Direction – Social Democracy
Direction – Social Democracy Smer – sociálna demokracia | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Robert Fico |
| Founder | Robert Fico |
| Founded | 8 November 1999 |
| Headquarters | Súmračná 3263/25, 82102 Bratislava |
| Ideology | Social democracy Left-wing populism Nationalism Social conservatism Soft euroscepticism |
| Political position | Fiscal: Centre-left to left-wing Social: Right-wing |
| National Council | 41 / 150 |
| European Parliament | 5 / 15 |
| Website | |
| strana-smer | |
Direction – Social Democracy (commonly known as SMER) is a left-wing populist political party in Slovakia that is led by Prime Minister Robert Fico. The party sees itself as social democratic, and commentators consider its ideology to be a combination of left-wing economics and nationalism.
It was founded by Fico in 1999 as a breakaway group from the Party of the Democratic Left. SMER has dominated Slovakian politics since 2006. It has led three coalition government (2006–2010, 2016–2020, 2023–present) and one majority government (2012–2016).
Since 2020, SMER has adopted many nationalist and populist characteristics, and some commentators describe it as a left-wing conservative and pro-Russian.
Election results
National Council
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Rank | Seats | +/– | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Robert Fico | 387,100 | 13.5 | 3rd | 25 / 150
|
Opposition | |
| 2006 | 671,185 | 29.1 | 1st | 50 / 150
|
25 | Smer–SNS–HZDS | |
| 2010 | 880,111 | 34.8 | 1st | 62 / 150
|
12 | Opposition | |
| 2012 | 1,134,280 | 44.4 | 1st | 83 / 150
|
21 | Smer | |
| 2016 | 737,481 | 28.3 | 1st | 49 / 150
|
34 | Smer–SNS–Bridge–Network (2016) | |
| Smer–SNS–Bridge (2016–2020) | |||||||
| 2020 | Peter Pellegrini | 527,172 | 18.3 | 2nd | 38 / 150
|
11 | Opposition |
| 2023 | Robert Fico | 681,017 | 23.0 | 1st | 42 / 150
|
4 | Smer–Hlas–SNS |