A Collapsed Bridge: Most-Híd’s Social Embeddedness and Campaign Messages during the 2020 Parliamentary Election in Slovakia

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Hungarian minority is an important element of Slovakia’s political landscape. For a decade, it was represented in the parliament by Most-Híd, an integrationist civic party that mobilized its electorate across ethnic boundaries and held a special niche in Slovakia’s politics. Based on Most-Híd’s 2020 campaign messages, this article identifies drivers of the integrationist party’s electoral failure stemming from its having to address the needs of its composite interethnic electorate equally and its oversize leadership factor. It provides evidence of the increased vulnerability of integrationist political groups, addressing deficits in Most-Híd’s social embeddedness that led to the party’s collapse.