FOUR former leading members of the opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) are establishing a new political party. On March 12, Vladimír Palko, Pavol Minárik, František Mikloško and Rudolf Bauer started a petition to collect the 10,000 signatures required to register a political party, the SITA newswire wrote. The party will be called the Conservative Democrats of Slovakia (KDS).
At the end of February the four KDH MPs left the movement, saying its renewal was no longer possible and that it would be pointless to remain as members.
They will announce their leader once the party has been registered at the Interior Ministry. In the interim, Palko is acting as the spokesperson of the preparatory committee.
The main principles of the KDS will be respect for traditional values, patriotism enriched by all the values which cooperation and coexistence with other nations and cultures bring, and a new government economic policy toward the family.
"Our conservatism supports economic freedom, but it will be compassionate conservatism: compassion for the weak and those who need help," Palko said.
Palko said that the KDS is sending a clear signal to people dissatisfied with the politics of the current opposition parties, to whom the KDS's doors will be open. Current opposition politics, according to Palko, have been reduced to pragmatism.
The Conservative Democrats say they want to overcome this stagnation and will listen to the voices of voters disappointed with the present opposition, and of those who did not vote in last parliamentary elections. "The opposition in its current state does not represent a potential, successful alternative to Robert Fico's government in 2010," Palko said.
