BRATISLAVA (September 2025) – Transparency has published an update of its database of political party donors and lenders, which now includes 22,000 transactions from more than 60 political parties covering the years 2002 to 2024. After the record surge in 2023, an election year when over €15 million flowed into politics from private sources, last year was much more modest. Through donations and loans, parties received €1.87 million in 2024. Over the entire period from 2002 to 2024, private sponsors and lenders supported the activities of the mapped parties with a total of €74 million. Adjusted for inflation, this would amount to €98 million.
The largest overall donor is currently the deputy chairman of Republika and businessman Miroslav Suja, who has given more than €305,000 in total to ĽSNS and Republika. He is followed by Ján Šubák, a businessman from Michalovce and donor of Demokrati, while the third place still belongs to Rudolf Trávniček, a pensioner who in 2007 famously brought €238,000 in cash to HZDS in a plastic bag.
All data on party donors and lenders from 2002 to 2024, as well as the amounts of state subsidies, can be explored in detail at volby.transparency.sk. In addition to political finance, the portal has also monitored the transparency of election campaigns since 2019. A detailed analysis of party revenues for 2024 is available in the article „Hlas is not only a party of beautiful but also of wealthy people”, and for 2023 in the blog post „Last year, record private money flowed into politics – not without doubts”.
