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69-709: The Freedom Union was founded in January 1998 by former members of the Civic Democratic Party who were unhappy with the leadership of Václav Klaus . After initially serving in a caretaker government , Freedom Union went into opposition after the 1998 election . In opposition, Freedom Union merged with the Democratic Union , and formed an alliance with the Christian Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-ČSL). From 2002 to 2006 Freedom Union

138-615: A stalemate , since the centre-right parties plus the Green Party and the centre-left parties each had exactly 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 KDU-ČSL, and the Green Party to form a government, while the ČSSD went into opposition. At

207-570: A campaign called "We create program." which was series of tours to Czech regions with party leaders discussing priorities with supporters and potential voters for an upcoming election. On 19 April 2017, ODS introduced its tax program. The Civic Democrats want to lower taxes which they say would increase the income of Czech citizens. ODS also wants to decrease spending in social benefits and subsidies. Chief Whip Zbyněk Stanjura said that many people take advantage of social benefits even though they don't deserve it. These plans resembled those that ODS had in

276-635: A coalition with two small centre-right parties, the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU–ČSL) and the Freedom Union – Democratic Union (US-DEU) until he was forced to resign in 2004 after the ČSSD lost in the 2004 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic . The next leader was Stanislav Gross , serving as leader from 26 June 2004 to 26 April 2005 and as prime minister from 4 August 2004 to 25 April 2005. He resigned after

345-532: A dissolution of Chamber of Deputies and early election (such vote was only recently made possible by a constitutional amendment). The motion of dissolution passed with 147 out of 200 votes (120 required), all parties except ODS, whose deputies left the chamber, voted for dissolution, including their former coalition partners Public Affairs and TOP 09 . President Zeman then called on early elections on 25–26 October 2013 . ODS suffered heavy losses. It gained only 16 seats and finished 5th. The party also lost elections of

414-455: A minority government under its leader Miloš Zeman . With only 74 seats out of 200, the government had confidence and supply from the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), under the so-called Opposition Agreement . At the 2002 Czech legislative election , the party gained 70 of the 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic . Its leader Vladimír Špidla became prime minister , heading

483-506: A party of government, the party started losing members and support, and suffered defeat in the 2004 European Parliament elections , failing to pass the 5% threshold required to win seats. Party leader Petr Mares resigned as a result, and was succeeded by the Regional Development Minister Pavel Němec . The party won just one seat at the 2004 Senate election . At the 2006 election, the party received just 0.3% of

552-451: A right to own and carry firearms and other weapons, making the ODS much more similar to American Republicans in this matter, although they still support gun control measures (such as background checks, licenses and registration). ODS, especially its defense expert Jana Černochová , was one of the main supporters of embedding the right to keep and bear arms for the purposes of national security into

621-456: A safe state with the transatlantic links. No tricks and populism." Many prominent politicians in the party say they are opposed to " political correctness " and call for tougher measures to combat radical Islam which they liken to Nazism. Although the party was in power when the Treaty of Lisbon was ratified in the Czech Republic, ODS supports maintaining Czech sovereignty and integrity against

690-432: A scandal when he was unable to explain the source of money used to buy his house. The successor of Gross as prime minister was Jiří Paroubek , while Bohuslav Sobotka became acting party leader from 26 April 2005 to 13 May 2006. Paroubek was then elected as the new party leader in the run-up to the 2006 Czech legislative election , at which the party won 32.3% of the vote and 74 out of 200 seats. The election at first caused

759-409: A threat to national security, social cohesion and native European culture. ODS believes that all individual nations should have the right to determine their own immigration policies. ODS also supports the right of law abiding citizens to own and carry firearms . This makes them different from parties they are based on, as most of them, especially British Conservatives, reject the idea that anyone has

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828-622: A vague programme that was seen as being very similar to that of ODS. At the 1998 election the Freedom Union won 8.6% of the vote and 19 seats in the Chamber of Deputies . Refusing to form a government with ODS led by Václav Klaus, or with the Social Democratic Party due to policy differences, the party went into opposition. Instead the Social Democrats formed a minority government , which was tolerated by ODS . In September 1998,

