in the 2002 election, the party run for parliamentary seats together with the parties civic conservative party (oks, led by ján langoš) and liberal-democratic union (ldú, led by ján budaj), both of which arose in the course of the dissolution of the sdk. shortly before the election however the party withdraw its candidature and recommended its voters to vote for the slovak democratic and christian union (sdkú) of mikuláš dzurinda. this was due to an agreement with the sdkú, according to which ľudovít kaník, the chairman of the democratic party, received one seat in the new 2002 government - the seat of the minister of social affairs and family. after a scandal, however, kaník left the government in october 2005 and talks about a merge of the democratic party with the sdkú were announced.