Republic (Slovakia)

Republic (Slovak: Republika) is an extremist[2][3][4][5] far-right[6] political party in Slovakia led by Milan Uhrík.[7][8] The party is often regarded as neo-fascist[9][10][11][12][13] despite some political experts contesting this description.[2][6]

Republic
Hnutie Republika
ChairpersonMilan Uhrík
Founded9 March 2021 (2021-03-09)
Split fromPeople's Party Our Slovakia (ĽSNS)
Preceded byVoice of the People (legal)
HeadquartersNitra
Youth wingMladí Republikáni
Women's wingŽeny v Republike
Membership (2022)Increase 1,044 (31. 12. 2022)[1]
Ideology
Political position
European Parliament groupNon-Inscrits
Colours    Red and blue
National Council
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European Parliament
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Website
hnutie-republika.sk

Founded in March 2021 by Uhrík and other former members of the far-right neo-Nazi party People's Party Our Slovakia (ĽSNS) of Marian Kotleba, the movement took over and renamed the existing party Voice of the People (Slovak: Hlas Ľudu) led by Peter Marček, 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 has five seats in the National Council of the Slovak Republic. Uhrík was elected a member of the European Parliament for ĽSNS in 2019. Although the party therefore has presence in the European Parliament, it remains non-affiliated with any European Parliament group.[14]

History

The party was formed on 9 March 2021 by taking over and renaming an already-established political party, Voice of the People (Slovak: Hlas Ľudu).[15] Before this, the party was led by Peter Marček, and had only 50 members as of 2018.[16] Milan Uhrík became the party's new chairman. Apart from Uhrík, additional former members of the far-right neo-Nazi party ĽSNS joined the newly-renamed party. This included Milan Mazurek, Miroslav Suja, Ondrej Ďurica, and Eduard Kočiš, among others.

Marček was kicked out of the party in June 2022.[17] The party accused him of "doing his own politics" without consulting Uhrík. Marček, however, accused them of neo-Nazi tendencies and beliefs, and stated his objections were the primary reason for his firing. As of 2022, the party consists of 1,044 members.[18]

Political positions
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Political experts consider the party to be radically far-right extremist and right-wing populist.[2][3][6] The party is generally described as neo-fascist by some news publications,[9][11][13] but some political experts contest this description.[2][6]

Foreign policy

The party's voter-base is highly Eurosceptic[19] and Russophilic.[20] The party's political positions are radically critical of Slovakia's membership in the EU and NATO.[2]

The party advocates for the withdrawal of Slovakia out of NATO.[21] It also advocates against sending any and all lethal military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian war, beginning after the Russian invasion.[22]

Social issues

The party advocates for complete suspension of government support to all non-governmental organizations, especially ones it describes as "rainbow and Soros' organizations."[23]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the party took a staunch anti-vaccination position and advocated for COVID-19 vaccinations of children to be halted.[24]

The party takes a staunch anti-LGBT position. It voted in favor of rejecting the European Parliament’s appeal for the betterment of conditions of LGBT people in Slovakia.[25][26] It then also voted in favor of a ban on legal gender change. This bill failed, however.[27]

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 in response.[28] 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 neo-nazi, homophobic and racist.[29]

Public image

Social media

The party keeps a strong presence on social media, especially Facebook and TikTok.[30] It is known for the rampant spread of election disinformation,[31] Russian wartime propaganda,[32] and anti-vaccination rhetoric.[24][33][34]

The party was taken to court over the defamation of infectiologist Peter Sabak via their Facebook profile.[35] The party lost the case and was ordered to pay €15,000 for the immaterial damage caused, as well as offer a public apology.[36][34]

In June 2023, YouTube terminated the accounts of multiple party members and accounts associated with the party.[37]

Relationship with neo-Nazi groups

The founding members of the party, including the leader, Uhrík, defected from the far-right neo-Nazi party ĽSNS in order to found the party.[15]

Milan Mazurek, a founding member and the party's vice-chairman, was convicted of hate speech and thus had his parliamentary seat revoked in 2019.[38] In 2016, he posted a Facebook statement asserting the Holocaust was a "lie and fairy tale".[39] The post was then investigated by the police, as Holocaust denial is outlawed in Slovakia.[39]