897-539: A vote of confidence on 3 October 2006. ODS then formed a government in coalition with the Populars (KDU-ČSL) and the Green Party (SZ). Projects of the cabinet included reform of public finances. Topolánek also discussed possible emplacement of United States Missile defense in the Czech Republic which resulted in public resistance. The party suffered heavy losses in regional and Senate elections in 2008, losing all 12 regional governorships it had previously held. However,

966-703: A wide range of events from meetings with local or national politicians to elections campaigns and international events. CEVRO Liberal Conservative Academy ( Czech : CEVRO Liberálně konzervativní akademie ) is a think-tank affiliated with ODS. It was established in 1999. Its goal is political education which tries to spread liberal-conservative thinking. In 2005, CEVRO established its own private university known as CEVRO Institute . CEVRO has four newspapers – CEVRO Revue , The Week in European Politics , The Week in Czech Politics and Forthnightly . ODS joined

1035-770: A year later, ODS won the European Parliament election , keeping all 9 seats and gaining more votes than in previous elections. ODS-led government during Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2009. Czech presidency had to deal with problems such as Gas crisis in Ukraine , conflict in Gaza or economic crisis. There were also controversies like Entropa but some aspects such as resolution of gas crisis were positively evaluated. ODS nominated Přemysl Sobotka for president of

1104-408: Is a conservative and economic liberal political party in the Czech Republic . The party sits between centre-right and right-wing on the political spectrum , and holds 34 seats in the Chamber of Deputies , and is the second strongest party by number of seats following the 2021 election . It is the only political party in the Czech Republic that has maintained an uninterrupted representation in

1173-434: Is a looser form of involvement with the party. It is meant for people who doesn't want to be members of ODS but sympathize with its program. It replaced the organisation known as Blue Team . Faces of ODS is a project of party's members who share their life's story. It was described as honour for all members of the party who didn't abandon it in hard times. Young Conservatives ( Czech : Mladí konzervativci , MK )

1242-649: Is a member of the Party of European Socialists , the Socialist International , and the Progressive Alliance . Masaryk Democratic Academy is the party-affiliated's think tank . The ČSSD was a junior coalition party within Andrej Babiš' Second Cabinet 's minority government from June 2018, and was a senior coalition party from 1998 to 2006 and from 2013 to 2017. It held 15 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of

1311-619: Is a youth wing of ODS. Young people from the age of 15 to 35 can apply for a membership in the MK. The founding congress of MK was held on 8 December 1991 as a result of previous preparations through Charter of Young Conservatives by a group of students at the University of Technology in Brno and Law Students' Association "Všehrd" from Faculty of Law at the Charles University. The Young Conservatives organize

1380-527: Is inspired by the British Conservative Party's campaign for 2017 general election . In the 2017 election, ODS sought to get more than 10%. According to poll by STEM/Mark in September. ODS would get 7.5% of votes. ODS received 11% in 2017 legislative election and became the second largest political party in the Czech Republic. The party then won 2018 Senate election confirming its position as

1449-452: The "Blue Birds" and ODS is sometimes called the Blue Party due to the party's association with the color blue. The first logo was introduced on 4 June 1991, created by Aleš Krejča. It was chosen from over 250 entries to a public competition. A new logo was introduced in 1992, including the silhouette of a bird in blue. The logo was created by Petr Šejdl. In 1994 when the bird's tail

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1518-607: The 2002 election as the "Coalition". At the 2002 election the coalition of the Freedom Union-Democratic Union and KDU-ČSL won 31 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and subsequently became part of a coalition government led by the Czech Social Democratic Party , which had a majority of one seat. However, at the 2002 Senate election , the Freedom Union-Democratic Union was reduced to only one senator. As

1587-481: The 2006 legislative election manifesto. Tours concluded with Conference "Strong program for Strong Czechia" held on 22 April where ODS presented their election manifesto and candidates. Following the 2017 Czech government crisis , ODS grew in polls, approaching the Czech Social Democratic Party . According to a poll by TNS Kantar, ODS would become the second strongest party, surpassing ČSSD and KSČM. ODS introduced its campaign for 2017 election on 29 May 2017. It

1656-470: The 2006 legislative election the ODS was the largest seat holder in the Chamber of Deputies with 81 seats. ODS originally aimed to make a deal with Czech Social Democratic Party but talks with the Social democratic leader Jiří Paroubek were unsuccessful. Mirek Topolánek then introduced his first minority cabinet that consisted of Civic Democrats and independents. It was designated on 4 September 2006 but lost

