1 October 1992. From 1969 to 1992, its predecessor, the parliament of the Slovak part of Czechoslovakia, was called the Slovak National Council (). The National Council approves domestic legislation, constitutional laws, and the annual budget. Its consent is required to ratify international treaties, and is responsible for approving military operations. It also elects individuals to some positions in the executive and judiciary, as specified by law. The parliament building is in Bratislava, Slovakia's capital, next to Bratislava Castle in Alexander Dubček Square. Functio ...
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Navy Blue
Navy blue is a dark shade of the color blue. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color name, taken from the usual color of the uniforms of sailors, originally came into use in the early 19th century, it was initially called ''marine blue'', but the name soon changed to ''navy blue''. An early use of ''navy blue'' as a color name in English was in 1840 though the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has a citation from 1813. History The name, navy blue originally referred to the colour worn by the uniforms of the Royal Navy. In the late 18th century, the British Navy adopted a dark blue colour for its sailors' uniforms. This was partly due to the practical reason that dark colors were less prone to showing dirt and wear during long sea voyages. The color became so associated with naval service that it came to be known simply as "navy b ...
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Non-Inscrits
Non-attached members, also known by the French term (, NI), are members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who do not belong to one of the recognised political groups, which as May 2025 consisted of 8 groups ranging between far-left and far-right in their political positions. These MEPs may be members of a national party, or of a European political party; however, for a political grouping to be formed in the European Parliament there need to be 23 MEPs from seven countries. Being part of a group grants access to state funds and committee seats, but the group members must be ideologically tied. Groups of convenience, such as the Technical Group of Independents, previously existed, but are no longer allowed, and the minimum requirements for group formation have been raised, forcing parties and MEPs without ideological similarity to already existing groupings to sit as non-inscrits. Whilst some groups of MEPs who sit as non-inscrits may share similar views and express an in ...
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Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism, consisting mostly of Social democracy, social democratic political parties and Labour movement, labour organisations. Although formed in 1951 as a successor to the Labour and Socialist International, it has antecedents in the late 19th century. The organisation currently includes 132 member parties and organisations from over 100 countries. Its members have governed in many countries, including most of Europe. In 2013, a schism in the SI led to the establishment of the Progressive Alliance. The current secretary general of the SI is Benedicta Lasi of Ghana, the current president is the Prime Minister of Spain, prime minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the current vice-president is Temirlan Sultanbekov of Kyrgyzstan, all of whom were elected at the last SI Congress held in Madrid, Spain, in November 2022. History First and ...
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