View source for Alliance of Free Democrats

{{more citations needed|date=October 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Infobox political party
|country       =Hungary
|name    = Alliance of Free Democrats – the Hungarian Liberal Party
|native_name   = Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége – a Magyar Liberális Párt
|colorcode     = {{party color|Alliance of Free Democrats}}
|logo    = Insignia Hungary Political Party SZDSZ.svg
|logo_size = 100px
| abbreviation = SZDSZ
|leader1_title = First leader
|leader1_name  = [[János Kis]]
|leader2_title = Last leader
|leader2_name  = [[Viktor Szabadai]]
|foundation    = 13 November 1988
|dissolution   = 30 October 2013
|ideology      = [[Liberalism]]<ref name="HlousekKopecek">{{Citation |first1=Vít |last1=Hloušek |first2=Lubomír |last2=Kopeček |title=Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties: East-Central and Western Europe Compared |publisher=Ashgate |year=2010 |page=115}}</ref><ref name=Nordsieck>{{cite web|url=http://parties-and-elections.eu/hungary.html|title=Hungary|last=Nordsieck|first=Wolfram|date=2010|website=Parties and Elections in Europe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727151521/http://parties-and-elections.eu/hungary.html|archive-date=2013-07-27|access-date=2018-04-23|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Magone2010"/><ref name="Lewis2000"/>
|position = [[Centrism|Centre]]
|international = [[Liberal International]]<ref name=Nordsieck/>
|european      = [[Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party|Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe]]<ref name=Nordsieck/>
|europarl      = [[Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group|Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe]] (2004–2009)
|colours       = {{Color box|{{party color|Alliance of Free Democrats}}|border=darkgray}} [[Blue]]
|headquarters  = 1143 [[Budapest]], XIV. Gizella utca 36.
|website       = [https://web.archive.org/web/20130808140845/http://www.szdsz.hu/ www.szdsz.hu] (in [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]; as of October 2012, home page offered link to English module)
}}
{{Politics of Hungary}}

The '''Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party''' ({{langx|hu|Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége – a Magyar Liberális Párt}}, {{IPA|hu|ˈsɒbɒd ˈdɛmokrɒtaːk ˈsøvɛt͡ʃːeːɡɛ ˈɒː ˈmɒɟɒr ˈlibɛraːliʃ ˈpaːrt|pron}}, '''SZDSZ''' {{IPA|hu|ˈɛzdeːjɛs|}}) was a [[liberalism|liberal]]<ref name="HlousekKopecek"/><ref name=Nordsieck/><ref name="Magone2010">{{cite book|author=José Magone|title=Contemporary European Politics: A Comparative Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g73UtvxJsFcC&pg=PA456|year=2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-203-84639-1|page=456}}</ref><ref name="Lewis2000">{{cite book|author=Paul G. Lewis|title=Political Parties in Post-Communist Eastern Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UjmwJWwgOfgC&pg=PA51|year=2000|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-20182-7|page=51}}</ref> [[List of political parties in Hungary|political party in Hungary]].

The SZDSZ was a member of the [[Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party]]<ref name=Nordsieck/> and of [[Liberal International]].<ref name=Nordsieck/> It drew its support predominantly from [[Budapest]] among the middle classes, liberal intellectuals and entrepreneurs, with an ideological basis in [[Social liberalism|social]]<ref name="HlousekKopecek"/> and [[economic liberalism]].<ref>{{Citation |first=Lászlo |last=Szarvas |title=Parties and Party Factions in the Hungarian Parliament |work=Hungary |publisher=Frank Cass & Co. |year=1995 |page=121}}</ref> SZDSZ provided the first freely elected President for the [[Third Hungarian Republic]], [[Árpád Göncz]]. The SZDSZ High [[Mayor of Budapest]], [[Gábor Demszky]] was in office continuously since 1990 till 2010, when he was replaced by [[István Tarlós]] (who himself was a member of SZDSZ in the 1990s).

==History==
The party's origins lay in the illegal [[Democratic opposition (Hungary)|democratic opposition]] under the communist rule of [[János Kádár]]. This gave rise to the loosely organized Network of Free Initiatives (''Szabad Kezdeményezések Hálózata'') on 1 May 1988 and to the foundation of the SZDSZ as an opposition political party on 13 November 1988. Its founding leaders included [[János Kis]], [[Márton Tardos]], [[Gáspár Miklós Tamás]], and [[Miklós Haraszti]].<ref>{{cite news |title= UPHEAVAL IN THE EAST; A Democratically Evolving Hungary Heads into Unknown at Polls Today
 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/25/world/upheaval-east-democratically-evolving-hungary-heads-into-unknown-polls-today.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times |access-date=15 September 2008 |first=Celestine |last=Bohlen |date=25 March 1990}}</ref>

The party initially suggested a radical agenda for changing the political, social and economic system in the country. It suffered a close defeat at the first free general elections of the [[History of Hungary#Third Republic|Third Republic in 1990]], thus becoming the leading opposition force in the first free [[National Assembly (Hungary)|National Assembly]] (Hungary's [[parliament]]).

