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Czech Social Democratic Party

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The Czech Social Democratic Party is a social-democratic

Social democracy

Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...

political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

History

The Social Democratic Czechoslavonic party in Austria was founded on 7 April 1878 in Austria-Hungary representing the Kingdom of Bohemia

Kingdom of Bohemia

The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...

in the Austrian parliament. Its role in the political life of the empire was one of the factors that lead to the creation of independent Czechoslovak Republic. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the party became one of the leading parties of the first Czechoslovak Republic.

During the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Nazi Germany, the party was officially abolished, but its members organised resistance movements illegally within the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and abroad. After the re-establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1945, the party returned to its pre-existing structure and became a member of the national front. In 1948, after the Communist party assumed the parliamentary majority the Czech Social Democratic Party was abolished along with all other non-communist parties. Under the reformist environment in 1968, there were talks about allowing the recreation of a Social Democratic party, but the Soviet occupation has put an end to such ideas. It was only after the Velvet Revolution in 1989, when the party was recreated. Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, ČSSD is one of the leading parties in the Czech Republic.

After the 1998 parliamentary election

Czech legislative election, 1998

Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 19 and 20 June 1998. The result was a victory for the Czech Social Democratic Party, which won 74 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 73.9%.-Results:...

, the party won the most seats, but failed to form a coalition government. As a result, the party formed a minority government under party leader Miloš Zeman

Miloš Zeman

Miloš Zeman is a well-known Czech politician. He was a member and leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party, former speaker of the chamber of deputies from 1996 until 1998, and the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 until 2002. He was a frequent rival of Václav Klaus...

. With only 74 seats out of 200, the government had the confidence and supply

Confidence and supply

In a parliamentary democracy confidence and supply are required for a government to hold power. A confidence and supply agreement is an agreement that a minor party or independent member of parliament will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation votes by voting in favour...

from the Civic Democratic Party, under the so-called Opposition Agreement.

The party won the elections of 2002

Czech legislative election, 2002

Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 14 and 15 June 2002. The result was a victory for the Czech Social Democratic Party, which won 70 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 57.9%.-Results:...

with 70 of 200 representatives in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic

Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic

The Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Chamber of Deputies is situated in palaces in Malá Strana, Prague....

. Its chairman Vladimír Špidla

Vladimír Špidla

Vladimír Špidla is a Czech politician. He served as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from July 2002 to June 2004. Then Vladimír Špidla was appointed to the European Commission as Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.-Biography:Špidla studied history at Charles...

became the prime minister heading a coalition with two smaller parties, the Christian Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party and the Freedom Union-Democratic Union until his resignation in 2004.

The current chairman of the party is Jiří Paroubek

Jirí Paroubek

Jiří Paroubek is a Czech politician, who served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 25 April 2005 to 16 August 2006. He was also Chairman of the Czech Social Democratic Party , but resigned from his position immediately after the result of the 2010 Legislative Election was announced...

since 2006. His predecessor was Stanislav Gross

Stanislav Gross

Stanislav Gross is a Czech lawyer and former politician, member of the Czech Social Democratic Party . He served as minister of the interior and as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic .-Early political career:...

from 26 June 2004 to 26 April 2005. Gross resigned after a scandal which arose due to his inability to explain the source of financial resources used to pay for his home. Gross's predecessor Vladimír Špidla

Vladimír Špidla

was forced to resign in 2004 after the ČSSD lost in European Parliamentary elections

European Parliament election, 2004 (Czech Republic)

The European Parliament election of 2004 in the Czech Republic was the election of MEP representing Czech Republic constituency for the 2004–2009 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 2004 European election....

.

In the June 2 and 3, 2006 elections

Czech legislative election, 2006

Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 2 and 3 June 2006.The pre-election campaign was fierce and mostly negative. A major scandal broke out few days before the election. The two largest parties had profited from the divisive campaign – both had obtained the highest percentage...

