The election program of the Social Democratic Party

The election program of the Social Democratic Party from 1947. Original Hungarian brochure. 

In 1945 February, after 108 days of bloody fights with the Soviet army, World War II. ended in Hungary with a Soviet occupation.  However, despite of the Soviet presence a democratic structure was being established after the war. The Independent Smallholders' Party represented the conservative right  while the Social Democrats continued their leftist politics and the Communist Party was legalized again.

Three elections were held between 1945 and 1949 (1945, 1947, 1949). On the first one, the Communist Party tried to get in power by democratic means, but the Smallholders’ Party won the majority of votes.

The unexpected results left the communists unsettled and on the next election they resorted to all possible, legal or illegal, means to change the political situation.The support of the Soviets and many young intellectuals helped them in setting up a well functioning propaganda mechanism that attributed all successes to the communists.

The communist leadership used all propaganda channels to win the elections but this time they wanted to ensure their victory by frauds as well. The election of 1947 is referred to as the ‘blue-ballot’ election. Blue ballot voting papers allowed people to vote away from their homes. Taking advantage of this, the Communist Party distributed blue ballots among their people who voted for them more times at different locations. Despite the frauds they only won 22%, but in the contemporary political environment it wasn’t the voters’ will that determined the fate of the country.

In order to gain total power, in the next two years they slowly sliced up the opposing parties (salami tactics). Hand in hand with the brutal Soviet political pressure, police terror and strong propaganda, the communists managed to eliminate all attempts to maintain democracy. The conservative political leaders were imprisoned, executed or sent to exile, whereas the Social Democratic Party had no other option but to unite with the communists.

On the elections of 1949 parties didn’t participate, but a list was presented with only communist candidates (under the name of People’s Front). The communists gained total power, the new government was set up in June, 1949. The new constitution was accepted two months later which declared Hungary a people’s republic, where the ‘power belonged to the working people’. Socialism became the main goal of the nation. It was the beginning of an era that lasted until 1989, and which determined the fate of generations.

This leaflet is a relic from the infamous election of 1947. It explains the election campaign of the Social Democratic Party with a strong emphasis on the three year plan. It also explains the local and foreign political plans, all written in the demagogue style typical of such propaganda materials.