Czech Republic - Political Parties - Profiles
CSSD: Czech Social Democratic Party
The party was found on 7th April 1878. It is the oldest of the existing Czech political parties, dating back to the days of the Austro Hungarian Empire. The party played a significant role in the foundation of Czechoslovakia after World War I, and between the wars it was one of the prominent players on the Czechoslovak political scene. In 1948 it was merged with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, but was renewed on 19.11.1989. Since then it has grown into one of the main players on the Czech political scene. It had been the party of Government since 22 August 1998. In the 1998 parliamentary elections it gained 74 seats (out of 200), 32.31% of the vote. This made the party the overall election victor, with around 3.5% more votes than the second place Civic Democratic Party.
A European style Social Democratic Party, identifying closely with such parties as the Social Democrats in Germany and the British Labour Party. Favors a "social market economy", but in government it has also overseen an acceleration of the privatization process: the main Czech banks are among the most prominent examples. In government the party has also put considerable stress on encouraging foreign investment. On many issues there is a wide spectrum of opinion within the party; for example the Trade and Industry Minister, Miroslav Gregr and the Environment Minister, Milos Kuzvart, have often clashed openly, but for all these differences there have not been major party rifts during the Social Democrats' period of government. The party leadership is strongly pro European Union and Prime Minister Zeman expressed Euro federalist sympathies.
After the parliamentary elections of 1998 brought no clear winner, the Social Democrats, as the party with the most seats in the Chamber of Deputies, signed the so called "opposition agreement" with the second strongest political force, the right of center Civic Democratic Party of Vaclav Klaus, under which the Civic Democrats agreed to tolerate the minority Social Democrat government. At the time Milos Zeman described his government (with only just over a third of seats in parliament) as "suicidal", but the party has survived its four year term without major crisis. In recent years the Social Democrats have been dominated by the current Prime Minister Milos Zeman, but he has now handed over the party leadership to Vladimir Spidla and has announced his intention to retire after the 2002 parliamentary elections. The Social Democratic Party is an active member of the Socialist International.
The party traditionally draws working class voters in industrial towns. Many of its voters are also public service employees and trade union members. Opinion polls suggest that the party does not have a particularly stable support base.
ODS: Civic Democratic Party
The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) officially came into being in February 1991 after the break up of Civic Forum, the driving force of the Velvet Revolution. The party held its establishing congress in April 1991, when the then Finance Minister Vaclav Klaus became party leader, a function he holds to this day. In 1995 it absorbed the far smaller Christian Democratic Party. After parliamentary elections in 1992, the ODS became the senior partner in the ruling right of centre coalition and Mr Klaus became Prime Minister. After the June 1996 elections the ODS headed a fragile right of centre government, comprised of the same political partners, but reduced to just under half the seats in the House of Deputies.
A row broke out inside the ODS in late 1997 following a dispute over the party's funding. This led to the collapse of the coalition government, and some leading party figures seceded from the ODS to establish the Freedom Union. Since the June 1998 parliamentary elections the Civic Democratic Party, which won the second largest number of seats, has tolerated the minority Social Democratic government through a pact known as the "opposition agreement". In the 1998 parliamentary elections it won 63 seats (out of 200), 27.74% of the vote. The party emerged in second place, with around 3.5% fewer votes than the Social Democrats.
Throughout the first decade of its history the Civic Democratic Party was dominated by its leader Vaclav Klaus. He is one of the Czech Republic's most charismatic politicians, loved and hated in equal measure. As an economist he firmly embraces the free market. On many issues his vision comes close to that of the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whom Mr. Klaus often quotes as his role model. The ODS instigated many of the economic reforms of the early and mid 1990s and was the instigator of the "voucher privatization" scheme, which aimed to create a mass share owning society. The party retains a political vision of minimal state intervention and low taxation, coupled with a reduction of state bureaucracy. As part of their pre election campaign the Civic Democrats are calling for a set rate of income tax at 15%. The party leadership is in favor of Czech membership of the European Union but is heavily critical of increased European integration. This "Euroscepticism" is also reflected in the party's views on defense, which focus on the trans Atlantic link.
The party appeals strongly to the middle class and to entrepreneurs, and enjoys considerable support in some of the larger cities such as Prague and Brno and among younger voters. It is particularly popular with women.
KDU CSL: Christian Democratic Union Czechoslovak People's Party.
