together with liberal atheists considered to be the party's main enemies. The constitutional part of its program was derived from the Pittsburgh Agreement, which promised an autonomous status of Slovakia within Czechoslovakia. The HSĽS opposed centralism and ethnic Czechoslovakism, which did not consider Slovaks as a separate and distinctive ethnic group from the Czechs. In addition to its program, the popularity of the party was maintained by Hlinka's charisma and cult of personality. In the 1920 parliamentary elections the party participated together with the Czech People's Party under the name Czechoslovak People's Party. The alliance received 17.5% of the vote in Slovakia, making it the third largest party. Following the elections, Hlinka stated that he would "work 24 hours a day until Slovakia turns from a red Slovakia into a white and Christian Slovakia." The majority of the party's support came from Slovak farmers, mainly because the party criticized the land reforms of 1920–1929. After the county elections in 1923, the party became the largest party in Slovakia, receiving 34.4% of the vote in the 1925 parliamentary elections. In 1923, the HSĽS founded the paramilitary Rodobrana organization to protect their meetings. Rodobrana was influenced and manipulated by Vojtech Tuka for his own anti-Czechoslovak intentions, and later it was banned by the Czechoslovak government for anti-constitutional activities. Rodobrana was inspired by Italian fascism, and became a magnet for young dissatisfied radicals, the core of the future fascist wing of the HSĽS. The HSĽS leadership attempted to bring Rodobrana under party control, and succeeded when its activities were restored in 1926. Rodobrana hosted several radicals like Alexander Mach and Ján Farkaš. On 15 January 1927, the HSĽS became a member of the Czechoslovak government coalition after Jozef Tiso started negotiations during a foreign trip by Hlinka. The party held the Ministry of Health (Jozef Tiso) and the Ministry of the Unification of Laws and State Administration (Marek Gažík). After a controversial trial against the HSĽS member Vojtech Tuka, who was accused of high treason, the HSĽS left the government on 8 October 1929. In order to contest the 1935 elections, the HSĽS joined with the SNS to create the "Autonomous Block", which received 30.12% of the vote in the Slovak region of Czechoslovakia. However, it was dissolved after the elections. The HSĽS considered itself to be the only political party that vigorously defended Slovak national interests, but its inability to achieve autonomy