Progressive Slovakia

Progressive Slovakia (, PS) is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Slovakia established in 2017. The party is led by Michal Šimečka, a former Vice President of the European Parliament. It is a member of the Renew Europe group and is a full member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. PS currently has 6 MEPs: Ľudovít Ódor (former Prime Minister of Slovakia), Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová (a former journalist), Martin Hojsík, Michal Wiezik (both environmental activists), Ľubica Karvašová, and Lucia Yar.

Zuzana Čaputová, the Former president of Slovakia who is also the co-founder and former deputy leader of PS who won the 2019 Slovak presidential election, was nominated by the party for the election, focusing her campaign on themes of anti-corruption, environmentalism, and pro-Europeanism. In the National Council, it was first represented by deputy Tomáš Valášek elected for For the People, which he left in 2021. In local politics, PS has a dominant position in Bratislava, cooperating with Team Bratislava and Freedom and Solidarity.

History

The party was registered as Progressive Slovakia (PS) with the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic on 27 November 2017, after the submission of 13,500 signatures. 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". 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. Štefunko was replaced by former deputy leader Michal Truban. Truban is an IT professional, an entrepreneur, and an anti-corruption activist who also favors digitalization of governance and bureaucracy.

PS first gained attention in 2018 when Matúš Vallo, its favored candidate, won the 2018 municipal elections in Bratislava, and subsequently became the city's mayor. After the 2019 Slovak presidential election, the victory of its presidential candidate, 45-year-old lawyer Zuzana Čaputová, was hailed by international media commentators as a victory of liberalism over populism. According to political scientist 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". 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 were opposed to, and was the only major candidate not to condemn the Global Compact for Migration.

PS 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 Smer-SD's 15.7% and the neo-fascist Kotleba – People's Party Our Slovakia's 12.1%. For the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election, PS 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. In an upset on election day, the PS/ SPOLU coalition narrowly missed on entering the National Council after finishing with 6.96% of the vote, as coalitions must reach a threshold of 7% in order to enter Parliament.

Ideology

Progressive Slovakia is generally described as social-liberal, as well as liberal. The party is socially progressive, holding culturally liberal views, and is pro-European. PS is economically liberal, and occasionally called neoliberal. PS also support queer rights, such as same-sex unions and same-sex marriage. In its communication, the party uses gender-balanced language and presents gender-equal lists in all elections. The party refuses to cooperate with the " extremist parties" and the left-conservative Direction – Social Democracy.

The party's position on the political spectrum is nuanced, and has been debated. Internationally, PS has been generally described as centrist, or centre-left. Slovak politologist Darina Malová positioned the party on the left-wing of the political spectrum, labeling them a "modern left-wing" party; she distinguished them from the "old school" left-wing Slovak parties, such as Direction – Social Democracy. Despite this, the party is generally associated with the centre-right in Slovakia, with the majority of its voters describing themselves as right-wing.

Following the 2023 parliamentary election, in which Progressive Slovakia became the main opposition, the party, under Michal Šimečka's leadership, is making a strategic shift towards a more centrist position. PS aims to broaden its appeal to rural voters and non-urban regions, moving away from its previous image as a "Bratislava party." This shift includes a focus on defending democratic values, institutions, and the rule of law, with Šimečka describing its current role as paradoxically taking on a "conservative role" to protect existing democratic structures while remaining open to compromise on specific programmatic issues. The inclusion of figures such as Ľudovít Ódor and Ivan Korčok in the leadership reflects a more technocratic and moderate approach, emphasizing PS's pro-European stance and its attempt to expand its base in upcoming elections, including regional and local contests.

European representation

In the European Parliament, PS sits in the Renew Europe group with two MEPs. The party joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party in November 2018. In the European Committee of the Regions, PS sits in the Renew Europe CoR group with one full member for the 2020–2025 mandate.

Election results

National Council

European Parliament

Presidential

Party chairpersons

See also

* List of political parties in Slovakia
* Politics of Slovakia

Notes

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Progressive Slovakia
2017 establishments in Slovakia
Political parties established in 2017
Centrist parties in Slovakia
Pro-European political parties in Slovakia
Liberal parties in Slovakia