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Social Democratic Party of Hungary

The Social Democratic Party of Hungary (Hungarian:
Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt, MSZDP) is a social Social Democratic Party of
democratic[1] political party in Hungary. Historically, the party was Hungary
Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata
dissolved during the occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany (1944- Párt
1945) and the communist period of Hungary from 1948 to 1989,
after being forced into a merger with the Communist Party. It
worked legally for a short time during the Revolution of 1956.

It was a government party as a part of the Károlyi Government

(1918-1919), Berinkey Government, Peidl Government (1919),
Interim National Assembly (1944-1945) and Dinnyés Government
(1947-1948). It was reorganized after Hungary's transition from
communism in 1989.

MSZDP used to be a member of the Socialist International and the

Party of European Socialists until 2020, when it was delisted from
both due to inactivity.[2]

Abbreviation MSZDP
Contents Chairman László Andráska
Vice President Sándor Szőcs
Overview Zsolt Csiszár
History up to 1989 Founder Pál Gábor
History after the transition Engelmann
Founded 12 December
Election results
1890
General Secretaries then Presidents October 1956
(as SZDP)
See also
9 January 1989
References Dissolved 12 June 1948
External links November 1956
Preceded by General
Workers Party of
Overview Hungary
(MÁMP)
Hungary as part of Austria-Hungary: Headquarters 1107 Budapest,
Somfa köz 17.
1868–1890 The General Workers Association (Általános Newspaper Népszava
Munkásegylet) (1890-1948)
1890–1918 The Social Democratic Party of Hungary Youth wing Social
(Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt) - independent party Democratic
Youth
Hungary as an independent country: Movement
(SZIM)

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1918–1939 The Social Democratic Party of Hungary Ideology Social

(Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt) - independent party democracy
1939–1948 The Social Democratic Party (Szociáldemokrata Political position Centre-left
Párt) - merged with Hungarian Working Peoples Party Colours Red
October 1956 - November 1956 The Social Democratic Party National 0 / 199
(Szociáldemokrata Párt) Assembly
1989 Social Democratic Party of Hungary (Magyarországi European 0 / 21
Szociáldemokrata Párt) Parliament
Most MPs 125 / 498
History up to 1989
(June 1945)
The party grew in power and influence until the First World War, Website
which resulted in the party fracturing into pro-war and anti-war www.mszdp.hu (http://www.mszdp.h
factions. The chaos which followed the war resulted in the collapse u)
of the Dual Monarchy. The MSZDP leadership entered into Politics of Hungary
government as part of an unsuccessful post-war socialist Political parties
administration and subsequently Béla Kun's Communist
Elections
dictatorship, which carried out a Red Terror against the Hungarian
people.[3] When the Communist regime collapsed MSZDP
supporters were killed in the subsequent anti-Communist backlash. The entire left-wing boycotted the
elections of 1920, which resulted in a right-wing victory and continued right-wing government for the
inter-war period.

The MSZDP made their peace with Miklós Horthy's government in 1921 with the Bethlen-Peyer pact.
More radical elements were suppressed, and trade union activity was increasingly driven underground
during the 1930s. After 1939, the party became known as the SZDP, dropping the "Magyarországi"
moniker. The environment became increasingly hostile during the Second World War and activity
virtually drained to a halt. With the Nazi takeover of Hungary in 1944, the party was declared illegal.
Many of the leadership were executed, with the remainder imprisoned or driven underground.

The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International between 1923 and 1940.[4]

The MSZDP fought the election of November 1945, finishing in a strong second place. From 1945-1948,
the MSZDP governed in association with the Smallholders' Party. They were placed under increasing
pressure to merge with the Hungarian Communist Party. Eventually, the right-wing were forcibly
excluded from the MSZDP - and this allowed the party to officially join the Soviet-sponsored Hungarian
Working People's Party. With the establishment of the police state, members were increasingly
pressured to co-operate with the Communists. The grouping became the largest party in 1947, but by the
end of 1948 the MSZDP had ceased to function independently.

The MSZDP re-emerged defiantly in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Under the leadership of Anna
Kéthly, Gyula Kelemen and József Fischer the MSZDP took a prominent role in Imre Nagy's Provisional
Government. For the first time in many years the party newspaper Népszava was published
independently. Following the suppression of the Revolution in 1956 and 1957, the MSZDP disappeared
again under state repression, and much of the leadership escaped into exile.