1725-401: The 2010 Czech legislative election , the ČSSD gained 22.08% of the vote but remained the largest party, with 56 seats. Failing to form a governing coalition, it remained in opposition to a government coalition of the ODS, conservative TOP 09 and conservative-liberal Public Affairs parties. Paroubek resigned as leader on 7 June and was succeeded by Sobotka. It remained the largest party after

1794-458: The 2013 Czech legislative election , and in December of the same year formed a governing coalition with the populist ANO 2011 and the centrist Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party . The leader of ČSSD, Bohuslav Sobotka, became the new Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. The party suffered heavy losses in the 2017 Czech legislative election and was reduced to 15 seats,

1863-436: The 2013 legislative election , the party was marginalized by only securing 16 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, relegating the party to the opposition from July 2013 to December 2021. In the 2017 legislative election , it has partly recovered and secured 25 seats in the Chamber of Deputies , making it the second strongest party in chamber. The party is currently being led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala , who has been leader since

1932-717: The 2014 party convention . The ODS is a member of the International Democracy Union , and co-founded together with the UK Conservative Party , the soft Eurosceptic European Conservatives and Reformists Party and the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament . The party was founded in 1991 as one of two successors to the Civic Forum , which was a big tent movement that consisted of two major wings. The strongest wing

2001-708: The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia gained a parliamentary majority, the Czech Social Democratic Party was incorporated into the Communist Party. At the time of the Prague Spring , a reformist movement in 1968, there were talks about allowing the recreation of a social democratic party, but Soviet intervention put an end to such ideas. It was only after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that the party

2070-717: The European Democrat Union (EDU) in 1992 as one of the first parties in the former Eastern Bloc . Václav Klaus even became a Vice President of EDU. ODS remained in the EDU until it became part of the European People's Party (EPP) in 2002. ODS refused to join EPP due to its ideological differences and instead became a member of European Democrats . ODS joined International Democracy Union (IDU) in 2001. Chairmen of Civic Democratic Party served as Vice-presidents of IDU. In July 2006,

2139-708: The European Union , calls for a fundamental reform of the EU and strongly opposes any federalization of Europe in the form of the EU becoming a quasi-state entity. Following the EU referendum in Britain which resulted in the United Kingdom voting to leave, ODS leader Petr Fiala said the Czech Republic "should reconsider its priorities and strategy in the European Union" and if the Treaties were to be re-opened, negotiate new conditions for

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2208-577: The European parliament as well as Senate and municipal in 2014 . As of December 2015, opinion polls showed ODS with 8.6% nationwide. Some polling agencies and political commentators are of the opinion that ODS was on the path to become main centre-right party again. On 16 January 2016, Fiala was re-elected as Leader of the ODS. ODS participated in 2016 regional and Senate election . It received about 10% of votes and its candidate's secured seats in all regions. Six candidates nominated by ODS qualified for

2277-676: The November 2000 Senate election , becoming the third largest party in the Senate . In late 2001, Freedom Union merged with the Democratic Union party to form the Freedom Union-Democratic Union (US-DEU). However the Four-Coalition split at the beginning of 2002, after a lack of agreement on how to manage the high level of debts held by the Civic Democratic Alliance. Freedom Union-Democratic Union instead formed an alliance with KDU-ČSL to fight

2346-481: The Chamber of Deputies. Founded in 1991 as the pro– free market wing of the Civic Forum by Václav Klaus and modeled on the British Conservative Party , the ODS won the 1992 legislative election , and has remained in government for most of the Czech Republic's independence. In every legislative election (except for that of 2013 ) it emerged as one of the two strongest parties. Václav Klaus served as

2415-576: The Civic Democratic Party signed an agreement with the British Conservative Party to leave the European People's Party–European Democrats (EPP-ED) Group in the European Parliament and form the Movement for European Reform in 2009. On 22 June 2009, it was announced that ODS would join the newly formed European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) parliamentary group, an anti-federalist and Eurosceptic group, which currently its third largest bloc in

2484-503: The Czech Republic following the 2017 Czech legislative election in which the party lost 35 seats. From 2018 to 2021, the party was led by Jan Hamáček , who has since been replaced by Michal Šmarda as leader after the 2021 Czech legislative election , in which the party lost all of its seats after falling below 5%. The Social Democratic Czechoslavonic party in Austria ( Czech : Sociálně Demokratická strana Českoslovanská v Rakousku )

