The Social Democratic Party of Hungary ( hu, Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt, MSZDP) is a

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

political party in Hungary. Historically, the party was dissolved during the occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany (1944–1945) and the communist period of Hungary from 1948 to 1989, after being forced into a merger with the Communist Party. It worked legally for a short time during the Revolution of 1956. It was a government party as a part of the Károlyi Government (1918–1919), Berinkey Government, Peidl Government (1919), Interim National Assembly (1944–1945) and Dinnyés Government (1947–1948). It was reorganized after Hungary's transition from communism in 1989. MSZDP used to be a member of the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisation ...

and the Party of European Socialists until 2020, when it was delisted from both due to inactivity.

Overview

Hungary as part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

: *1868–1890 The ''General Workers Association'' (''Általános Munkásegylet'') *1890–1918 The ''Social Democratic Party of Hungary'' (''Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt'') - independent party Hungary as an independent country: *1918–1939 The ''Social Democratic Party of Hungary'' (''Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt'') - independent party *1939–1948 The ''Social Democratic Party'' (''Szociáldemokrata Párt'') - merged with Hungarian Working Peoples Party *October 1956 – November 1956 The ''Social Democratic Party'' (''Szociáldemokrata Párt'') *1989 ''Social Democratic Party of Hungary'' (''Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt'')

History up to 1989

The party grew in power and influence until the First World War, which resulted in the party fracturing into pro-war and anti-war factions. The chaos which followed the war resulted in the collapse of the Dual Monarchy. The MSZDP leadership entered into government as part of an unsuccessful post-war socialist administration and subsequently Béla Kun's Communist dictatorship, which carried out a

Red Terror The Red Terror (russian: Красный террор, krasnyj terror) in Soviet Russia was a campaign of political repression and executions carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police. It started in ...

against those deemed to be enemies of the revolution and the working class. When the Communist regime collapsed MSZDP supporters were killed in the subsequent anti-Communist backlash. The entire left-wing boycotted the elections of 1920, which resulted in a right-wing victory and continued right-wing government for the inter-war period. MSZDP logo, 1945

The MSZDP made their peace with Miklós Horthy's government in 1921 with the Bethlen– Peyer pact. More radical elements were suppressed, and trade union activity was increasingly driven underground during the 1930s. After 1939, the party became known as the SZDP, dropping the "Magyarországi" moniker. The environment became increasingly hostile during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and activity virtually drained to a halt. With the Nazi takeover of Hungary in 1944, the party was declared illegal. Many of the leadership were executed, with the remainder imprisoned or driven underground. The party was a member of the

Labour and Socialist International The Labour and Socialist International (LSI; german: Sozialistische Arbeiter-Internationale, label=German, SAI) was an international organization of socialist and labour parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a me ...

between 1923 and 1940. The MSZDP fought the election of November 1945, finishing in a strong second place. From 1945–1948, the MSZDP governed in association with the Smallholders' Party. They were placed under increasing pressure to merge with the Hungarian Communist Party. Eventually, the right-wing were forcibly excluded from the MSZDP - and this allowed the party to officially join the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

-sponsored Hungarian Working People's Party. With the establishment of the police state, members were increasingly pressured to co-operate with the Communists. The grouping became the largest party in 1947, but by the end of 1948 the MSZDP had ceased to function independently. The MSZDP re-emerged defiantly in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Under the leadership of Anna Kéthly, Gyula Kelemen and József Fischer the MSZDP took a prominent role in

Imre Nagy Imre Nagy (; 7 June 1896 – 16 June 1958) was a Hungarian communist politician who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (''de facto'' Prime Minister) of the Hungarian People's Republic from 1953 to 1955. In 1956 Nagy became leader ...

's Provisional Government. For the first time in many years the party newspaper '' Népszava'' was published independently. Following the suppression of the Revolution in 1956 and 1957, the MSZDP disappeared again under state repression, and much of the leadership escaped into exile. The gradual softening of the official government policies in Hungary in the 1970s and 1980s led to many in the governing Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (MSZMP) being associated with Reform Communism. This was sometimes not easily distinguishable from

social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...

