Editing Jozef Tiso (section)

===Government minister and party troubles===
In the late 1920s, Tiso became one of the party's leaders. When the president of the party [[Andrej Hlinka]] traveled in 1926 to the [[28th International Eucharistic Congress]] in [[Chicago]], he delegated Tiso to represent him in the presidium of the party.{{sfn|Kamenec|2013|p=59}} In his absence, Tiso led complicated negotiations about an entry of the Ľudáks into the government. In spite of pushback from "old" Slovaks within the party, Tiso was successful in reaching a coalition deal, arguing to his critics that "entering the government is the only way that autonomy will fall like a ripe fruit into the hands of Slovaks."{{sfn|Ward|2013|pp=96-97}} In January 1927, he became the Czechoslovak Minister of Health and Physical Education, a minor position (using only 1.5% of proposed 1928 government spending) that had the duties of "managing state hospitals and regulating medical and food industries...[overseeing] the republic’s lucrative [[Spa towns in Slovakia|spas]] and [promoting] sports through organizations like Sokol and Orol.{{sfn|Ward|2013|p=98}} While Tiso's ministerial activities built up goodwill with local communities, Tiso was criticized by both Czech centralists, who saw him as "incompetent" and "mixing religion with politics," and party radicals, who felt that his activities did very litle to advance the cause of Slovak autonomy."{{sfn|Ward|2013|pp=102-103}} 

Tiso and the Ľudáks fell out of favor with the central government in the aftermath of the "[[Vojtech_Tuka#Espionage_allegations_and_first_jail_sentence|Tuka affair]]," where Tiso, Hlinka, and other party figures ostensibly defended the radical Tuka, who was tried and eventually sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for anti-Republic treason charges.{{sfn|Ward|2013|pp=102-107}} Tiso resigned his position on 8 October, 1929, as the party sought to reenter the opposition. 

In 1930, he became the official vice-president of the party and seemed destined to succeed Hlinka, whose health was deteriorating. He spent the 1930s competing for Hlinka's mantle with party radicals, most notably the rightist [[Karol Sidor]]. In 1930, Tiso published ''The Ideology of the Hlinka's Slovak People's Party'' explaining his views on the Czech-Slovak relationship. Notably, he claimed sovereignty of the Slovak nation over the territory of Slovakia and indirectly suggested the right of Slovaks also to adopt different solutions for things from the Czechoslovak government in Prague.{{sfn|Rychlík|2015|p=131}} He repeated the same idea in his parliamentary speeches.{{sfn|Fabricius|Suško|2002|p=384}}
{{Quote box
 | quote = "We want the administration, schools, and courts to go into the hands of Slovaks without exception and unconditionally. We want [to see] Slovaks making good in every branch of public life. Hlinka’s Slovak People’s Party strives to improve agriculture, to expand industry, and to develop Slovak financial institutions. We are for maintaining and developing our national culture, speech, traditions, customs, and so on. In short, we want to realize the slogan “Slovakia to Slovaks” in full measure,
acknowledging the rights of other citizens. Otherwise, we are for a common Czecho-Slovak army, finances, and diplomatic service"
 | source = — Jozef Tiso, 31 March, 1932{{sfn|Ward|2013|p=112}}
 | align = left
 | width = 40%
 | bgcolor = #f9f9f9
}}