The gradual softening of the official government policies in Hungary in the 1970s and 1980s led to many
in the governing Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (MSZMP) being associated with Reform
Communism. This was sometimes not easily distinguishable from social democracy.

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History after the transition

In 1989 the MSZDP was re-founded, and took a prominent role in the transitional arrangements before
the first elections. The MSZMP, now calling itself the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP), started with a
large base of members, plenty of financial resources and a core electorate. The MSZP and MSZDP were
in competition for the same left-wing support.

The transition period was marked by chaos in the newly reformed MSZDP. There were many
disagreements throughout 1989 regarding the direction of the MSZDP, and a breakaway was established
in November 1989 as the "Historical" Social Democratic Party (SZDP or tSZDP). The SZDP claimed to be
the ideological successor to the "anti-communist" MSZDP of 1945-1948 and 1956. Another breakaway
party also emerged in 1989 - the Independent Social Democratic Party (FSZDP). The results of the 1990
elections under the leadership of Anna Petrasovits was a huge disappointment to the MSZDP, as the
reconstituted party failed to reach the 5% parliamentary threshold. Following the replacement of
Petrasovits, Endre Borbély and Zoltán Király held the position for a year respectively.

Following the defeats in 1990 and 1994, the MSZDP has failed to cross the threshold into Parliament at
every subsequent election. Whilst retaining its separate status, it has become even further linked to the
MSZP. Its leader (since 1994), László Kapolyi, was elected to Parliament in 2002 as part of a joint
MSZP–MSZDP ticket. Between 2002 and 2010, he sat with the MSZP in Parliament, as a normal MSZP
MP, and after 2007 he was joined by Gábor Hárs, a 'defector' from the MSZP.

In 2007 and 2008, further defections from the MSZP to the MSZDP in Óbuda and Zugló resulted in
some pressure to more clearly define an independent social democratic perspective to differentiate the
party from the MSZP. In response to this, László Kapolyi tried to prevent further defections from joining,
under pressure from the MSZP's leadership. However, pressure from the remaining membership of the
MSZDP has created tensions. In November 2009, a number of local MSZDP associations made
autonomous decisions to form electoral alliances with the Green Left, regardless of the MSZDP's
national leadership. Due to the leadership's close ties to the MSZP, the MSZDP was unable to capitalise
upon the MSZP's growing unpopularity in the run-up to the 2010 Hungarian parliamentary election, and
it was doubtful that it had a membership of more than 100 active subscribers.

On its 45th Congress on 8 October 2011, Kapolyi was re-elected as chairman, and Andor Schmuck was
elected as general secretary.[5] At the 46th Congress on 24 November 2012, long serving chairman
Kapolyi was not running again for re-election, Schmuck was elected as his successor.[6] On 26 May 2013,
an attempt was made to officially dissolve the MSZDP, with a small successor party established as the
Hungarian Social Democrats' Party (Szocdemek) under the leadership of Andor Schmuck whilst
excluding former leader László Kapolyi. The decision of the Congress has since been challenged. Political
opponents of Schmuck elected Kapolyi chairman again. The Social Democratic Party under Kapolyi
participated in the 2014 general election, as well as Schmuck's new party, which took most of the
members and large part of the infrastructure of the MSZDP. László Kapolyi died on 29 November 2014
after a long illness. Since 2014 there have been ongoing challenges to the legal status of the MSZDP, and
its current legal status is unclear. The MSZDP did not participate in the 2018 general election.[7] In 2020
MSZDP was delisted from the Party of European Socialists and the Socialist International due to
inactivity.[8]

Election results

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National Assembly
Election year # of % of # of Government
+/–
overall votes overall vote overall seats won
1920 MSZDP boycotted the election due to the White Terror
25 / 245
1922 277,481 17% (#2) New in opposition

14 / 245
1926 126,824 11.1% (#3) 11 in opposition

14 / 245
1931 165,794 11% (#4) 0 in opposition

11 / 245
1935 132,052 6.7% (#4) 3 in opposition

5 / 260
1939 126,637 3.4% (#4) 6 in opposition

125 / 498
1944 (#2) 120 in government

69 / 409
1945 823,250 17.4% (#2) 56 in government

67 / 411
1947 742,171 14.86% (#4) 2 in government

0 / 386
1990 174,409 3.6% (#8) extra-parliamentary

0 / 386
1994 51,122 0.9% (#11) 0 extra-parliamentary

0 / 386
1998 5,689 0.1% 0 extra-parliamentary

1 / 386
20021 41,461 0.7% 1 extra-parliamentary

1 / 386
20062 did not participate 0 extra-parliamentary

0 / 386
2010 4,117 0.08% 1 extra-parliamentary

0 / 199
2014 937 0.02% 0 extra-parliamentary

0 / 199
2018 did not participate 0 extra-parliamentary

1Joint individual candidates with the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP). Party President László Kapolyi was elected MP
and joined MSZP parliamentary group.

