Hungarian Socialist Party
Magyar Szocialista Párt |
|
---|---|
Abbreviation | MSZP |
President | Gyula Molnár |
Vice President | Zoltán Gőgös |
Parliamentary leader | Bertalan Tóth |
Founded | 7 October 1989 |
Preceded by | Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party |
Headquarters | 1066 Budapest, VI. Jókai utca 6. |
Youth wing | Societas – New Movement |
Ideology | Social democracy |
Political position | Centre-left |
European affiliation | Party of European Socialists |
International affiliation |
Progressive Alliance Socialist International |
European Parliament group | Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats |
Colors | Red |
National Assembly |
28 / 199
|
European Parliament |
2 / 21
|
County Assemblies |
56 / 419
|
Website | |
mszp |
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The Hungarian Socialist Party (Hungarian: Magyar Szocialista Párt), known mostly by its acronym MSZP, is a social-democraticpolitical party in Hungary.
It was founded on 7 October 1989 as a social democratic party by the reform wing of the ruling socialist Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party. As a result of the 1994 parliamentary election, MSZP won an absolute majority and entered a coalition with the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ); thus the post-communist party was released from a so-called "political quarantine" (by being the former state party the socialists were in a quarantine by the other democratic parties). MSZP was one of the two major parties in Hungarian politics until 2010; however, the party lost much of its popular support as a result of 2006 protests and the 2008 economic crisis. Since then, the MSZP has been the strongest opposition party in the parliament since 2010, when its long-time right-wing rival Fidesz won a two-thirds majority.
It is the partial successor of the communist Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (or MSZMP), which ruled Hungary between 1956 and 1989. The decision to declare the party a successor of the MSZMP was controversial, and still carries repercussions for both the MSZP and Hungary. Another source of controversy is that some members of the former communist elite maintained political influence in the MSZP. Indeed, many key MSZP politicians were active members or held leadership positions within the MSZMP (like Gyula Horn and László Kovács). The party is not to be confused with the Workers' Party, a marginal party of hardline communists and another successor to the MSZMP.