The Czechoslovak People's Party goes back to the days of the foundation of Czechoslovakia in 1918 as a conservative, largely Catholic party. The party survived the communist regime, but only nominally, as part of the so called "National Front". It began to function again as a fully independent party after the Velvet Revolution. In 1992 it changed its name to the Christian Democratic Union Czechoslovak People's Party, partly as a way of distancing itself from the communist past. The party served as a junior partner in the two governments led by Vaclav Klaus, between July1992 and January 1998, and the party also took part in the interim government between January and August 1998. Since then it has been in opposition and since 1999 it has been in a close pact with the Freedom Union (see above). In English the party's name is often abbreviated to "The Christian Democrats". Results in the 1998 parliamentary elections were 20 seats (out of 200), 9% of the total vote (fourth place).
The KDU CSL is a traditional, conservative, Roman Catholic based party. It defines itself as right of centre, but in many respects it is closer to the Social Democrats than the other right wing parties. Like the Freedom Union Democratic Union, the party is pro European Union and is strongly in favor of direct presidential elections. On some social issues, such as the question of legalizing homosexual partnerships, it is conservative, consistent with its Catholic tradition. The KDU CSL and the Freedom Union Democratic Union have put forward a common right of centre pre election manifesto with a strong focus on the battle against corruption and on the rule of law.
The party appeals particularly to Catholic voters and to conservative voters in small towns and rural areas. It enjoys strong and stable support in rural parts of Moravia (the eastern part of the Czech Republic).
US DEU: The Freedom Union Democratic Union.
The Freedom Union was formed in January 1998 by disenchanted members of parliament, who broke away from Vaclav Klaus's Civic Democratic Party after a row about party financing. They accused the party leadership of not being willing to investigate and answer serious questions about party sponsors. They were also unhappy with the leadership style of Vaclav Klaus. The row brought down the Klaus government in November 1997. Several members of the emerging Freedom Union served in the interim government of Josef Tosovsky prior to the early elections held in June 1998. Although it won 19 seats in the election the party failed to draw mass support from Civic Democrat supporters, some of whom saw them as "traitors". In September 1999, the Freedom Union, along with three other right of centre parties (the Christian Democratic Union People's Party, the Democratic Union and the Civic Democratic Alliance) signed a pact, committing them to close cooperation in the run up to the next parliamentary elections and in the period to follow.
From then on they were known as the "Four Coalition". The Freedom Union merged with the Democratic Union (a small right of centre party that came well short of gaining the 5% of votes needed to enter parliament in the 1998 election) at the end of 2001. The Four Coalition collapsed at the end of January 2002, after a row over how to solve the debt crisis of its smallest member, the Civic Democratic Alliance (another party that had failed to enter parliament in the 1998 election). Since then the Freedom Union Democratic Union has signed a new agreement with the Christian Democrats to go into the elections together with a new logo and under the title "Coalition". Results in the 1998 parliamentary elections (for Freedom Union) were 19 seats (out of 200), 8.6% of the total vote (fifth place).
The Freedom Union Democratic Union is a right of centrr party, committed to free market liberalism. It combines classic right wing policies, such as tax reductions and the introduction of tuition fees for university students, with a stress on the environment and on minority rights. A further frequent theme in the party's rhetoric is the battle against economic and political corruption. The party is strongly pro European Union. The party vigorously advocates constitutional change to enable the Czech President to be elected directly by the electorate rather than parliament.
The Freedom Union is popular among people with higher education and particularly appeals to young people and to those disillusioned with the larger parties. Its support is mainly urban.
KSCM: The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
The KSCM is one of the few largely unreconstructed Communist parties on the political scene in the post communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In other countries the word "communist" has usually been replaced by terms such as "democratic left", but the KSCM continues to take pride in its Communist history. The party in its current form was not founded until March 1990, but it is effectively the heir to the KSC (Communist Party of Czechoslovakia), in power from 1948 1989. Several groups splintered from the party in the early 1990s and founded their own parties such as Left Block and later the Party of Czechoslovak Communists, but while they have faded into obscurity the KSCM has sustained its firm position in parliament consistently winning over ten percent of the vote. Results in 1998 parliamentary elections were 24 seats (out of 200), 11.03% of the total vote (making the Communists the third strongest party in parliament).
The KSCM is a socialist party, believing in strong state control of the economy. The party's political programme calls for "an appropriate degree of state ownership in key sectors of the economy (banking, transport, telecommunications, energy, the extractive industries etc.)". The party is strongly opposed to Czech NATO membership and describes the NATO action against Yugoslavia in 1999 as "aggression". Recently some leading party members have expressed support for European Union membership, but the party remains divided on the issue. Most mainstream trade union leaders distance themselves from the party. Up to now all the other parties currently represented in parliament have ruled out any kind of coalition deal with the KSCM, unless the party undergoes major reforms.
Voter base is mainly older people who have found it hard to adapt to the new conditions; the party also enjoys support in industrial areas with high unemployment. The party has a large base of grass roots members, far outnumbering the other main political parties.
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