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Social Democracy (Czech Republic)

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"ČSSD" redirects here. For other uses, see CSSD.

Social Democracy
Sociální demokracie
AbbreviationSOCDEM
LeaderJana Maláčová
Deputy LeadersLubomír Zaorálek
Jiří Oliva
Jiří Nedvěd
Radek Scherfer
Senate LeaderPetr Vícha
FoundersJosef Boleslav Pecka
Ladislav Zápotocký
Founded7 April 1878; 146 years ago (1878-04-07)
HeadquartersLidový dům, Hybernská 7, Prague
Think tankMasaryk Democratic Academy
Youth wingYoung Social Democrats
Women's wingSocial Democratic Women
Religious wingChristian Social Platform
Membership (2023)6,500[1]
IdeologySocial democracy[2]
Pro-Europeanism[2]
Political positionCentre-left[2]
National affiliationNational Front (1945-1948)
European affiliationParty of European Socialists
European Parliament groupProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
International affiliationProgressive Alliance
Socialist International
Colours  Pastel red
SloganLidskost místo sobectví
(Humanity Instead of Selfishness)
Chamber of Deputies
0 / 200
Senate
1 / 81
European Parliament
0 / 21
Regional councils
13 / 675
Governors of the regions
1 / 13
Local councils
799 / 61,780
Party flag
Flag of the Social Democracy
Website
socdem.cz

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[3][4] political party in the Czech Republic.[5] Sitting on the centre-left of the political spectrum[6] and holding pro-European views,[7][8] it is a member of the Party of European Socialists, the Socialist International, and the Progressive Alliance.[5] Masaryk Democratic Academy is the party-affiliated's think tank.[9]

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 the Czech Republic following the 2017 Czech legislative election in which the party lost 35 seats.[5] From 2018 to 2021, the party was led by Jan Hamáček, who has since been replaced by Michal Šmarda as leader after the 2021 Czech legislative election, in which the party lost all of its seats after falling below 5%.[10]

History

[edit]

The Social Democratic Czechoslavonic party in Austria (Czech: Sociálně Demokratická strana Českoslovanská v Rakousku) 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 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.

Party membership card, 1945

During the occupation of the Czech lands by Nazi Germany, 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

Former party leader and prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka (on the right) and the next former party leader and interior minister Jan Hamáček

At 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.[11] It remained the largest party after 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.[12] The leader of ČSSD, Bohuslav Sobotka, became the new Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.[13]

The party suffered heavy losses in the 2017 Czech legislative election and was reduced to 15 seats, 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.[14] ČSSD suffered another defeat in 2020 Regional Elections and Senate elections, when they lost 10 senators (none re-elected) and 97 regional deputies.[15][16] 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 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.[10]

Organization

[edit]

Names

[edit]

Czech lands as part of Austria-Hungary:

  • 1878–1893: Czechoslavonic Social Democratic Party in Austria (Sociálně-demokratická strana českoslovanská v Rakousku), then part of the Social Democratic Party of Austria
  • 1893–1918: Czechoslavonic Social Democratic Workers' Party (Českoslovanská sociálně demokratická stranu dělnická), an independent party

Czechoslovakia:

Czech Republic:

  • 1993–2023: Czech Social Democratic Party (Česká strana sociálně demokratická), keeping the previous abbreviation ČSSD
  • Since June 2023: Social Democracy (Sociální demokracie), adopting the abbreviation SOCDEM.

Logos

[edit]
  • Party logo, 1945–1948 1990–1992 (1948–1990 in-exile)
    Party logo, 1945–1948 1990–1992
    (1948–1990 in-exile)
  • Party logo, 1992–1998
    Party logo, 1992–1998
  • Party logo, 2021–2023
    Party logo, 2021–2023
  • Party logo, 2023–
    Party logo, 2023–
  • Electoral logo for 2020 elections
    Electoral logo for 2020 elections
  • Electoral logo for 2021 elections
    Electoral logo for 2021 elections

Policy positions

[edit]

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 the Eurozone, and is critical of the foreign policy of the United States, especially when in opposition, though it does not oppose membership of the Czech Republic in NATO.