2553-416: The Czech Republic during the 2013 presidential election. Sobotka received only 2.46% of votes and didn't qualify for second round. ODS has held 2012 presidential primaries which Přemysl Sobotka has won. Sobotka's poor showing in the 2013 general election was seen as caused by the government's unpopularity and lack of support from the party. The party's leadership supported Karel Schwarzenberg of TOP 09 in

2622-760: The Czech constitution, although it was Social Democrat Milan Chovanec who originally proposed it. The amendment failed in the Senate. In 2021, a similar bill passed. Václav Klaus stated that the party's name represents the fact that ODS is based on the idea of civic freedoms. It also shows that ODS is a Civic Party, which differentiates it from other parties that existed prior to 1991. The adjective Democratic represents that ODS should protect parliamentary democracy. Besides its official name, ODS also received some informal names from media. Party members are sometimes called "the Blues" or

2691-652: The European Parliament. ODS then became one of founding members of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), a conservative and Eurosceptic European political party, defending broader conservative and economically liberal principles. Other members of ECR Party include Conservative Party , Law and Justice or Freedom and Solidarity . Note: Only properly elected leaders are included. Places are by number of votes gained. Indirect Elections Direct Election House of

2760-605: The Freedom Union formed an alliance called the " Four-Coalition " with three other centre-right parties: KDU-ČSL, the Democratic Union, and the Civic Democratic Alliance . The Four-Coalition went on to win the most seats in the November 1998 Senate election . Ruml resigned as leader in December 1999, and the following February the party elected Karel Kühnl as the new leader, with 193 votes compared to 87 for Vladimír Mlynář . The Freedom Union performed strongly at

2829-520: The Freedom Union refused to support the ODS, preventing them from getting a majority; the US's executive also refused to support the ČSSD. As a result, on 9 July 1998, the ODS signed the Opposition Agreement , which pledged the party to provide confidence and maintain a ČSSD government under Miloš Zeman . This agreement was then superseded by the more explicit 'Patent of Tolerance' in January 2000. In

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2898-476: The Parliamentary ODS. ODS is structured similarly to the subdivisions of the Czech Republic. The structure consists of local associations. Group of local associations forms area. Areas are organised as parts of Region. ODS had 18,500 Members in 1991. The number of members grew with the party's influence and soon rose to over 23,000. It decreased during political crisis in 1998 to 16,000. The party stopped

2967-503: The People Czech Social Democratic Party Social Democracy ( Czech : Sociální demokracie , SOCDEM ), known as the Czech Social Democratic Party (Czech: Česká strana sociálně demokratická , ČSSD ) until 10 June 2023, is a social-democratic political party in the Czech Republic . Sitting on the centre-left of the political spectrum and holding pro-European views, it

3036-550: The bird was updated and flies upwards rather than to the left. The logo was designed by Libor Jelínek. The highest body of the ODS is Congress which meets every year and elects leadership every two years. The party is led by the Executive Council and Republic Assembly in time between meetings of Congress. The executive body meets every Month and the party is led by Panel between meetings of the Executive Council. Panel consists of Party's Leader, Deputy Leaders and Chief Whips of

3105-465: The collapse of Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I , the party became one of the leading parties of the first Czechoslovak Republic . Its members were split over whether to join the Comintern , which in 1921 resulted in the fracturing of the party, with a large part of its membership then forming the new Communist Party of Czechoslovakia . During the occupation of the Czech lands by Nazi Germany ,

3174-447: The country such as an opt-out from asylum rules as well as from the obligation to adopt the euro. The party is a member of the national-conservative European Conservatives and Reformists group. ODS is opposed to compulsory EU migrant quotas, arguing that the Czech Republic should have sovereignty over its own border control and that forcing nations to take in migrants without sufficient vetting or orderly processing and integration poses

3243-451: The decrease after preliminary election and membership grew once again. It peaked in 2010 when it reached 31,011. The member base started to decline rapidly after 2010. It had only 17,994 members prior the 2013 election . ODS had 14,771 members in May 2015 and the member base was stabilised according to leaders of the party. The party runs a membership organisation known as Supporters of ODS . It

