wh y w e l o s t
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seems to strengthen proportionally to the length of these parties’ time in power. Since
2003, there have been cases of what are viewed by some as authoritarian solutions to crisis
situations within the ruling coalition or within particular parties, as well as several cases
related to party financing. The SDKÚ has frequently been involved in these cases. The
electorate of the center-right parties is much more sensitive to the values of democracy
and the respect for democratic rules in political life than the electorate of other parties.
Therefore, any possible violation of these values and principles by the center right can have
a damaging effect on its position in the eyes of public.
Another problem is the unclear stance of center-right parties regarding their possible co-
operation with HZDS before and after the 2006 elections. Some representatives of SDKÚ
do not rule out such cooperation, if SDKÚ would be forced to choose its coalition partner
from among the two major opposition parties – HZDS or
Smer
. The SDKÚ justifies pos-
sible cooperation with HZDS by the necessity to preserve the pro-reform orientation of
a successor government and argues that the HZDS does not threaten to reverse social
and economic reforms after the elections. Cooperation of center-right parties with HZDS,
however, has strong moral implications because of the undemocratic authoritarian policy
of the party in the past. According to public opinion polls, the vast majority of SDKÚ
voters oppose cooperation with HZDS. Many SDKÚ voters will only lend their support if
SDKÚ rules out cooperation with HZDS in advance.
VIII. Conclusion
From the standpoint of effectively implementing party priorities and its overall impact on
the country’s development, one should assess the performance of center-right parties in
Slovakia as successful. This success is the result of concrete steps that were taken, as well
as skills which have been demonstrated, the most important being:
• strong positions in defending democratic principles during a time when the character
of political regime was being forged (1993–1998);
• the ability to offer a real political and programmatic alternatives;
• the ability to form wide coalition alliances regardless of dividing lines within the party
system (for instance, cooperation with SMK representing the ethnic minority or with
the leftist SDĽ);
• launching reform measures that reacted to the most pressing problems of society;
• delivery of real results from reform policies;
• decisive and non-compromising tactics in political and programmatic competition
with left-wing forces applied even when the left was a partner in the anti-Mečiar coali-
tion;
• strong positions in the NGO sector and the ability to use the expertise of independent
organizations; and
• the ability to use the question of integration into the EU and NATO for internal
transformation purposes and to gather international support for their own domestic
policies.
