The Republic Movement () is an

extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

led by

Milan Uhrík Milan Uhrík (born 21 December 1984) is a Slovak politician who was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019.https://www.etrend.sk/ekonomika/novi-europoslanci-ps-a-spolu-maju-styroch-smer-troch-kotlebovci-dvoch.html. He was a me ...

. The party is often regarded as

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sent ...

despite some political experts contesting this description. Founded in March 2021 by Uhrík and other former members of the far-right

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack r ...

party

People's Party Our Slovakia People's Party Our Slovakia ( sk, Ľudová strana naše Slovensko, ĽSNS) is a far-right neo-Nazi political party in Slovakia. The party claims to derive its origin from the legacy of Ľudovít Štúr, Andrej Hlinka and Jozef Tiso. Positioned o ...

(ĽSNS) of

Marian Kotleba Marian Kotleba (; born 7 April 1977) is a Slovak politician and leader of the far-right, neo-NaziPeter Marček Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a ...

, which had only 50 members in 2018. Marček was later kicked out of the party. Due to the defection of former ĽSNS representatives, the party had five seats in the

National Council of the Slovak Republic The National Council of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Národná rada Slovenskej republiky), abbreviated to ''NR SR'', is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameral and consists of 150 members, who are elected by universal suffrage under ...

before the 2023 election. Uhrík was elected a

member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...

for ĽSNS in 2019.

History

The party was formed on 9 March 2021 by taking over and renaming an already-established political party, ''Voice of the People'' (). Before this, the party was led by

Peter Marček Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a ...

, and had only 50 members as of 2018. Milan Uhrík became the party's new chairman. Apart from Uhrík, additional former members of the

party

ĽSNS People's Party Our Slovakia ( sk, Ľudová strana naše Slovensko, ĽSNS) is a far-right neo-Nazi political party in Slovakia. The party claims to derive its origin from the legacy of Ľudovít Štúr, Andrej Hlinka and Jozef Tiso. Positioned o ...

joined the newly-renamed party. This included

Milan Mazurek Milan Mazurek (born 24 January 1994) is a Slovak MP for People's Party Our Slovakia (ĽSNS; Marian Kotleba's party). In 2019, he was convicted of defamation of race based on his anti-Romani statements, and became the first Slovak parliamentarian ...

Miroslav Suja Miroslav may refer to: * Miroslav (given name), a Slavic masculine given name * ''Young America'' (clipper) or ''Miroslav'', an Austrian clipper ship in the Transatlantic case oil trade * Miroslav (Znojmo District), a town in the Czech Republic ...

, Ondrej Ďurica, and Eduard Kočiš, among others. Marček was kicked out of the party in June 2022. The party accused him of "doing his own politics" without consulting Uhrík. Marček, however, accused them of

tendencies and beliefs, and stated his objections were the primary reason for his firing. As of 2022, the party consists of 1,044 members.

Political positions

Political experts consider the party to be radically

and

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populism, populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-Elitism, elitist sentiments, opposi ...

. The party is generally described as

by some news publications, but some political experts contest this description. The party self-identifies as "

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and patriotic".

Foreign policy

The party's voter-base is highly

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...

and

Russophilic Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th Century, ...

. The party's political positions are radically critical of Slovakia's membership in the EU and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. The party supports closer trade relations with China,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

and other

BRICS BRICS is an acronym for five leading emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The first four were initially grouped as " BRIC" (or "the BRICs") in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill, who coined the t ...

countries. The party advocates for the withdrawal of Slovakia out of

. It also advocates against sending any and all lethal military aid to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

during the

Russo-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...

, beginning after the Russian invasion. The party supports China's peace plan for the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Uhrík has suggested that the West has provoked China through its support for Taiwan. Uhrík supported a ceasefire during the

Israel–Hamas War An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place chiefly in and around the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. On that day, Palestinian militant groups launched a surprise attack on southern Is ...

, describing a

two-state solution The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiatio ...

as the only long-term solution to the Israel–Palestine conflict. However, he suggested that this state should be the culmination of the peace process rather than the beginning, to avoid the Palestinians making additional demands from the Israeli side.

Social issues

The party advocates for complete suspension of government support to all

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

s, especially ones it describes as "

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows ...

and Soros' organizations." During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, the party took a staunch anti-vaccination position and advocated for

COVID-19 vaccinations A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an es ...

of children to be halted. The party takes a staunch

anti-LGBT Anti-LGBT rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used against homosexuality or other non-heterosexual sexual orientations in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people. They range fr ...

position. It voted in favor of rejecting the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the 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 adop ...

