The Republic () is a far-right, ultranationalist political party in Slovakia founded in 2021 as a splinter from the People's Party Our Slovakia. The party is led by Milan UhrÃÂk.
It holds two of Slovakia's 15 seats in the European Parliament following the 2024 elections, in which it received 12.5% of the vote and finished in third place.
The party was founded in 2021 after its founders left the People's Party Our Slovakia. Legally, it was established by taking over and renaming an already-existing political party, Voice of the People () led by Peter MarÃÂek with 50 members as of 2018.
MarÃÂek was expelled from the party in June 2022. The party stated that he had engaged in independent political activity without consulting party leadership and member base. MarÃÂek, in turn, cited the party's alleged neo-Nazi tendencies and stated that his objections to these were the primary reason for his expulsion.
As of 2022, the party had 1,044 members.
While political scientists avoid labeling Republika ideologically, the media highlight the former affiliation of most party members within the neo-Nazi and neo-fascist People's Party Our Slovakia. While party's founders distanced themselves from their past within their previous affiliation, the credibility of this distancing has been questioned.
The party and its voter base is hard Eurosceptic and Russophilic. The party's political positions are radically critical of Slovakia's membership in the EU and NATO. The party supports closer trade relations with China, Russia, India and other BRICS countries.
The party advocates for the withdrawal of Slovakia out of NATO. It also advocates against sending any and all lethal military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian war, beginning after the Russian invasion. The party supports China's peace plan for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
UhrÃÂk has suggested that the West has provoked China through its support for Taiwan.
UhrÃÂk supported a ceasefire during the Gaza war, describing a two-state solution as the only long-term solution to the IsraelâÂÂPalestine 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. UhrÃÂk also criticised Israel for civilian casualties in Gaza and the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
UhrÃÂk has stated that the party supports moving from direct to indirect forms of taxation. He has described the party as "economically right-wing", contrasting it with the leftist approach of Smer-SD.
The party advocates for complete suspension of government support to all non-governmental organizations, especially ones it describes as "rainbow and Soros' organizations."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the party took a staunch anti-vaccination position and advocated for COVID-19 vaccinations of children to be halted.
The party takes a staunch anti-LGBT position. It voted in favor of rejecting the European ParliamentâÂÂs appeal for the betterment of conditions of LGBT people in Slovakia. It then also voted in favor of a ban on legal gender change. This bill failed, however.
The party calls for Slovakia to stop all illegal immigration, even if doing so goes against EU institutions.
The party's leader, UhrÃÂk, 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. Later, after UhrÃÂk 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.
The party keeps a strong presence on social media, especially Facebook and TikTok. It is known for the rampant spread of election disinformation, Russian wartime propaganda, and anti-vaccination rhetoric.
The party was taken to court over the defamation of infectiologist Peter Sabak via their Facebook profile. The party lost the case and was ordered to pay â¬15,000 for the immaterial damage caused, as well as offer a public apology.
In June 2023, YouTube terminated the accounts of multiple party members and accounts associated with the party.
On 30 April 2023, Republic organised a joint declaration with Confederation of the Polish Crown (KKP), Alternative for Germany (AfD), Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), Vlaams Belang, Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) and Som Catalans.
On 26 July 2023, Republic took part in a conference organised by AUR in Bucharest.
On 12 April 2024, Republic signed the 'Sofia Declaration', organised by the Bulgarian Revival party.
On 10 July 2024, Republic MEP UhrÃÂk joined the Europe 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 the People and Justice Union.
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. In 2016, he posted a Facebook statement asserting the Holocaust was a "lie and fairy tale". The post was then investigated by the police, as Holocaust denial is outlawed in Slovakia.
Ondrej ÃÂurica, another founding member and vice-chairman, used to be a frontman for a Slovak neo-Nazi band titled White Resistance ().