Ondrej Ďurica, another founding member and vice-chairman, used to be a frontman for a Slovak neo-Nazi band titled White Resistance (Slovak: Biely odpor).[40][41]

Election results

National Council
Election Leader Votes  % Rank Seats +/– Status
2023 Milan Uhrík 141,099
4.8%
 8th
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 New Extra-parliamentary

References
  1. "Výročná správa" (PDF). Ministerstvo vnútra Slovenskej republiky (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  2. Osvaldová, Lucia (2023-06-01). "Odborník na extrémizmus Mareš: Slovenské voľby sú pre Rusko veľmi dôležité". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-29. Je to strana, ktorá predstavuje pokus na získanie prijateľnejšej tváre pre verejnosť, pričom si však zachováva radikálnu rétoriku a štýl, ktorý je kritický voči zakotvenej zahranično-politickej a bezpečnostno-politickej orientácii Slovenska. Strana je kritičkou súčasného systému, určite je radikálna, v hnutí sú ľudia, ktorí v minulosti preukázateľne patrili k extrémistickým štruktúram.
  3. Osvaldová, Lucia (2023-08-29). "Na oslavách SNP, ktoré zorganizoval Smer, vítali aj Suju z Republiky. Publikum rozhnevala ukrajinská vlajka (+ video)". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-29. Aj Sujovu dnešnú stranu Republika odborníci označujú za extrémistickú, na kandidátke sú s ním napríklad neonacistický spevák Ondrej Ďurica či Milan Mazurek odsúdený za rasistické výroky.
  4. "Tvrdý pád extrémistov. Nepomohla im ani spolupráca so Smerom, no ukázali svoj potenciál". Pravda.sk (in Slovak). 2022-11-02. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  5. a.s, Petit Press. "Uhrík povolal Slotovho človeka. Terčom je Dankova SNS". domov.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  6. Osvaldová, Lucia (2023-02-21). "Politológ Nociar: Typický liberálny fašista je Milan Mazurek". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  7. "Uhríkova nová strana sa volá Republika. Odmieta byť klonom ĽSNS". Aktuality.sk.
  8. "Register of Political Parties and Political Movements". ives.minv.sk. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  9. Osvaldová, Lucia (2023-06-28). "Prezliekanie Republiky pokračuje, tvrdia, že sú protifašistickí bojovníci". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  10. Aktuality.sk (2023-07-04). "Ďalší bývalý člen Republiky prehovoril: Odišiel som, lebo nemám rád neonacizmus a ľudákov". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  11. "Naoko uhladení, po voľbách hrozba? Uhrík poslal Kotlebu do záhrobia. Namiesto tričiek majú obleky, no myslenie nezmenili". Pravda.sk (in Slovak). 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  12. Osvaldová, Lucia (2023-07-26). "Protifašistickí bojovníci sa búria proti spolupráci s Republikou, zo zväzu chcú vylúčiť poslanca Suju". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  13. N, Denník (2023-08-22). "Newsfilter: Republika podľa Republiky alebo Lesnícke štúdium telocvikára Suju". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-26. Republika je strana zle maskovaných neonacistov a na základe Sujovho príkladu sa dá ilustrovať, že aj falošných odborníkov, ktorí školstvo po vzore Andreja Danka, Igora Matoviča či Borisa Kollára vnímajú len ako nástroj na získavanie bezcenných titulov a nie vzdelania.
  14. "Home | Milan UHRÍK | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  15. "Uhríkova nová strana sa volá Republika. Odmieta byť klonom ĽSNS". aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Aktuality. 9 March 2021.
  16. "hlas_ludu.pdf" (PDF). minv.sk (document) (in Slovak). 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  17. Aktuality.sk (2022-06-10). "Uhríkovi dal stranu, vyhodili ho z jej vedenia. Sú to náckovia, Mazurek sa na mňa osopil, že kladiem vence na Slavíne, tvrdí Marček". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  18. "VS22_REPUBLIKA.pdf" (PDF). Ministerstvo vnútra Slovenskej Republiky. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  19. Kern, Miro (2021-09-14). "Ľavicovejší, s vyšším vzdelaním a s lepšími platmi – kto sú voliči Republiky a čím sú iní než kotlebovci". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  20. Kern, Miro (2023-08-31). "Prieskum: Voličov SNS, Republiky a Smeru to ťahá do ruskej sféry vplyvu". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  21. Osvaldová, Lucia (2023-05-31). "Ako Uhrík a Mazurek vybudovali Republiku a prečo s nimi chce Fico vládnuť". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  22. Šnídl, Vladimír (2023-06-30). "Ukrajinská a slovenská zbrojovka sa dohodli, že skúsia postaviť spoločnú húfnicu". Denník E (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  23. "Predseda Republiky Milan Uhrík tvrdí, že". Denník N (in Slovak). 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  24. Šnídl, Vladimír (2021-10-13). "Uhríkovci strašia cez deti. Útočia na pudy, ktoré nemáme pod kontrolou, hovorí odborníčka". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  25. "Schôdze : Hlasovanie : Štatistika hlasovaní klubov : Hlasovanie podľa klubov - Národná rada Slovenskej republiky". www.nrsr.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  26. "Národná rada prijala "antiuznesenie" k". Denník N (in Slovak). 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  27. Mikušovič, Dušan (2023-03-21). "Podľa vzoru Orbána: 87 poslancov podporilo Záborskej zákon, ktorý znemožní úradnú zmenu pohlavia transrodovým ľuďom". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  28. Osvaldová, Lucia (2023-06-28). "Prezliekanie Republiky pokračuje, tvrdia, že sú protifašistickí bojovníci". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  29. Osvaldová, Lucia (2023-07-26). "Protifašistickí bojovníci sa búria proti spolupráci s Republikou, zo zväzu chcú vylúčiť poslanca Suju". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  30. Struhárik, Filip (2023-04-25). "Politici chcú cez sociálne siete osloviť mladých, na TikToku sa darí Smeru, Instagram ovládla prezidentka". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  31. a.s, Petit Press. "Po voľbách povedia, že boli sfalšované. Fico s Uhríkom hrajú hru na podvod". domov.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  32. "Za Republiku budú kandidovať vo voľbách aj". Denník N (in Slovak). 2023-07-03. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  33. Čorej, Tomáš (2023-05-01). "Čo sa naši politici naučili od Donalda Trumpa". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  34. Osvaldová, Lucia (2023-08-21). "Lekár Sabaka: Pre Uhríka a Mazureka nám pacienti nedôverovali a aj zomreli. Republika sa musí ospravedlniť". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  35. a.s, Petit Press. "Účet Republiky aj Uhríka spravuje tá istá osoba. Na súde však hovorí, že nejde o oficiálnu stránku". domov.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  36. "Strana Republika má zaplatiť 15-tisíc eur". Denník N (in Slovak). 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  37. "Google cez víkend zmazal viaceré youtubové". Denník N (in Slovak). 2023-06-19. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  38. a.s, Petit Press (2019-09-03). "Far-right MP Mazurek found guilty. He will lose his seat". spectator.sme.sk. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  39. Mikušovič, Dušan (2022-02-09). ""S Republikou nemáme problém". Fico po prvý raz pripustil koalíciu s krajnou pravicou, chce blok Smeru, Hlasu, SNS a Uhríka". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-24. „Neobhajujem žiadny režim, ale o tretej ríši vieme iba lži a rozprávky o 6 miliónoch a mydlách z židov. O Hitlerovi sa učia samé klamstvá," napísal na profile, ktorý neskôr zmazal. Mazureka pre status vyšetrovala aj polícia, poslanec sa obhajoval tým, že nešlo o jeho facebookový profil.
  40. Osvaldová, Lucia (2023-08-24). "Uhríkov ťažký týždeň: málo ľudí na mítingu, koncert neonacistu Ďuricu a odhalenie, že bol mládežníkom v SDKÚ". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-24. Bývalý profesionálny vojak, ktorý v mladosti spieval s neonacistickou kapelou Biely odpor.
  41. Osvaldová, Lucia (2023-08-08). "Mazurek chce opäť robiť poriadok v osadách. O obce, kde pred štyrmi rokmi pochodoval, sa už nezaujímal". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-08-24. Návrh uznesenia podal poslanec Republiky Ondrej Ďurica, ktorý bol v minulosti frontmanom neonacistickej kapely Biely odpor.
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