’s appeal for the betterment of conditions of LGBT people in Slovakia. It then also voted in favor of a ban on legal gender change. This bill failed, however. The party calls for Slovakia to stop all

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

, even if doing so goes against EU institutions. The party's leader, Uhrík, stated the party has the greatest amount of members in the ''Slovak Union of Anti-Fascist Campaigners'' of any party, which the organization rejected. The organization then called the party's representatives

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

in response. Later, after Uhrík published a photo of him alongside the organization's president, the organization's members protested the move and called the party's members

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

and

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

Public image

Social media

The party keeps a strong presence on social media, especially

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

and

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

. It is known for the rampant spread of election disinformation, Russian wartime propaganda, and anti-vaccination rhetoric. The party was taken to court over the

defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

of infectiologist Peter Sabak via their Facebook profile. The party lost the case and was ordered to pay €15,000 for the immaterial damage caused, as well as offer a public apology. In June 2023,

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

terminated the accounts of multiple party members and accounts associated with the party.

International Relations

On 30 April 2023, Republic organised a joint declaration with

Confederation of the Polish Crown The Confederation of the Polish Crown ( pl, Konfederacja Korony Polskiej, KKP), often shorted to The Crown ( pl, Korona, links=no, label=none), is a far-right political party in Poland. It is led by Grzegorz Braun. It has been described as natio ...

(KKP),

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany ...

(AfD),

Freedom and Direct Democracy Freedom and Direct Democracy ( cs, Svoboda a přímá demokracie, SPD) is a right-wing populist political party in the Czech Republic. It is led by Tomio Okamura and it holds 20 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. It has been described as right-w ...

(SPD),

Vlaams Belang , ideology = , predecessor = Vlaams Blok , position = , europarl = Identity and Democracy , european = Identity and Democracy Party , youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren , colours = ...

Alliance for the Union of Romanians The Alliance for the Union of Romanians ( ro, Alianța pentru Unirea Românilor, AUR) is a right-wing populist and nationalist political party currently active in Romania and Moldova. It was founded on 19 September 2019. This was done with the ...

(AUR) and

Som Catalans Som Catalans (SOM; English: "We are Catalans") is a xenophobia, xenophobic and Catalan independence movement, independentist party, active in the Autonomous communities of Spain, Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia and founded in 2014 by Es ...

. On 26 July 2023, Republic took part in a conference organised by AUR in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

. On 19 February 2024, Republic leader Uhrík jointly took part in a Czech farmers' protest in Prague with MPs from the KKP and the AfD, and the leader of the Hungarian

Our Homeland Movement Our Homeland Movement ( Hungarian: ''Mi Hazánk Mozgalom,'' MHM) is a Hungarian far-right political party founded by Ásotthalom mayor and former Jobbik Vice-President László Toroczkai and other Jobbik dissidents that left the organization aft ...

László Toroczkai László Toroczkai (born László Tóth, 10 March 1978) is a Hungarian politician, journalist, leader of the Our Homeland Movement political party, and former mayor of Ásotthalom. He is also a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Counci ...

. On 12 April 2024, Republic signed the '

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

Declaration', organised by the Bulgarian Revival party. On 10 July 2024, Republic MEP Uhrík joined the Europe of Sovereign Nations group in the European Parliament as a deputy chair of the group, although the party's other MEP,

, was excluded. Other members of the group include the AfD, SPD, Revival, Our Homeland Movement,

New Hope New Hope may refer to: Places United States * New Hope, Alabama * New Hope, Arkansas (disambiguation) * New Hope, Florida * New Hope, Early County, Georgia * New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia * New Hope, Illinois * New Hope, Indiana * Ne ...

Reconquête Reconquête (; en, Reconquest), styled as Reconquête! (R!), is a nationalist political party in France founded in late 2021 by Éric Zemmour, who has since served as its leader. He was a far-right candidate in the 2022 presidential election, ...

and the

People and Justice Union The People and Justice Union (centrists, nationalists) ( lt, Tautos ir teisingumo sąjunga (centristai, tautininkai)), formerly known as the Lithuanian Centre Party ( lt, Lietuvos Centro partija) is an agrarian-centrist political party in Lithuan ...

Relationship with neo-Nazi groups

The founding members of the party, including the leader, Uhrík, defected from the

party

in order to found the party.

, a founding member and the party's vice-chairman, was convicted of hate speech and thus had his parliamentary seat revoked in 2019. In 2016, he posted a Facebook statement asserting the Holocaust was a "lie and fairy tale". The post was then investigated by

the police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Poli ...

, as Holocaust denial is outlawed in Slovakia. Ondrej Ďurica, another founding member and vice-chairman, used to be a frontman for a Slovak neo-Nazi

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

titled ''White Resistance'' ().

Election results

National Council

European Parliament

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Republic Far-right political parties in Slovakia Neo-fascist parties Political parties established in 2021 Conservative parties in Slovakia Nationalist parties in Slovakia Political parties established in 1989 Eurosceptic parties in Slovakia Slovak nationalism National conservative parties Social conservative parties Right-wing populist parties Right-wing populism in Slovakia Right-wing politics in Slovakia Right-wing parties in Europe Russophilic parties Paleoconservative organizations Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Slovakia Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Europe Anti-LGBTQ sentiment in Europe Opposition to same-sex marriage in Europe Anti-immigration politics in Europe Paleoconservatism Christian nationalism in Europe Member parties of the Identity and Democracy Party Anti-Islam political parties in Europe Anti-Islam sentiment in Europe Antifeminism