After the fall of the conservative [[Hungarian Democratic Forum]]-led government at the following [[1994 Hungarian parliamentary election|1994 parliamentary election]], SZDSZ surprised many by entering into a coalition with the [[Hungarian Socialist Party]] (MSZP), the legal successor party to the communist [[Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party]]. Thus began a strategic alliance between the two parties that lasted for 14 years, ending only in 2008. The coalition successfully defeated Orbán's Fidesz in 1994, 2002 and 2006.

The heyday of the SZDSZ may be thought to have ended when it suffered heavy losses in the [[1998 Hungarian parliamentary election|1998 parliamentary election]]. In [[2002 Hungarian parliamentary election|2002 parliamentary election]], it gained only 5.5 percent of the vote, returning 20 deputies to the National Assembly.

Until its withdrawal from the coalition in May 2008, the SZDSZ had three portfolios. It also had a delegation in the [[European Parliament]], receiving 7.7 percent of the Hungarian vote and two MEPs in the [[2004 European Parliament election in Hungary|2004 European Parliament election]].

In the [[2006 Hungarian parliamentary election|2006 parliamentary election]], it gained no directly elected seats, but 6.5 percent of the list votes, thus securing 20 members in Hungary's 386-seat National Assembly. This was the first time that the party managed to increase its support compared with a previous general election. The MSZP–SZDSZ coalition had a small majority in the new National Assembly intake.

On 31 March 2008, various reform-related disagreements between the MSZP and SZDSZ led the SZDSZ leader [[János Kóka]] to announce that his party would exit the coalition by 1 May 2008.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Szakacs |first1=Gergely |last2=Chance |first2=David |title=Hungary's governing coalition to break up |date=31 March 2008 |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-politics/hungary-pm-sacks-health-minister-government-in-crisis-idUSL3106082420080331 |access-date=10 May 2018}}</ref> This also meant that the MSZP would have to form the first [[minority government]] in Hungary since the change of regime in 1989.

However, the legitimacy of Kóka's position as party president became questioned when it was discovered that some signatures of the delegates to the assembly electing him had been forged. Since he had won his position by a very small margin over Fodor, these votes might have changed the outcome. So a new leadership election was held in June<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nol.hu/cikk/488203/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415003217/http://nol.hu/cikk/488203/ |archive-date=15 April 2008 |date=11 April 2008 |work=Népszabadság Online |title=SZDSZ-tisztújító június 7-én|language=hu}}</ref> and Fodor was returned.

In the [[2009 European Parliament election in Hungary|2009 European Parliament election]], SZDSZ retained none of its seats with just 2.2 percent of the total vote, less than half of the minimum five percent needed to secure representation. The party did not even receive five percent in Budapest, its traditional stronghold. Party president Fodor offered his resignation as soon as the official tally was announced at 10:00&nbsp;p.m.

In the [[2010 Hungarian parliamentary election|2010 parliamentary election]], SZDSZ won only 0.25 percent of the vote and was shut out of the legislature altogether for the first time since the change of regime. The party was even unable to gain parliamentary seats in Budapest. The Alliance of Free Democrats officially ceased to exist in October 2013.<ref>[http://www.origo.hu/itthon/20130725-megszunhet-az-szdsz.html Megszűnhet az SZDSZ], Origo, 2013. július 25.</ref><ref>[http://www.atv.hu/belfold/20130725-johnne-rosenbluth-erzsebet-lemondott-osszel-megszunhet-az-szdsz Johnné Rósenblüth Erzsébet lemondott, ősszel megszűnhet az SZDSZ], ATV, 2013. július 25.</ref> A few months prior their official dissolution the [[Hungarian Liberal Party]] was formed.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2024-03-17|title=Hová tűnt a kvázi kis SZDSZ?|url=https://mandiner.hu/belfold/2024/03/szdsz-liberalisok-kronologia|access-date=2024-04-06|website=[[Mandiner]]|language=hu}}</ref>

==Political positions==

The party has been described as fiscally moderate and socially compassionate. It supported same-sex marriage, euthanasia, the legalization of marijuana, higher taxes on corporations and the top 1%, lower taxes for the working class and middle class, creation of a universal basic income, increasing the minimum wage, stronger borders and eliminating illegal immigration, increasing legal immigration by 2% and ending compulsory military service.