, the party won 32.3% of the vote and 74 out of 200 seats. The election at first caused a stalemate

Stalemate

Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....

since the right-wing parties (with Green Party

Green Party (Czech Republic)

The Green Party is a political party in the Czech Republic.The party was founded in February 1990 but for a long time it struggled to obtain significant influence in Czech politics. In the 2002 legislative election the party received 2.4% of the vote...

) and left-wing parties each had 100 seats. The stalemate was broken when two ČSSD deputies, Miloš Melčák and Michal Pohanka abstained during a vote of confidence, allowing a coalition of the Civic Democrats (ODS), the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL), and the Green Party

Green Party (Czech Republic)

(SZ) to form a government. Hence the ČSSD is now in opposition.

Overview

Czech lands

Czech lands is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. Today, those three historic provinces compose the Czech Republic. The Czech lands had been settled by the Celts , then later by various Germanic tribes until the beginning of 7th...

as part of Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

1878–1893 The Czechoslavonic Social Democratic Party in Austria (Sociálně-demokratická strana českoslovanská v Rakousku) – part of Social Democratic Party of Austria
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
1893–1918 The Czechoslavonic Social Democratic Workers' Party (Českoslovanská sociálně demokratická stranu dělnická) – independent party

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

1918–1938 The Czechoslovak Social Democratic Worker's Party (Československá sociálně demokratická strana dělnická) – merged with Slovak Social Democrats
Social Democratic Party of Slovakia
The Social Democratic Party of Slovakia was a left wing political party in Slovakia...

. The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International
Labour and Socialist International
The Labour and Socialist International was an international organization of socialist and labour parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The LSI was a forerunner of the present-day Socialist International....

between 1923 and 1938. After the splitup of Austria-Hungary, the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers Party in the Republic of Austria
Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers Party in the Republic of Austria
The Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers Party in the Republic of Austria was a political party in Austria, working amongst the Czech minority...

split from the main party.
1938–1941 The National Labor Party (Národní strana práce) – united left party of Social Democrats and part of Czech National Social Party
Czech National Social Party
Czech National Social Party was a civic nationalist political party established in 1898 within the Young Czech Party as a nominally socialist group with a stress on achieving Czech independence from Austria–Hungary Czech National Social Party (Czech: Česká strana národně sociální) was a civic...
1945–1948 Czechoslovak Social Democracy (Československá sociální demokracie)
1948–1989 – merged with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in Czech and in Slovak: Komunistická strana Československa was a Communist and Marxist-Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992....

, concurrently existed as an exile party with its headquarters in London
1990–1993 Czechoslovak Social Democracy (Československá sociální demokracie)

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

since 1993 Czech Social Democratic Party (Česká strana sociálně demokratická)

National Assembly of the Czechoslovak republic

Election	Votes	Share of votes in %	Seats gained
1920	1 590 520	25.7	74
1925	632 403	8.9	29
1929	963 462	13	39
1935	1 032 773	12.6	38
1946 Czechoslovak parliamentary election, 1946 Parliamentary elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 26 May 1946. The result was a victory for the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, which won 93 of the 300 seats. Voter turnout was 93.9%.-Background:...	855 771	12	37

