The Constitutional Hussar’s Cut: A Conservative Dream Fulfilled

On 26 September 2025, Slovak conservatives were left happily surprised. At 11:08 a.m., the National Council in Bratislava voted by the slimmest possible margin to pass a sweeping constitutional amendment enshrining an array of conservative cultural-ethical principles. Ninety votes were required; ninety were secured. Only seven MPs opposed the measure, with two abstaining. This was a hussar’s cut for Slovak conservatives in the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and the Christian Union (Kresťanská únia). The stakes were high, victory improbable. But they made it. 

The amendment establishes Slovakia as the first EU member state to constitutionally entrench such a comprehensive conservative vision of human dignity, family, and social order and protect women from being exploited using surrogacy pregnancies. For conservatives in Slovakia, it was a dream come true. For Viliam Karas, former minister of justice and vice-chairman of KDH, a fruitful reward for a tiring year of inter- and intra-party lobbying.

What the Amendment Contains

The new constitutional provisions cover a wide range of issues, combining long-standing Christian Democratic proposals with coalition compromises.

• Sovereignty in cultural-ethical matters. Slovakia asserts national sovereignty over life and dignity, marriage and family, morality, culture and language, as well as related fields such as healthcare, education, and inheritance. Originally worded as a declaration of parliament by Christian Democrat Vladimír Palko in 2002, this principle has now been promoted from political declaration to constitutional bedrock.
  
• Ban on surrogacy. The text stipulates, “Agreements to bear children for others are prohibited.” Championed by KDH, the ban was praised internationally by figures such as UN Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem, who praised Slovakia’s stand against the exploitation of women.
  
• Equal pay for men and women. Introduced by the social-democratic Hlas-SD party, this provision broadened support across the coalition.
  
• Biological definition of parents. The amendment explicitly states: “The parents of a child are the mother and father; the mother of the child is a woman and the father of the child is a man.”
  
• Adoption framework. Adoption is now available primarily to married couples, or, in special cases, to the spouse of a biological or adoptive parent. Single-person adoptions remain possible but exceptional.
  
• Parental rights in education. Schools may not instruct children on intimacy or sexual behavior without the informed consent of parents or guardians. While Slovakia does not need to confront phenomena such as drag queen story hour, there remain progressive NGOs promoting permissive sexual education.
  
• Recognition of biological sex. Slovakia formally recognizes only the biologically determined sexes of male and female, language proposed by the Christian Union, led by Milan Krajniak.

A Long and Difficult Path

The road to this moment was anything but straightforward. Robert Fico, at some time a proponent of the Blairite Third Way, gradually repositioned himself as an opponent of global liberalism. His rhetoric became more resolute following the attempt on his own life in May 2024. On the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius, from the symbolic heights of Devín Castle overlooking the Danube, Fico spoke of the need to build a “dam against progressivism.”

The Christian Democrats in KDH laid out their priorities a few days later: stronger parental rights in education, freedom of conscience, a ban on surrogacy, and safeguards for political integrity. Milan Majerský, the chairman of KDH, agreed with MEP Miriam Lexmann and vice-chairman Viliam Karas on the need to define the content of this “dam against progressivism.”  Gradually, the two proposals took shape and began to overlap. Initially, both the governing coalition—Fico’s Smer, Hlas, and the Slovak National Party (SNS)—and the KDH submitted their own proposals. However, only the coalition proposal passed beyond the first reading in parliament. Although formally, the proposal was that of the coalition, the final version was worded mostly by two men: Viliam Karas and Milan Krajniak, former minister of labor, social affairs, and family, and chairman of the Christian Union.

The final voting was scheduled to take place in June. However, two MPs in the KDH faction refused to support a bill proposed by the coalition. The voting was rescheduled to September, and the numbers were further weakened by the passing away of MP Anna Záborská from the Christian Union on the Feast of Saint Stephen. This dropped the numbers to 88 in favor, as her replacement was loyal to former Prime Minister Igor Matovič of the center-right OĽaNO party. 

In September 2025, the Ladislav Hanus Institute, led by Juraj Šúst, together with the Fides et Ratio Foundation, organized a discussion with Olivia Maurel, a leading anti-surrogacy activist, and with politicians across the political spectrum. Igor Matovič, former PM and leader of the Slovensko movement—a coalition of OĽaNO, Za ľudí (For the People), and Christian Union—declared that his MPs would vote according to their conscience.

On Tuesday, September 23rd, at an opposition rally, the crowd shouted at Milan Majerský, leader of KDH, “Don´t vote with Fico!”  However, in a shocking turn of events, Progresívne Slovensko—the leading opposition party with an unashamedly woke political agenda—supported the government coalition in making September 15th, the Feast of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, the Patron Saint of Slovakia, no longer a bank holiday. This clearly broke a long-standing moral principle among some members of the opposition—a categorical ban on voting together with the coalition parties. More importantly, it convinced two conservative MPs—Rastislav Krátky, who in June declared that he would support the bill should it depend on his vote, and Marek Krajčí from the Slovensko movement—to prioritise their conscience over the party line and support the bill. Both Krátky and Krajčí belong to the charismatic renewal in Slovakia, and their decision was also a result of spiritual discernment, prayer, and talks with their pastors. 

Slovakia’s Political Landscape

The political scene in Slovakia remains polarized: a deep trench tearing the country into two camps. On one side lies the politics of the coalition of Robert Fico and his party of ‘rustic social democracy’—one that is mostly pragmatic and anti-woke, with post-Communist nostalgia and welfare packages—together with a second social democracy with progressive instincts, and the nationalists. None of the coalition parties are part of any European grouping. Adjacent to this side of the trench lies the Republika party, part of the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) in the European Parliament.

On the other side of the spectrum lies the block dominated by Progressive Slovakia—an explicitly woke party leading the polls. In their orbit lies Sloboda a Solidarita (Freedom and Solidarity), a party nominally still in ECR, originally economically libertarian, but which has adopted many woke positions and is hardly distinguishable from Progressive Slovakia. This block also includes the minor party Demokrati, just above the 5% margin, whose policies are basically equal to the pro-NATO and globalist agenda. 

Outside of these blocks, but staunchly against Robert Fico, lies the Slovensko movement of former prime minister Igor Matovič. In Slovak politics, it is a wild card. Its choice of candidates appears random and chaotic. The sole predictable element lies in its categorical opposition to the current coalition, based on anti-corruption rhetoric. 

The conservatives in Slovakia find themselves in an uneasy spot between Scylla and Charybdis. For many years, their dilemma was whose side to pick. This is not the correct question to ask. The right question to ask is how Slovak conservatives can overcome their differences and form a distinctive political camp and what to do to increase their relevance and become protagonists rather than side characters in the political show. This week Milan Majerský, Milan Krajniak, Viliam Karas, Rastislav Krátky and Marek Krajčí proved that it is possible.  

In the end, it was not the pragmatism of Robert Fico that delivered the triumph. It was the persistence of the two Christian conservative parties in Slovakia together with the diligence, patience, and legal rigor of Viliam Karas, as well as the conscience and political courage of Rastislav Krátky, and Marek Krajčí, that delivered the hussar’s cut—a risky gamble few considered possible. The result: a conservative understanding of life, family, and dignity written in the fundamental law of the land. It stands as a living example worth following.