3312-545: The election, winning 66 seats (and the KDS another ten), and formed a centre-right coalition with the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) and the KDU-ČSL , with Klaus as prime minister . In December 1997, allegations of the party receiving illegal donations and maintaining a secret slush fund caused the ODA and KDU-ČSL to withdraw from the coalition, and the government collapsed. Josef Tošovský

3381-419: The first prime minister of the Czech Republic after the partition of Czechoslovakia , from 1993 to 1997. Mirek Topolánek , who succeeded him as leader of the party in December 2002, served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009. In the 2010 election , the party lost 28 seats, finishing second, but as the largest party right of the centre, it formed a centre-right government with Petr Nečas as prime minister. In

3450-446: The main right wing party. Civic Democratic Party, KDU-ČSL and TOP 09 formed bloc of conservative opposition parties in late 2020. The alliance was known as the "Three Coalition", before the parties launched their slogan and program on 9 December 2020, announcing that they would run under the name Spolu ("together") in the 2021 Czech legislative election . The conservative bloc announced that Petr Fiala would be their candidate for

3519-496: The members of the Freedom Union who served in the caretaker government of Josef Tošovský , formed after the collapse of the coalition led by Václav Klaus. The party initially attracted public support, with a poll in March 1998 showing the Freedom Union on 13%, ahead of ODS on 8%. However the party suffered in the campaign for the June 1998 election , due to a lack of readiness for an election and

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3588-469: The new prime minister. ODS formed a coalition government with STAN , KDU-ČSL , TOP 09 , and Piráti after the election. Petr Fiala became the new prime minister. ODS holds six seats in Fiala's Cabinet . The ODS is described as conservative , liberal-conservative , and conservative-liberal , supports economic liberalism , and is Eurosceptic . There are also multiple ideological factions in

3657-595: The party was officially abolished, but its members organized resistance movements contrary to the laws of the German-controlled Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia , both at home and abroad. After the re-establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1945, the party returned to its pre-war structure and became a member of the National Front which formed a new governing coalition. In 1948, after

3726-701: The party, including the national conservative faction, the national liberal faction, the social liberal faction the neoconservative faction and the Christian socially conservative faction (former Christian Democratic Party ). The party's ideas are very close to those of the British Conservative Party , Swedish Moderate Party , and other liberal-conservative parties in Europe. The party's program states "low taxes, public finances and future without debts, support for families with children, addressable social system, reducing bureaucracy, better conditions for business,

3795-522: The poor performance of the ČSSD in the 2021 Czech legislative election , in which the party failed to meet the 5% voting threshold, Hamáček resigned as leader of the party. Czech lands as part of Austria-Hungary : Czechoslovakia : Czech Republic : In economic matters, the ČSSD party platform is typical of Western European social democratic parties. It supports a mixed economy , a strong welfare state , and progressive taxation . In foreign policy, it supports European integration, including joining

3864-406: The post of prime minister . The Bloc ran in 2021 Czech legislative election with Fiala as a leader. Opinion polls suggested that ANO 2011 would win the election but in an electoral upset ODS-led Spolu won highest number of votes and opposition parties won majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Opposition parties signed memorandum agreeing to nominate ODS leader Fiala for the position of

3933-453: The second round for Senate, while four of them were eventually elected. Fiala said that ODS returned to the position of the major right wing party. ODS agreed to participate in the 2017 legislative election together with Freeholder party . Parties will present themselves during the campaign as ODS with the support of Freeholders . This agreement means that Freeholders will take 40 places on ODS candidacy list. In February 2017, ODS started

4002-461: The second round of the presidential election. After resignation and fall of Cabinet of Prime Minister Petr Nečas ODS proposed Miroslava Němcová to the position of the prime minister to President Miloš Zeman saying that she will be able to form a coalition and succeed a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies . However, President Zeman refused to appoint her and instead appointed Jiří Rusnok's Cabinet . After that, opposition called for

4071-422: The vote, and lost all its seats in the Chamber of Deputies , triggering the resignation of its leader, Pavel Němec . The party held a final party conference on 4 December 2010, where it was decided to disband the party as of 1 January 2011. The Freedom Union-Democratic Union was a centre-right liberal party, which promoted free market policies and supported lower taxes and university tuition fees . The party

