Who is left and who is right: Slovak parties on the compass

The political compass has two axes. The economic axis measures how much the state should intervene in the economy: taxes, energy prices, pensions, healthcare. The social axis measures values and the way the country is governed: registered partnerships, abortion and climate, but also the prosecution service and public media. The map of the parties is on the political compass page. Here we look at which positions put each party where it is.

How the position is calculated

Each party's documented positions on the test's statements go through the same formula that places you, as if the party itself had taken the test. Each answer becomes a number from −100 (left or progressive) to +100 (right or conservative), and the position on each axis is their average.

The economic axis covers the topics "Economy and taxes", "Cost of living and housing", "Pensions and benefits" and "Healthcare" (14 statements). The social axis covers "Rule of law and democracy", "Values and society", "Energy and climate" and "Migration" (12 statements). "Ukraine and Russia", "European Union", "Defence and NATO" and "Minorities" (16 statements) do not count on the compass.

Which way "strongly agree" pushes you is decided by reference parties. On the economic axis, Smer and Hlas are on the left, and SaS, Demokrati and KDH on the right. On the social axis, PS and SaS are on the progressive side, and KDH, Republika, SNS and Smer on the conservative side. If both groups answer a statement in almost the same way (their averages differ by less than half a point), the direction is unclear and the statement does not count on the compass. In the Slovak test this did not happen with any of the 26 statements: all of them have a clear direction.

Two caveats. First, because the reference parties set the direction, Smer and Hlas are partly on the economic left by definition. The compass does not say who is "really" left-wing; it shows how far each party goes, and on which issues. Second, the compass on the site uses all of a party's positions, including those marked as estimated because no explicit document backs them. For most parties that means one to four of 26 positions; for Maďarská aliancia and Právo na pravdu it is nine, and for Sme rodina six. Their place on the map is therefore less certain. Below, we only mention positions that have a source.

The twelve parties on the compass

A minus sign means left or progressive; a plus sign, right or conservative. This is our own calculation from the parties' positions as of 17 October 2026, the same one shown on the compass page.

The social axis measures two things at once

Before going party by party, one point changes the picture in Slovakia. The social axis brings together two different groups of questions. The first is values: registered partnerships, abortion, cannabis, and whether ethical issues should be left to each country alone. The second is the rule of law: re-establishing the Office of the Special Prosecutor, oversight of foreign-funded NGOs, Section 363, how the management of STVR is chosen, and when a referendum is valid.

On the rule of law, the parties fall into two clear blocs: Smer, Hlas, SNS and Republika on one side; PS, SaS, Demokrati, KDH, Hnutie Slovensko and Maďarská aliancia on the other. Parties that are conservative on values but belong to the second bloc on the rule of law therefore land near the middle of the social axis:

So KDH's zero does not mean KDH is "centrist". It means two strong positions cancel each other out.

Party by party

Smer and Hlas: almost at the same point. Of the test's 42 statements, these two parties take exactly the same position on 25 and are never more than two points apart. Both are on the economic left (Smer −53.6, Hlas −50.0): they strongly disagree with a single income tax rate for everyone and with giving the 13th pension only to people with low pensions, and they agree with a special tax on banks and large companies, with capping energy prices for all households and with a state majority stake in energy. On the social axis they are conservative mainly because of the rule of law: they strongly disagree with re-establishing the Office of the Special Prosecutor and with having STVR's management chosen by an independent body, and strongly agree with stricter oversight of foreign-funded NGOs. On abortion and on making it easier for foreign workers to come, by contrast, they are on the progressive side. The two statements on which they are two points apart are outside the compass: lifting sanctions on Russia and leaving NATO (Smer agrees with lifting sanctions and is neutral on leaving NATO; Hlas disagrees with both).

Republika: the most conservative. On all 12 statements of the social axis, Republika is on the conservative side, and on seven it is at the end of the scale: against registered partnerships, against the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and against banning new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, against making it easier for foreign workers to come, and in favour of a referendum being valid even when fewer than half of voters take part. On the economy it is as far left as Hlas (−50.0), but for different reasons: it strongly supports capping energy prices, a state stake in energy, capping supermarket margins and a single public health insurer, and strongly disagrees with raising the retirement age further. What pulls it to the right is that it would reduce the deficit by cutting spending rather than raising taxes, and that patients should be able to pay extra for above-standard care.

SNS: close to Republika. On 21 of the 42 statements, SNS takes the same position as Republika. On the economy it is on the left (−42.9): it strongly agrees with a special tax on banks and large companies and with a state stake in energy, and strongly disagrees with raising the retirement age further. On the social axis (+66.7) it is on the same side as Smer on the rule of law and strongly disagrees with registered partnerships. Two statements mainly separate it from Republika: a referendum on leaving the EU (Republika strongly agrees, SNS disagrees) and foreign workers (Republika strongly disagrees, SNS is neutral).

Právo na pravdu: left-wing and conservative, with many estimates. Nine of its 26 positions on the axes are estimated, so its place (−35.7; +45.8) should be read with caution. Among its documented positions, it strongly agrees with a single public health insurer and with a state stake in energy, and strongly disagrees with giving the 13th pension only to people with low pensions. At the same time, it strongly agrees with reducing the deficit through spending cuts rather than taxes. On the social axis it strongly agrees with stricter oversight of NGOs and with leaving ethical issues to each country alone.