Czech National council/Chamber of deputies of the Czech republic

Election	Votes	Share of votes in %	Seats gained	Place	In government
1990 Czech legislative election, 1990 A Czech legislative election took place on 8 and 9 June 1990.These elections were the first elections after the Velvet Revolution. They took place within the Czechoslovak parliamentary election, 1990, i.e...	296 165	4.1	0	6th	No
1992 Czech legislative election, 1992 National Council elections were held in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia on 5 and 6 June 1992, alongside federal elections. The result was a victory for the Civic Democratic Party-Christian Democratic Party alliance, which won 76 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 85.0%. When the Czech Republic...	422 736	6.53	16	3rd	No
1996 Czech legislative election, 1996 Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 31 May and 1 June 1996, the first after independence. The result was a victory for the Civic Democratic Party, which won 68 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 76.3%.-Results:...	1 602 250	26.4	61	2nd	No
1998 Czech legislative election, 1998 Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 19 and 20 June 1998. The result was a victory for the Czech Social Democratic Party, which won 74 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 73.9%.-Results:...	1 928 660	32.31	74	1st	Yes
2002 Czech legislative election, 2002 Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 14 and 15 June 2002. The result was a victory for the Czech Social Democratic Party, which won 70 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 57.9%.-Results:...	1 440 279	30.2	70	1st	Yes
2006 Czech legislative election, 2006 Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 2 and 3 June 2006.The pre-election campaign was fierce and mostly negative. A major scandal broke out few days before the election. The two largest parties had profited from the divisive campaign – both had obtained the highest percentage...	1 728 827	32.32	74	2nd	No
2010 Czech legislative election, 2010 A legislative election in the Czech Republic took place on 28–29 May 2010. The election had been expected to take place some time before the end of 2009 to elect the members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic...	1 155 267	22.08	56	1st	No

Results by regions

Region	1990 Czech legislative election, 1990 A Czech legislative election took place on 8 and 9 June 1990.These elections were the first elections after the Velvet Revolution. They took place within the Czechoslovak parliamentary election, 1990, i.e...	1992 Czech legislative election, 1992 National Council elections were held in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia on 5 and 6 June 1992, alongside federal elections. The result was a victory for the Civic Democratic Party-Christian Democratic Party alliance, which won 76 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 85.0%. When the Czech Republic...	1996 Czech legislative election, 1996 Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 31 May and 1 June 1996, the first after independence. The result was a victory for the Civic Democratic Party, which won 68 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 76.3%.-Results:...	1998 Czech legislative election, 1998 Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 19 and 20 June 1998. The result was a victory for the Czech Social Democratic Party, which won 74 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 73.9%.-Results:...	2002 Czech legislative election, 2002 Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 14 and 15 June 2002. The result was a victory for the Czech Social Democratic Party, which won 70 of the 200 seats. Voter turnout was 57.9%.-Results:...	2006 Czech legislative election, 2006 Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 2 and 3 June 2006.The pre-election campaign was fierce and mostly negative. A major scandal broke out few days before the election. The two largest parties had profited from the divisive campaign – both had obtained the highest percentage...	2010 Czech legislative election, 2010 A legislative election in the Czech Republic took place on 28–29 May 2010. The election had been expected to take place some time before the end of 2009 to elect the members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic...
Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...	4,65	5,14	18,68	23,44	25,85	23,29	15,17
Central Bohemian Central Bohemian Region Central Bohemian Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative center is placed in the Czech capital Prague , which lies in the center of the region...	4,83	6,82	25,40	32,70	31,58	30,74	20,52
South Bohemian South Bohemian Region South Bohemian Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia...	3,94	8,03	24,95	31,11	30,33	30,47	20,55
West Bohemian	5,89	8,78	25,71	32,73
Plzeň Plzen Region Plzeň Region is an administrative unit in the western part of Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is named after its capital Plzeň .- Communes :...					30,34	31,69	22,01
Karlovy Vary					29,31	32,73	23,29
North Bohemian	6,92	7,97	28,74	34,71
Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem Region Ústí nad Labem Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western part of its historical region of Bohemia...					29,18	35,46	24,93
Liberec Liberec Region Liberec Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. Region borders with Saxony, and Poland...					27,05	29,31	19,40
East Bohemian	5,26	7,20	24,78	29,94
Hradec Králové Hradec Králové Region Hradec Králové Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec Králové....					27,48	30,14	19,87
Pardubice Pardubice Region Pardubice Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located mainly in the eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia, with a small part in northwestern Moravia. It is named after its capital Pardubice. "There are a total of 452 municipalities in the region...					29,45	32,95	21,95
Vysočina Vysocina Vysočina can mean:* Vysočina Region, part of the Czech Republic* Vysočina , a village in Pardubice Region* a well known brand of salami sold in the Czech Republic...					31,97	35,35	23,43
South Moravian South Moravian Region South Moravian Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia, with exception of Jobova Lhota, that belongs to Bohemia. Its capital is Brno the 2nd largest city of the Czech Republic. The region is famous for its wine...	1,51	4,56	24,96	31,81	29,90	32,95	23,35
North Moravian	2,87	4,56	34,21	38,98
Olomouc Olomouc Region Olomouc Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western and central part of its historical region of Moravia and in a small part of the historical region of Silesia . It is named for its capital Olomouc.-External links:* *...					31,92	35,44	24,47
Zlín Zlín Region Zlín Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the central-eastern part of the historical region of Moravia. It is named after its capital Zlín....					29,06	33,28	21,93
Moravian-Silesian Moravian-Silesian Region Moravian-Silesian Region , or Moravo-Silesian Region, is one of 14 administrative Regions of the Czech Republic, until May 2001 it was formerly called the Ostrava Region . The region is located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most of the Czech part of the...					36,13	40,54	29,13
Czech republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....	4,11	6,53	26,44	32,31	30,20	32,32	22,08