4140-922: The worst result in its history. ČSSD suffered another defeat in the Prague Municipal, local and Senate elections in 2018. ČSSD lost 12 senators (only one managed to win re-election), all Prague deputies and more than half of their local councillors. In 2019 ČSSD lost all their representatives in the European Parliament. Some political commentators have interpreted the string of poor results as a sign of ČSSD losing their position in national politics. ČSSD suffered another defeat in 2020 Regional Elections and Senate elections, when they lost 10 senators (none re-elected) and 97 regional deputies. From 2018 to 2021, ČSSD had Jan Hamáček as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Jana Maláčová as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Lubomír Zaorálek as Minister of Culture, and Miroslav Toman as Minister of Agriculture. After

4209-757: Was a political group founded on 7 April 1878 in Austria-Hungary as a regional wing of the Social Democratic Party of Austria . Founded in Břevnov atop earlier social democratic initiatives, such as the Ouls , it represented much of the Kingdom of Bohemia in the Austrian parliament, and its significant role in the political life of the empire was one of the factors that led to the creation of an independent Czechoslovakia. After

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4278-584: Was also a consistent critic of corruption . However the party was also socially liberal, supporting the protection of the environment and minority rights. For the 2006 election, the party called for the legalisation of euthanasia , same-sex marriage and marijuana . The party was also pro-European and supported direct presidential elections . Support for the party was mostly among younger urban voters and those with higher education . Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic) The Civic Democratic Party ( Czech : Občanská demokratická strana , ODS )

4347-406: Was appointed caretaker , pending new elections in June 1998. Despite the scandal, Klaus was re-elected party chairman. In January 1998, some legislators opposed to Klaus, led by Jan Ruml and Ivan Pilip , left the party in the so-called ' Sarajevo Assassination ' and formed the Freedom Union (US). At the elections, the ODS fell even further, to 63 seats, while the US won 19. Due to the split,

4416-504: Was elected its first President. The party agreed to continue in a coalition government with the Civic Movement, but this collapsed in July 1991. The Civic Democrats, who represented demands for a tighter Czechoslovak federation, began to organize in Slovakia . Ahead of the 1992 election , the ODS ruled out an electoral alliance with the Liberal Democrats , but agreed to an alliance with Václav Benda 's Christian Democratic Party (KDS) to boost its appeal to conservatives. The ODS won

4485-574: Was founded after divisions within ODS over the leadership of Václav Klaus, and what the defectors said was his failure to tackle funding scandals. The former interior minister Jan Ruml led a challenge for the ODS leadership, but was defeated by Klaus by 227 votes to 72 at a special congress on 14 December 1997. This prompted 30 ODS members of parliament to form the Freedom Union, including Finance Minister Ivan Pilip and Defence Minister Michal Lobkowicz . The party elected Jan Ruml as its first leader on 2 February 1998. Pilip and Lobkowicz were among

4554-437: Was part of a coalition government with the Social Democratic Party and KDU-ČSL. However, in government the party lost support and at the 2006 election the party won less than 1% of the vote and failed to win any seats. The party disbanded on 1 January 2011. The party was founded on 17 January 1998 at a congress in Litomyšl as the Freedom Union ( Unie Svobody ), as a split from the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). The party

4623-432: Was recreated. Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia , which came into effect on 1 January 1993, the ČSSD has been one of the major political parties of the Czech Republic, and until October 2017 was always one of the two parties with the largest number of seats in the Chamber of Deputies. At the 1998 Czech legislative election , the party won the largest number of seats but failed to form a coalition government, so formed

4692-431: Was shortened and in 1998 the font was changed as a result of the "Sarajevo betrayal" of autumn 1997, in which ODS colleagues used allegations of bribery to precipitate the resignation of Václav Klaus ' government while he was on a trip to Sarajevo. The party used this version until 2015 with modifications for individual election campaigns. The ODS introduced a new party logo in a congress in Prague in 2015. The design of

4761-412: Was the Interparliamentary Club of the Democratic Right which was transformed into the ODS when Civic Forum split. ODS represented followers of Václav Klaus and was pro–free market, as opposed to the centrist Civic Movement . An agreement was reached to split the party in half at the Civic Forum Assembly on 23 February 1991. This was followed on 21 April by a formal declaration of a new party, and Klaus

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