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The Party of Civic Understanding ((スロバキア語:Strana občianskeho porozumenia), SOP) was a centre-left political party in Slovakia between 1998 and 2003. Between 1998 and 2002 the party was part of the coalition government led by Mikuláš Dzurinda, with the founder of the party, Rudolf Schuster, being elected President of Slovakia in 1999. In government the party lost support and after the 2002 election had no seats in parliament. The party dissolved on the 1 March 2003 and recommended its members join Direction – Social Democracy (SMER). ==Foundation and 1998 election== The Party of Civic Understanding was founded in April 1998 by the Mayor of Košice, Rudolf Schuster.〔 Members of the new party included the former Foreign Minister Pavol Hamžík,〔 among other prominent Slovak figures. The new party was aided by favourable publicity from the Markíza television station. The Party of Civic Understanding aimed for left leaning voters from eastern Slovakia and disillusioned supporters of the governing People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). The party called for pensioners and students to get a better standard of living, but did not call for privatisations to be re-done without conditions, thereby getting some support from businessmen.〔 It was also a strong supporter of membership of the European Union and NATO.〔 The party's aim initially was to reduce the polarisation of Slovak politics, by promoting reconciliation between the government of Vladimír Mečiar and the opposition. However as the European Union was completely opposed to the HZDS of Vladimír Mečiar, the Party of Civic Understanding refused to consider co-operating with the HZDS in government.〔 Instead the Party of Civic Understanding joined with the other opposition parties in discussion of the upcoming election campaign and a possible coalition after the election.〔 Two polls in June and July 1998 showed the Party of Civic Understanding in third place with either 14.2% or 18.4% of the vote, with the party leader Rudolph Schuster being the most popular figure in the country. However at the September 1998 parliamentary election the Party of Civic Understanding won only 8% of the vote and gained 13 seats in parliament,〔 the least number of any of the parties which won seats at the election. The under performance by the party was put down to attacks by Slovenská televízia, the state television station, and possibly voter dislike of the negative campaign by the party.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Party of Civic Understanding」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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