Independent Hungarian Democratic Party
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The Independent Hungarian Democratic Party (, FMDP) was a political party in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
in the period after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The party was revived after the end of communism in 1989–90, but remained unsuccessful.


History

The party was founded on 20 July 1947, shortly before the
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
that year. Its leader was István Balogh, a Roman Catholic cleric, who, prior that, resigned as Secretary-General of the
Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party The Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party (), known mostly by its acronym FKgP or its shortened form Independent Smallholders' Party (), is a political party in Budapest, Hungary. During its existence, the party participated ...
(FKGP) and quit the party along with his supporters (e.g. journalist ) on 3 July 1947. The Communists led by
Mátyás Rákosi Mátyás Rákosi (; born Mátyás Rosenfeld; 9 March 1892 – 5 February 1971) was a Hungarian communism, communist politician who was the ''de facto'' leader of Hungary from 1947 to 1956. He served first as General Secretary of the Hungarian ...
allowed for FMDP to contest the 1947 election for the purpose of weakening the FKGP, Balogh and Rákosi had several meetings on that subject. Ex- National Peasant Party (NPP) politician Imre Kovács also joined the FMDP on 15 August 1947. In the 1947 parliamentary election, held on 31 August, the FMDP won 18 of the 411 seats in Parliament.
Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...
& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p. 931.
The FMDP focused on the interests of urban middle class and intellectuals in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, it barely had rural party organizations and branches. The party's short-lived youth wing was the Independent Hungarian Youth, led by . The party supported the creation of bourgeois democracy while opposed the Soviet-type economic model, according to its programme. Despite this, the FMDP was the only opposition party which voted in favor of the Communists' three-year plan, nevertheless it rejected the nationalization of banks. Balogh's party found itself in a political vacuum, as the Left Bloc considered it as a rival in acquisition of laborers' votes, while the anti-Communist Hungarian Independence Party (MFP) and Democratic People's Party (DNP) refused to cooperate with Balogh due to his collaborative relationship with the
Hungarian Communist Party The Hungarian Communist Party (, , abbr. MKP), known earlier as the Party of Communists in Hungary (, , abbr. KMP), was a communist party in Hungary that existed during the interwar period and briefly after World War II. It was founded on Novem ...
(MKP) and its leader Rákosi. After the election, the MKP and the
Hungarian Social Democratic Party The Social Democratic Party of Hungary (, , MSZDP) is a social democratic 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 ...
(MSZDP) prevented that the FMDP merged into the FKGP. Its relation with the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary also became frosty, because the FMDP did not speak out against the nationalization of parochial schools. Prior to the 1949 elections the FMDP was forced to join the Communist-led Hungarian Independent People's Front (MFNF). The Front ran a single list chosen by the
Hungarian Working People's Party The Hungarian Working People's Party (, , abbr. MDP) was the ruling communist party of Hungary from 1948 to 1956. It was formed by a merger of the Hungarian Communist Party (MKP) and the Social Democratic Party of Hungary (MSZDP).Neubauer, Joh ...
(MDP), with FMDP members winning 10 seats. Following the elections the party ceased to function, although was not officially dissolved. István Balogh resigned from his parliamentary seat on 8 June 1951.


Re-establishment

The FMDP was revived in Budapest on 5 May 1989, after the end of communism in 1989–90, but remained an unsuccessful extra-parliamentary organization. During its first congress, István Neff, godson of the late Balogh, was elected leader of the party. In May 1990, he was replaced by journalist and sports official Gyula Kovár. The FMDP did not participate in the
Hungarian Round Table Talks The Hungarian Round Table Talks () were a series of formalized, orderly and highly legalisticBartlett, p.143 discussions held in Budapest, Hungary in the summer and autumn of 1989, inspired by the Polish model, that ended in the creation of a mult ...
, it became only an observer at the National Round Table Talks after 10 June 1989. The party, along with the Transylvanian Alliance, the National Alliance of Hungarian Political Prisoners (Pofosz) and the re-founded MFP, protested against this decision by sending a joint petition to Speaker
Mátyás Szűrös Mátyás Szűrös (; born 11 September 1933) is a Hungarian politician. He served as provisional president of the Republic from 23 October 1989 to 2 May 1990. His presidency occurred during Hungary's transition from Communism to democratic gov ...
, ineffectively. On 22 November 1989, the FMDP, alongside independent MPs and other re-established "historic" parties, expressed its support to the reform-Communist government of
Miklós Németh Miklós Németh (, born 24 January 1948) is a retired Hungarian economist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 24 November 1988 to 23 May 1990. He was one of the leaders of the Socialist Workers' Party, Hungary's Communi ...
and did not support the dissolution of the parliament. On 8 December 1989, the FMDP, maintaining its independence, joined the National Alliance of Centre Parties (CPNSZ) to contest in coordination with the other participating parties (MFP, MRP and SZDP) in the 1990 parliamentary election. The FMDP received 0.06 percent of the regional votes, gaining no seats.
Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...
& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p. 899.
In May 1993, MP Imre Kőrösi, who was expelled from the
Hungarian Democratic Forum The Hungarian Democratic Forum (, , MDF) was a centre-right political party in Hungary. It had a Hungarian nationalist, national-conservative, Christian-democratic ideology. The party was represented continuously in the National Assembly from t ...
(MDF), joined the FMDP, providing parliamentary representation for his new party. With Kőrösi's role as deputy leader, the FMDP became more active, however despite this, it received only 0.04 percent of the votes in the 1994 parliamentary election. After the failure, Kőrösi left the party. Before the 1998 parliamentary election, the FMDP joined the alliance Union for Hungary (EMU), Kovár also appeared in the alliance's national list. The EMU gained 0.19 percent of the votes. In the 2002 parliamentary election, the FMDP only had one candidate in Budapest who obtained 531 votes. The party did not participate in the next two elections, as a result it was dissolved on 28 January 2011.


Election results


References


Sources

* {{Hungarian political parties Defunct political parties in Hungary Political parties established in 1947 Political parties disestablished in 1949 Political parties established in 1989 Political parties disestablished in 2011 1947 establishments in Hungary 1949 disestablishments in Hungary 1989 establishments in Hungary 2011 disestablishments in Hungary Centrist parties in Hungary