==Election results==

=== [[National Assembly (Hungary)|National Assembly]] ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; line-height:16px;"
|-
! rowspan="2" style="width:60px;"| Election
! colspan="3"| Votes
! colspan="2"| Seats
! rowspan="2" style="width:30px;"| Rank
! rowspan="2" style="width:145px;"| Government
! rowspan="2"| Prime Minister<br/>candidate
|-
! style="width:75px;"| #
! style="width:45px;"| %
! style="width:48px;"| ±[[Percentage point|pp]]
! style="width:100px;"| #
! style="width:40px;"| +/−
|-
! [[1990 Hungarian parliamentary election|1990]]
| 1,050,452
| 21.4%
| –
| {{Composition bar|94|386|hex=#0087DC}}
| ±0
| 2nd
| {{no2|in opposition}}
| [[János Kis]]
|-
! [[1994 Hungarian parliamentary election|1994]]
| 1,066,074
| 19.7%
| {{decrease}}1.7
| {{Composition bar|70|386|hex=#0087DC}}
| {{decrease}} 24
| 2nd
| {{yes2|MSZP-SZDSZ Supermajority}}
| [[Iván Pető]]
|-
! [[1998 Hungarian parliamentary election|1998]]
| 353,186
| 7.88%
| {{decrease}}11.82
| {{Composition bar|24|386|hex=#0087DC}}
| {{decrease}} 46
| 4th
| {{no2|in opposition}}
| [[Gábor Kuncze]]
|-
! [[2002 Hungarian parliamentary election|2002]]
| 313,084
| 5.57%
| {{decrease}}2.31
| {{Composition bar|20|386|hex=#0087DC}}
| {{decrease}} 4
| 3rd
| {{yes2|MSZP-SZDSZ Majority}}
| Gábor Kuncze
|-
! [[2006 Hungarian parliamentary election|2006]]
| 351,612
| 6.5%
| {{increase}}0.93
| {{Composition bar|20|386|hex=#0087DC}}
| {{steady}} 0
| 3rd
| {{yes2|MSZP-SZDSZ Majority}} <small>''(until 2008)''</small>
| Gábor Kuncze
|-
! [[2010 Hungarian parliamentary election|2010]]<sup>1</sup>
| 12,652
| 0.25%
| {{decrease}}6.25
| {{Composition bar|0|386|hex=#0087DC}}
| {{decrease}} 20
| 8th
| extra-parliamentary
| –
|}
<small><sup>1</sup> 10 joint candidates with the [[Hungarian Democratic Forum]] (MDF).</small>

=== [[European Parliament]] ===
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Election year
! # of overall votes
! % of overall vote
! # of overall seats won
! +/-
! Notes
|-
! [[2004 European Parliament election in Hungary|2004]]
| 237,908
| 7.77% (3rd)
| {{Composition bar|2|24|hex=#0087DC}}
| 
| 
|-
! [[2009 European Parliament election in Hungary|2009]]
| 62,527
| 2.16% (6th)
| {{Composition bar|0|22|hex=#0087DC}}
| {{decrease}} 2
|
|}

==Party leaders==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[János Kis]]{{spaced ndash}} 23 February 1990 to 23 November 1991 
* [[Péter Tölgyessy]]{{spaced ndash}} 23 November 1991 to 13 November 1992 
* [[Iván Pető]]{{spaced ndash}} 13 November 1992 to 24 April 1997 
* [[Gábor Kuncze]]{{spaced ndash}} 24 April 1997 to 20 June 1998 
* [[Bálint Magyar]]{{spaced ndash}} 20 June 1998 to December 2000 
* [[Gábor Demszky]]{{spaced ndash}} December 2000 to June 2001 
* [[Gábor Kuncze]]{{spaced ndash}} June 2001 to 31 March 2007 
* [[János Kóka]]{{spaced ndash}} 31 March 2007 to 7 June 2008 
* [[Gábor Fodor (politician)|Gábor Fodor]]{{spaced ndash}}  7 June 2008 to 12 July 2009 
* [[Attila Retkes]]{{spaced ndash}}  12 July 2009 to 29 May 2010 
* [[Viktor Szabadai]]{{spaced ndash}}  16 July 2010 to 30 October 2013<ref>{{clarify|date=October 2012|reason=attribution in hungarian.  at minimum, needs english translation of hungarian headine appended to "trans_title" field.}} {{cite web | author = Staff | date = 16 July 2010 | url = http://www.nepszava.hu/articles/article.php?id=324773 | title = ''Újra van elnöke az SZDSZ-nek – Szabadai Viktor az új ügyvezető elnök'' | language = hu | work = [[Népszava]] | access-date = 5 October 2012 | archive-date = 16 August 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170816152713/http://nepszava.hu/articles/article.php?id=324773 | url-status = dead }}</ref>
{{div col end}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Hungary|Politics}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Liberal democracy]]
* [[Contributions to liberal theory]]
* [[Liberalism]]
* [[Liberalism and radicalism in Hungary]]
* [[Liberalism worldwide]]
* [[List of liberal parties]]
* [[List of political parties in Hungary]]
{{div col end}}
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051125020831/http://szdsz.hu/ szdsz.hu] (in [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]; at October 2012, home page offered link to English module), the party's official website

{{ELDR member parties}}
{{Hungarian political parties}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alliance of Free Democrats}}
[[Category:1988 establishments in Hungary]]
[[Category:2013 disestablishments in Hungary]]
[[Category:Defunct liberal political parties]]
[[Category:Liberal parties in Hungary]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1988]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 2013]]
[[Category:Defunct political parties in Hungary]]