History after the transition

In 1989 the MSZDP was re-founded, and took a prominent role in the transitional arrangements before the first elections. The MSZMP, now calling itself the

Hungarian Socialist Party The Hungarian Socialist Party ( hu, Magyar Szocialista Párt), commonly known by its acronym MSZP, is a centre-left social-democratic and pro-European political party in Hungary. It was founded on 7 October, 1989 as a post-communist evolution ...

(MSZP), started with a large base of members, plenty of financial resources and a core electorate. The MSZP and MSZDP were in competition for the same left-wing support. The transition period was marked by chaos in the newly reformed MSZDP. There were many disagreements throughout 1989 regarding the direction of the MSZDP, and a breakaway was established in November 1989 as the "Historical"

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SZDP or tSZDP). The SZDP claimed to be the ideological successor to the "

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

" MSZDP of 1945–1948 and 1956. Another breakaway party also emerged in 1989 - the Independent Social Democratic Party (FSZDP). The results of the 1990 elections under the leadership of Anna Petrasovits was a huge disappointment to the MSZDP, as the reconstituted party failed to reach the 5% parliamentary threshold. Following the replacement of Petrasovits, Endre Borbély and Zoltán Király held the position for a year respectively. Following the defeats in 1990 and 1994, the MSZDP has failed to cross the threshold into Parliament at every subsequent election. Whilst retaining its separate status, it has become even further linked to the MSZP. Its leader (since 1994),

László Kapolyi László Kapolyi (7 June 1932 — 28 November 2014) was a Hungarian mining engineer, businessman and politician, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His research areas included rock mechanics as well as energy management and policy. Betw ...

, was elected to Parliament in 2002 as part of a joint MSZP–MSZDP ticket. Between 2002 and 2010, he sat with the MSZP in Parliament, as a normal MSZP MP, and after 2007 he was joined by Gábor Hárs, a 'defector' from the MSZP. In 2007 and 2008, further defections from the MSZP to the MSZDP in

Óbuda Óbuda was a town in Hungary that was merged with Buda and Pest on 17 November 1873; it now forms part of District III-Óbuda-Békásmegyer of Budapest. The name means ''Old Buda'' in Hungarian (in German, ''Alt-Ofen''). The name in Bosnian, ...

and Zugló resulted in some pressure to more clearly define an independent social democratic perspective to differentiate the party from the MSZP. In response to this, László Kapolyi tried to prevent further defections from joining, under pressure from the MSZP's leadership. However, pressure from the remaining membership of the MSZDP has created tensions. In November 2009, a number of local MSZDP associations made autonomous decisions to form electoral alliances with the

Green Left The term green left refers primarily to a political affiliation that combines elements of green politics and left-wing politics in countries where the term is used. It is primarily a social justice and human rights oriented ideology, with an expa ...

, regardless of the MSZDP's national leadership. Due to the leadership's close ties to the MSZP, the MSZDP was unable to capitalise upon the MSZP's growing unpopularity in the run-up to the 2010 Hungarian parliamentary election, and it was doubtful that it had a membership of more than 100 active subscribers. On its 45th Congress on 8 October 2011, Kapolyi was re-elected as chairman, and Andor Schmuck was elected as general secretary. At the 46th Congress on 24 November 2012, long serving chairman Kapolyi was not running again for re-election, Schmuck was elected as his successor. On 26 May 2013, an attempt was made to officially dissolve the MSZDP, with a small successor party established as the Hungarian Social Democrats' Party (Szocdemek) under the leadership of Andor Schmuck whilst excluding former leader László Kapolyi. The decision of the Congress has since been challenged. Political opponents of Schmuck elected Kapolyi chairman again. The Social Democratic Party under Kapolyi participated in the 2014 general election, as well as Schmuck's new party, which took most of the members and large part of the infrastructure of the MSZDP. László Kapolyi died on 29 November 2014 after a long illness. Since 2014 there have been ongoing challenges to the legal status of the MSZDP, and its current legal status is unclear. The MSZDP did not participate in the 2018 general election and party leader László Hasilló endorsed Gergely Karácsony and his MSZP– Dialogue electoral alliance. In 2020 MSZDP was delisted from the Party of European Socialists and the

due to inactivity. Party director Dániel Cséplő announced in July 2021 that MSZDP intends to participate in the 2021 opposition primary and requested the inclusion of his party to the six-member opposition election cooperation, with the similar conditions as the

New World People's Party The New World People's Party ( hu, Új Világ Néppárt) was a short-lived Hungarian political party between 2020 and 2022. It was founded by József Pálinkás, the former Minister of Education under Viktor Orbán and former member of Fidesz ...