Senate election

1996 whole Senate elected (81 seats), in next elections only one third of seats to be contested

Election	Seats gained
1996	25
1998	3
2000	1
2002	7
2004	0
2006 Czech Senate election, 2006 Senate elections were held in the Czech Republic on 20 and 21 October 2006, with a second round on 27 and 28 October. The result was a victory for the Civic Democratic Party, which won 41 of the 81 seats. Voter turnout was 38.2% in the first round and just 20.7% in the second.-Results:...	6
2007	1
2008 Czech Senate election, 2008 Senate elections for a third of the members of the Senate were held in the Czech Republic on 17 and 18 October 2008, with a second round on 24 and 25 October 2008...	23
2010 Czech Senate election, 2010 Senate elections were held in the Czech Republic for a third of the Czech Senate in October 2010. The first round was held on 15 and 16 October 2010, with a second round on 22 and 23 October 2010....	12
2011	1

European parliament election

Election	Votes	Share of votes in %	Seats gained
2004 European Parliament election, 2004 (Czech Republic) The European Parliament election of 2004 in the Czech Republic was the election of MEP representing Czech Republic constituency for the 2004–2009 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 2004 European election....	204 903	8.78	2
2009 European Parliament election, 2009 Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...	528 132	22.39	7

Regional election

Election	Votes	Share of votes in %	Councillors
2000	344 441	14.67	112
2004	297 083	14.03	105
2008	1 044 719	35.86	280

Local election

Election	Share of votes in %	Councillors
1994	8.7
1998	17.54
2002	15.57	4 664
2006	16.61	4 331
2010	19.68	4 584

Czechoslavonic Social Democratic Workers' Party

Antonín Němec (1904–1915)
Bohumír Šmeral
Bohumír Šmeral
Bohumír Šmeral was a Czech politician, leader of the social democracy and one of founders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.-Early life:...

(1916–1917)

Czechoslovak Social Democratic Worker's Party

Antonín Němec (1917–1925)
Antonín Hampl (1925–1938)

Czechoslovak Social Democracy

Zdeněk Fierlinger
Zdenek Fierlinger
Zdeněk Fierlinger was Czech politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1944 to 1946, first in the London-based exiled government and later in liberated Czechoslovakia...

(1945–1947)
Bohumil Laušman
Bohumil Lausman
Bohumil Laušman was a Czech Social Democratic politician.During the World War II he was in exile in Great Britain, where he was a member of Czech government in exile. He returned after the war and was Minister of Industry from 1945 until he was elected chairman of the Social Democratic party in...

(1947–1948)

Czechoslovak Social Democracy in exile

Blažej Vilím (1948)
Václav Majer (1948–1972)
Vilém Bernard (1972–1989)
Karel Hrubý