Republic Movement Hnutie Republika | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Chairperson | Milan Uhrík |
| Founded | 9 March 2021 (2021-03-09) |
| Split from | People's Party Our Slovakia |
| Preceded by | Voice of the People (legal) |
| Headquarters | Nitra |
| Youth wing | Mladí Republikáni |
| Women's wing | Ženy v Republike |
| Membership(December 2022) |  1,044[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | |
| European affiliation | Europe of Sovereign Nations Party |
| European Parliament group | Europe of Sovereign Nations Group |
| Colours | Red Blue |
| National Council | 0 / 150 |
| European Parliament | 2 / 15 |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Website | |
| hnutie-republika.sk | |
TheRepublic Movement (Slovak:Hnutie Republika) is anextremist[7]far-right[9]political party inSlovakia led byMilan Uhrík.[10][11] The party is often regarded asneo-fascist[12][13][14][15][16] despite some political experts contesting this description.[3][8]
Founded in March 2021 by Uhrík and other former members of the far-rightneo-Nazi partyPeople's Party Our Slovakia (ĽSNS) ofMarian Kotleba, the movement took over and renamed the existing partyVoice of the People (Slovak:Hlas Ľudu) led byPeter 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 had five seats in theNational Council of the Slovak Republic before the2023 election. Uhrík was elected amember of the European Parliament for ĽSNS in 2019.
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).[17] Before this, the party was led byPeter Marček, and had only 50 members as of 2018.[18] Milan Uhrík became the party's new chairman. Apart from Uhrík, additional former members of thefar-rightneo-Nazi partyĽSNS joined the newly-renamed party. This includedMilan Mazurek,Miroslav Suja, Ondrej Ďurica, and Eduard Kočiš, among others.
Marček was kicked out of the party in June 2022.[19] The party accused him of "doing his own politics" without consulting Uhrík. Marček, however, accused them ofneo-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.[20]
Political experts consider the party to beradicallyfar-rightextremist andright-wing populist.[3][4][8] The party is generally described asneo-fascist bynews publications,[12][14][16] but some political experts contest this description.[3][8] The party self-identifies as "conservative and patriotic".[21]
The party's voter-base is highlyEurosceptic[22] andRussophilic.[23] The party's political positions are radically critical of Slovakia's membership in theEU andNATO.[3] The party supports closer trade relations withChina,Russia,India and otherBRICS countries.[24]
The party advocates for the withdrawal of Slovakia out ofNATO.[25] It also advocates against sending any and all lethal military aid toUkraine during theRusso-Ukrainian war, beginning after theRussian invasion.[26] The party supportsChina's peace plan for theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[24]
Uhrík has suggested that the West has provoked China through its support for Taiwan.[24]
Uhrík supported a ceasefire during theGaza war, describing atwo-state solution as the only long-term solution to theIsrael–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.[27] Uhrík also criticised Israel for civilian casualties in Gaza and theIsraeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.[28]
The party advocates for complete suspension of government support to allnon-governmental organizations, especially ones it describes as "rainbow andSoros' organizations."[29]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, the party took a staunch anti-vaccination position and advocated forCOVID-19 vaccinations of children to be halted.[30]
The party takes a staunchanti-LGBT position. It voted in favor of rejecting theEuropean Parliament’s appeal for the betterment ofconditions of LGBT people in Slovakia.[31][32] It then also voted in favor of a ban onlegal gender change. This bill failed, however.[33]
The party calls for Slovakia to stop allillegal immigration, even if doing so goes against EU institutions.[34]
The party's leader, Uhrík, stated the party has the greatest amount of members in theSlovak Union of Anti-Fascist Campaigners of any party, which the organization rejected. The organization then called the party's representativesfascist in response.[12] 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 membersneo-Nazi,homophobic andracist.[15]
The party keeps a strong presence on social media, especiallyFacebook andTikTok.[35] It is known for the rampant spread of election disinformation,[36]Russian wartime propaganda,[37] andanti-vaccination rhetoric.[30][38][39]
The party was taken to court over thedefamation of infectiologist Peter Sabak via their Facebook profile.[40] The party lost the case and was ordered to pay €15,000 for the immaterial damage caused, as well as offer a public apology.[41][39]
In June 2023,YouTube terminated the accounts of multiple party members and accounts associated with the party.[42]
On 30 April 2023, Republic organised a joint declaration withConfederation of the Polish Crown (KKP),Alternative for Germany (AfD),Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD),Vlaams Belang,Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) andSom Catalans.[43]
On 26 July 2023, Republic took part in a conference organised by AUR inBucharest.[44]
On 12 April 2024, Republic signed the 'Sofia Declaration', organised by the BulgarianRevival party.[45]
On 10 July 2024, Republic MEP Uhrík joined theEurope of Sovereign Nations group in the European Parliament as a deputy chair of the group, although the party's other MEP,Milan Mazurek, was excluded. Other members of the group include the AfD, SPD, Revival,Our Homeland Movement,New Hope,Reconquête and thePeople and Justice Union.[46][47]
The founding members of the party, including the leader, Uhrík, defected from thefar-rightneo-Nazi partyĽSNS in order to found the party.[17]
Milan Mazurek, a founding member and the party's vice-chairman, was convicted ofhate speech and thus had his parliamentary seat revoked in 2019.[48] In 2016, he posted a Facebook statementasserting the Holocaust was a "lie and fairy tale".[49] The post was then investigated bythe police, as Holocaust denial isoutlawed in Slovakia.[49]
Ondrej Ďurica, another founding member and vice-chairman, used to be a frontman for a Slovak neo-Naziband titledWhite Resistance (Slovak:Biely odpor).[50][51]
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Rank | Seats | +/– | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Milan Uhrík | 141,099 | 4.8% | 8th | 0 / 150 | New | Extra-parliamentary |
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Rank | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Milan Uhrík | 185,137 | 12.5% | 3rd | 2 / 15 | New | ESN |
The ultranationalist Republika
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.
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.
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.
„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.
Bývalý profesionálny vojak, ktorý v mladosti spieval s neonacistickou kapelou Biely odpor.
Návrh uznesenia podal poslanec Republiky Ondrej Ďurica, ktorý bol v minulosti frontmanom neonacistickej kapely Biely odpor.
