Petőcz Kálmán (szerk.): National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006-2009 (Somorja, 2009)
Miroslav Kocúr: For God and Nation: Christian National Populism
Miroslav Kocúr ety’s lawmaking needs in certain specific areas. Requirements of churches come to the fore especially during debates on state budget; here, churches are directly concerned by government contributions to financing clergymen’s salaries, church headquarters and indirectly also educational, social care and medical establishments. The country’s educational, social care and health service system features a considerable proportion of institutions operated by churches that provide pre-school, primary, secondary, and university education as well as social and medical services. According to this author’s personal opinion and experience, the voice of religious communities in this area can ill be ignored. With varying intensity and success, all post-November administrations in Slovakia solicited for support of churches as such or at least their decisive and leading segments. This was manifested through their willingness to listen to the voice of church representatives in the process of drafting legislation concerning restitution of church property nationalized after 1950, indemnification of victims of political persecution and paving the way toward actual as opposed to declared religious freedom.3 It was these areas that most legislative changes in the field of education, health service and social care or cultural institutions focused on. Churches gradually became an important partner and their views began to be taken into account in the process of formulating relevant parties’ election programs as well as administrations’ government programs. Explicitly or implicitly, requirements and expectations of church headquarters played an increasingly important role on various occasions. NaTÍONaI PopuliSM ANd CIhRÍSTÍAIN ChuRchES In the history of Slovakia, the single most relevant example of amalgamating national and religious principles in administering the state was the period of 1939-1945. This picture would be even more complete if its beginning was moved to October 6, 1938, when Slovakia proclaimed its autonomy and began to adopt very concrete measures aimed at obtaining full independence. During this period, national populism was dubbed as Christian National Socialism. Its ideological upholder was Hlinka’s Slovak People’s Party (HSES) led by ThDr. Jozef Tiso who was appointed the head of the autonomous cabinet and subsequently became president of the Slovak Republic, a satellite state of the Third Reich. March 14, 1939, will always be connected to the name of Jozef Tiso. He was a man whose political career spanned almost quarter of a century. He was a member of the Czechoslovak Parliament and a member of the central gover-222
