Christian Democratic Movement

Christian Democratic Movement
Leader	Alojz Hlina
Founded	1990
Headquarters	Bratislava
Youth wing	Christian Democratic Youth of Slovakia
Membership  (2015)	11,700[1]
Ideology	Christian democracy[2][3] Social conservatism[4]
Political position	Centre-right[5][6]
European affiliation	European People's Party
International affiliation	Centrist Democrat International (observer)
European Parliament group	European People's Party
Colours	White, red, blue (Colours of the Slovak flag)
National Council	0 / 150
European Parliament	2 / 13
Self-governing regions	0 / 8
Regional parliaments	57 / 408
Website
http://www.kdh.sk/
Politics of Slovakia Political parties Elections

The Christian Democratic Movement (Slovak: Kresťanskodemokratické hnutie, KDH) is a Christian democratic^[7] political party in Slovakia. KDH is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and observer of the Centrist Democrat International.

History

The party was established in 1990. In the 1990s it was led by Ján Čarnogurský and then since 2000 by Pavol Hrušovský. Before the 2016 elections, it was led by Ján Figeľ. Following the defeat in the elections, Figeľ stepped down from the position and Pavol Zajac became temporary leader until the decisive party meeting on March 19, 2016. Figeľ endorsed Milan Majerský, mayor of Levoča, for the position.

The KDH was a member of the government coalition, but it left that coalition on 7 February 2006 due to disputes over an international treaty between Slovakia and the Holy See dealing with the Conscientious objection on religious grounds.

In the parliamentary election of 17 June 2006, the party won 8.3% of the popular vote and 14 out of 150 seats.

Four prominent parliamentary members (František Mikloško, Vladimír Palko, Rudolf Bauer and Pavol Minárik) left the party on 21 February 2008 due to their dissatisfaction with the party, its leadership and its policies, and founded the Conservative Democrats of Slovakia in July.

In the 2012 parliamentary election, KDH received 8.82% of the vote, placing it the second-largest party in the National Council with 16 deputies, leaving it the largest opposition party to the ruling Direction – Social Democracy.

In the 2014 European elections, KDH came second place nationally, receiving 13.21% of the vote and electing 2 MEPs.^[8]

In the 2016 parliamentary election, the party only won 4.94% of the vote, losing all of its seats. This was the first time since its inception that the party did not reach the parliament. Following the electoral defeat, KDH elected Alojz Hlina its new leader.^[9]

Party leaders

• Ján Čarnogurský (1990-2000)
• Pavol Hrušovský (2000-2009)
• Ján Figel (2009-2016)
• Alojz Hlina (2016-present)

Election Results

National Council

Year	Vote	Vote %	Seats	Place	Government
1990	648,782	19.21	31	2nd	Yes
1992	273,945	8.89	18	3rd	No
1994	289,987	10.1	17	4th	No
1998[10]	884,497	26.33	42	2nd	Yes
2002	237,202	8.3	15	5th	Yes
2006	191,443	8.3	14	6th	No
2010	215,755	8.52	15	4th	Yes
2012	225,361	8.82	16	2nd	No
2016	128,908	4.94	0	9th	No

European Parliament

Year	Vote	Vote %	Seats	Place
2004	113,655	16.19	3	4th
2009	89,905	10.87	2	4th
2014	74,108	13.21	2	2nd

See also

• Politics of Slovakia
• List of political parties in Slovakia
• Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party

References

1. "Najbohatšiu členskú základňu si držia Smer-SD, KDH a SMK". Hlavné Správy. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
2. Bakke, Elisabeth (2010), "Central and East European party systems since 1989", Central and Southeast European Politics Since 1989, Cambridge University Press, p. 80
3. Magone, José M. (2009), Comparative European Politics, Taylor & Francis, p. 364
4. Bodnárova, Bernardína (2006), "Social Policy", Slovakia 2005: A Global Report on the State of Society, Institute for Public Affairs, p. 307
5. Henderson, Karen (1999), "Minorities and Politics in the Slovak Republic", Minorities in Europe: Croatia, Estonia and Slovakia, Cambridge University Press, p. 150
6. Bunce, Valerie; Wolchik, Sharon L. (2011), Defeating Authoritarian Leaders in Postcommunist Countries, Cambridge University Press, p. 64
7. José Magone (26 August 2010). Contemporary European Politics: A Comparative Introduction. Routledge. pp. 456–. ISBN 978-0-203-84639-1. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
8. http://ep2014.statistics.sk/EP-dv/Tabulka3_en.html
9. "Novým predsedom KDH sa stal suverénne Alojz Hlina". TA3.com. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
10. As Slovak Democratic Coalition

External links

• Official website (Slovak)