2Kapolyi was elected MP from the National List of MSZP. In 2008, Socialist MP Gábor Hárs left his party and joined
MSZDP.

General Secretaries then Presidents

Pál Gábor Engelmann (1890–1892)
Manó Buchinger (1905–1919)
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Party merged to Socialist Party of Hungary (1919)

Gyula Peidl (1919)

Károly Peyer (1919–1938)
Árpád Szakasits (1938–1942)
György Marosán (1942–1945)
Árpád Szakasits (1945–1948)

Party merged to Hungarian Working People's Party (1948–1956)

Anna Kéthly (1956)

Party disbanded (1956–1989)

Anna Petrasovits (1989–1992)

Endre Borbély (1992–1993)
Zoltán Király (1993–1994)
László Kapolyi (1994–2012)
Andor Schmuck (2012–2013)
László Kapolyi (2013–2014)
László Andráska (2015–2017)
László Hasilló (since 2017)

See also
Independent Socialist Party (Hungary)
Reorganized Social Democratic Party of Hungary

References
1. Janusz Bugajski (2002). Political Parties of Eastern Europe: A Guide to Politics in the Post-
Communist Era (https://books.google.com/books?id=9gGKtLTQlUcC&pg=PA351). M.E. Sharpe.
p. 351. ISBN 978-1-56324-676-0. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
2. "Members" (https://www.pes.eu/en/members/index.html). PES. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
3. "Two Italians against Béla Kun - Hungarian Review" (http://www.hungarianreview.com/article/201709
19_two_italians_against_bela_kun). www.hungarianreview.com. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
4. Kowalski, Werner. Geschichte der sozialistischen arbeiter-internationale: 1923 - 19 (https://books.go
ogle.com/books?id=83QdPwAACAAJ). Berlin: Dt. Verl. d. Wissenschaften, 1985. p. 332
5. KONGRESSZUS - 2011. OKTÓBER (http://mszdp.hu/Kongresszus2011.html), mszdp.hu
6. Schmuck Andor lett az MSZDP elnöke (http://index.hu/belfold/2012/11/24/schmuck_andor_az_mszd
p_elnoke/)
7. Meghalt Kapolyi László (http://index.hu/belfold/2014/11/29/meghalt_kapolyi_laszlo/) (in Hungarian)
8. "Members" (https://www.pes.eu/en/members/index.html). PES. Retrieved 16 January 2020.

Erényi Tibor : Szocializmus a századelőn. Kossuth Könyvkiadó, Bp. 1979.

Gábor Róbert: Az igazi szociáldemokrácia. Küzdelem a fasizmus és a kommunizmus ellen, 1944–
1948. Századvég, Bp. 2001.
Péter Kulcsár : A szociáldemokrácia az eszmék történetében. Hungarovox Kiadó, Bp. 2007.
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István Pintér : A Szociáldemokrata Párt története, 1933–1944. Kossuth Könyvkiadó, Bp. 1980.
Mihály Révész : A szociáldemokrata mozgalom ötven esztendeje Magyarországon 1890
decemberétől napjainkig. = Buchinger Manó – Révész Mihály: Fél évszázad. Szociáldemokrata Párt,
Bp. 1941. 19–105.
István Schlett : A szociáldemokrácia és a magyar társadalom 1914-ig. Gondolat Kiadó, Bp. 1982.
Péter Sipos : Legális és illegális munkásmozgalom, 1919–1944. Gondolat Kiadó, Bp. 1988.
Lajos Varga (főszerk.) : A magyar szociáldemokrácia kézikönyve. Napvilág Kiadó, Bp. 1999.
Vilmos Vass : A magyar demokratikus munkásmozgalom rövid története, 1919–1944. Széphalom
Könyvműhely, Bp. 1999.

External links
Official site (http://www.mszdp.hu)

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