Maďarská aliancia: in the middle of the compass, distinctive outside it. On the map it is close to the centre (−10.7; 0.0), but nine of its 26 positions on the axes are estimated, seven of them on the economy. On the social axis, a progressive stance on the rule of law (it agrees with re-establishing the Special Prosecutor and with an independent choice of STVR's management, and disagrees with stricter oversight of NGOs) meets a conservative stance on values (it strongly agrees that ethical issues should be left to each country). Its most distinctive positions are on minorities, a topic that does not count on the compass (see below).

Sme rodina: slightly left and slightly conservative. Six of Sme rodina's 26 positions on the axes are estimated. Among the documented ones, it strongly disagrees with registered partnerships and with the ban on combustion engines, agrees with raising the retirement age further and disagrees with capping energy prices for all households, which pulls it to the right on the economy. What pulls it to the left is its support for a state stake in energy, capping margins and keeping social benefits even if taxes have to rise.

Hnutie Slovensko: in the middle, but not because it is centrist. On 13 of the 14 economic statements, Hnutie Slovensko is away from the centre: on seven to the left and on six to the right. Prices pull it left: it strongly agrees with capping energy prices for all households, and agrees with a state stake in energy, capping margins and keeping benefits even if taxes rise. What pulls it right is its agreement with reducing the deficit through cuts, raising the retirement age further, paying extra for above-standard care and actively recruiting doctors from abroad. On the social axis it strongly agrees with re-establishing the Special Prosecutor and strongly disagrees with stricter oversight of NGOs, but it also strongly disagrees with registered partnerships.

KDH: right-wing on the economy, zero on the social axis from two opposite positions. On the economy KDH is on the right (+35.7): it strongly agrees with a single income tax rate for everyone and with raising the retirement age further, and strongly disagrees with capping energy prices for all households. On values it is the most conservative party in the test (+75.0: it strongly disagrees with registered partnerships, and agrees with restricting abortion further and keeping cannabis possession a crime), but on the rule of law and migration it stands on the progressive side: it strongly disagrees with stricter oversight of NGOs and strongly agrees with making it easier for foreign workers to come. The result is zero. With Hnutie Slovensko, with which it shares 20 of 42 positions, it differs most on energy prices: KDH strongly disagrees with capping them for everyone, Hnutie Slovensko strongly agrees.

PS: the most progressive. On 9 of the 12 statements of the social axis, PS is at the progressive end, and it is on the conservative side on none (−87.5): it strongly agrees with registered partnerships, re-establishing the Special Prosecutor and the goal of climate neutrality, and strongly disagrees with restricting abortion further and with keeping cannabis possession a crime. On the economy it is on the right (+42.9), but not because of taxes: it is neutral on a special tax on banks and disagrees with cutting VAT. What pulls it right is its rejection of capping energy prices for everyone, and its agreement with raising the retirement age further and actively recruiting doctors from abroad.

Demokrati: right-wing, and progressive mainly on the rule of law. On the economy (+53.6) Demokrati strongly agree with a single income tax rate and with cutting VAT, and strongly disagree with a single public health insurer. On the social axis (−50.0) they are as far towards the progressive end as PS and SaS on the rule of law (−90.0), but much less so on values (−25.0): they disagree with registered partnerships, and also with restricting abortion further.

SaS: the furthest right on the economy. On 10 of the 14 economic statements, SaS is at the right end of the scale: for a single income tax rate, a VAT cut, reducing the deficit through cuts and a 13th pension only for people with low pensions, and against a special tax, capping energy prices, a state stake in energy and a single health insurer. On the social axis it is progressive (−75.0), at the end of the scale on all four statements about values. It is on the conservative side on one statement: it strongly disagrees with banning combustion-engine cars from 2035.

What the compass does not show

The 16 statements on Ukraine and Russia, the European Union, defence and minorities do not count on the compass, even though that is where some parties differ most. A few examples, with documented positions only:

• "Slovakia should leave NATO and become a militarily neutral country." Republika and SNS agree, Smer and Právo na pravdu are neutral, and the other eight parties, Hlas included, strongly disagree.
• "Slovakia should resume sending state military aid to Ukraine." Smer, Republika, SNS and Právo na pravdu strongly disagree, Hlas and Maďarská aliancia disagree, KDH is neutral, Sme rodina agrees, and Hnutie Slovensko, PS, Demokrati and SaS strongly agree.
• "The EU should be able to decide foreign policy by majority vote, without any single country having a veto." Only PS agrees; the other 11 parties, SaS and Demokrati included, disagree.
• "If the EU does not change fundamentally, Slovakia should hold a referendum on whether to stay in it." Only Republika strongly agrees.
• "The 2025 law that makes it a crime to question the Beneš decrees should be repealed." Maďarská aliancia strongly agrees, and PS, Hnutie Slovensko and SaS agree; Smer, Hlas and SNS strongly disagree.

If these statements counted on the compass, the map would look different: Smer and Hlas, or Republika and SNS, would move apart. That is why the compass is a simplification. Your test result takes every statement into account, and every position of each party is on its page. You can compare two parties side by side, for example on the Smer vs Hlas page, or in the table of all the parties.

How to read it

The compass shows where the parties land according to our statements. It is neither how the parties describe themselves nor where experts place them, and with other questions the map would be somewhat different. Each place on the map rests on positions you can check against their sources on each party's page.

If you want to know where you stand, take the test: the result shows your place on the same map, with the same calculation.