(ÚVNP). The six parties, however, refused the request. MSZDP also endorsed the candidacy of centre-right politician

Péter Márki-Zay Péter "MZP" Márki-Zay (, born 9 May 1972) is a Hungarian politician, marketer, economist, electrical engineer and historian. He has served as mayor of Hódmezővásárhely since 2018, and is the co-founder of the Everybody's Hungary Movement ...

as prime minister of the united opposition. After rejection, Cséplő announced MSZDP intends to take part in the 2022 parliamentary election with separate candidates and national list. In early 2022 MSZDP announced on its website that MSZDP and Workers' Party of Hungary 2006 - European Left will cooperate in preparation for the 2022 parliamentary election. However, the party's registration was refused by the National Election Office (NVI) due to for administrative reasons. The leadership of MSZDP endorsed United for Hungary thereafter.Kormányváltás kell! – Választási közleményünk

Election results

¹ Joint individual candidates with the

(MSZP). Party President László Kapolyi was elected MP and joined MSZP parliamentary group. ² Kapolyi was elected MP from the National List of MSZP. In 2008, Socialist MP Gábor Hárs left his party and joined MSZDP.

General Secretaries then Presidents

* Pál Gábor Engelmann (1890–1892) * Manó Buchinger (1905–1919) ''Party merged to Socialist Party of Hungary (1919)'' * Gyula Peidl (1919) *

Károly Peyer Károly Peyer (9 May 1881 – 25 October 1956) was a Hungarian politician who served as Interior Minister for six days after the end of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919. He was later Minister of Works in the cabinets of István Friedrich ...

(1919–1938) * Árpád Szakasits (1938–1942) *

György Marosán György () is a Hungarian version of the name ''George''. Some notable people with this given name: * György Alexits, as a Hungarian mathematician * György Almásy, Hungarian asiologist, traveler, zoologist and ethnographer, father of László ...

(1942–1945) * Árpád Szakasits (1945–1948) ''Party merged to Hungarian Working People's Party (1948–1956)'' * Anna Kéthly (1956) ''Party disbanded (1956–1989)'' * Anna Petrasovits (1989–1992) * Endre Borbély (1992–1993) * Zoltán Király (1993–1994) *

(1994–2012) * Andor Schmuck (2012–2013) *

(2013–2014) * László Andráska (2015–2017) * László Hasilló (since 2017)

References

*Erényi Tibor : ''Szocializmus a századelőn.'' Kossuth Könyvkiadó, Bp. 1979. *Gábor Róbert: ''Az igazi szociáldemokrácia. Küzdelem a fasizmus és a kommunizmus ellen, 1944–1948.'' Századvég, Bp. 2001. *Péter Kulcsár : ''A szociáldemokrácia az eszmék történetében.'' Hungarovox Kiadó, Bp. 2007. *István Pintér : ''A Szociáldemokrata Párt története, 1933–1944''. Kossuth Könyvkiadó, Bp. 1980. *Mihály Révész : A szociáldemokrata mozgalom ötven esztendeje Magyarországon 1890 decemberétől napjainkig. = Buchinger Manó – Révész Mihály: ''Fél évszázad.'' Szociáldemokrata Párt, Bp. 1941. 19–105. *István Schlett : ''A szociáldemokrácia és a magyar társadalom 1914-ig.'' Gondolat Kiadó, Bp. 1982. *Péter Sipos : ''Legális és illegális munkásmozgalom, 1919–1944.'' Gondolat Kiadó, Bp. 1988. *Lajos Varga (főszerk.) : ''A magyar szociáldemokrácia kézikönyve''. Napvilág Kiadó, Bp. 1999. *Vilmos Vass : ''A magyar demokratikus munkásmozgalom rövid története, 1919–1944.'' Széphalom Könyvműhely, Bp. 1999.

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Social Democratic Party of Hungary Social democratic parties in Hungary