Membership

[edit]
After 1989[18]
1990 12,954
1991 Decrease12,468
1992 Decrease11,797
1993 Decrease11,031
1994 Decrease10,482
1995 Increase11,757
1996 Increase13,043
1997 Increase14,121
1998 Increase17,343
1999 Increase18,762
2000 Decrease17,079
2001 Decrease16,300
2002 Increase17,026
2003 Increase17,913
2004 Decrease16,658
2005 Increase16,750
2006 Increase17,650
2007 Increase18,354
2008 Increase20,684
2009 Increase24,497
2010 Decrease24,486
2011 Decrease24,000
2012 Decrease23,802
2013 Decrease22,881
2014 Increase23,202
2015 Decrease21,501
2016 Decrease20,349
2017 Decrease19,477
2018 Decrease17,208
2019 Decrease13,845
2020 Decrease13,139
2021 Decrease11,531
2022 Decrease9,403
2023 Decrease7,539
2024 Decrease6,500
Before 1948[19][20]
1913 169,279
1932 Increase194,857
1935 Increase210,898
Further references

[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]

Election results

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Cisleithanian elections

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Imperial Council elections

[edit]
Date Leader Votes Seats Position
No. % No. ± Size
1907 Antonín Němec 389,960 8.5
22 / 516
 Increase 22 6th Opposition
1911 Antonín Němec 357,234 7.9
25 / 516
 Increase 3 4th Opposition

Czechoslovakia wide elections

[edit]

Legislative elections

[edit]
Date Leader Votes Seats Position
No. % No. ± Size
1920 Antonín Němec 1,590,520 25.7
74 / 300
 Increase 74 1st Coalition
1925 Antonín Hampl 632,403 8.9
25 / 300
 Decrease 45 4th Coalition
1929 Antonín Hampl 963,462 13
39 / 300
 Increase 10 2nd Opposition
1935 Antonín Hampl 1,032,773 12.6
38 / 300
 Decrease 1 3rd Coalition
1946 Zdeněk Fierlinger 855,771 12.1
37 / 300
 Decrease 1 5th Coalition
1948 as part of National Front
23 / 300
 Decrease 14 3rd Bloc
1954 Illegal. Merged into Communist Party. De jure in-exile.
1960
1964
1971
1976
1981
1986
1990 Jiří Horák 342,455 3.2
0 / 150
 Steady 0 9th No seats
1992 Valtr Komárek
Alexander Dubček 		648,125 6.8
10 / 150
 Increase 10 4th Opposition

Devolved assembly elections

[edit]

Czech assembly elections

[edit]
Date Leader Votes Seats Position
No. % No. ± Size
1990 Jiří Horák 296,165 4.11
0 / 200
 Steady 0 6th No seats
1992 Jiří Horák 422,736 6.53
16 / 200
 Increase 16 3rd Opposition

Slovak assembly elections

[edit]
Date Leader Votes Seats Position
No. % No. ± Size
1928 Ivan Dérer 96,901 7.33
4 / 54
 Increase 4 4th –
1935 Ivan Dérer – 11.3
4 / 54
 Steady 0 5th –

Czech Republic wide elections

[edit]
Pre-election meeting of 2018
Election poster with the text "Poor quality food has to get out of the game" in 2019

Legislative elections

[edit]
Date Leader Votes Seats Position
No. % No. ± Size
1996 Miloš Zeman 1,602,250 26.4
61 / 200
 Increase 45 2nd External support
1998 Miloš Zeman 1,928,660 32.3
74 / 200
 Increase 13 1st Minority
2002 Vladimír Špidla 1,440,279 30.2
70 / 200
 Decrease 4 1st Coalition
2006 Jiří Paroubek 1,728,827 32.3
74 / 200
 Increase 4 2nd Opposition (2006–2009)
Coalition (2009–2010)
2010 Jiří Paroubek 1,155,267 22.1
56 / 200
 Decrease 18 1st Opposition
2013 Bohuslav Sobotka 1,016,829 20.5
50 / 200
 Decrease 6 1st Coalition
2017 Lubomír Zaorálek 368,347 7.3
15 / 200
 Decrease 35 6th Opposition (2017–2018)
Coalition (2018–2021)
2021 Jan Hamáček 250,397 4.7
0 / 200
 Decrease 15 6th No seats

Senate elections

[edit]
Election First round Second round Seats Total seats Notes
Votes % Runners-up Place* Votes % Place*
1996 559,304 20.3
48 / 81
 2nd 733,713 31.8 2nd
25 / 81
25 / 81
 The whole Senate was elected. Only one third of Senate was elected in all subsequent elections.
1998 208,845 21.7
5 / 27
 3rd 121,700 22.7 3rd
3 / 27
23 / 81
1999 327 1.0
0 / 1
 5th  
0 / 1
23 / 81
 By-election in Prague 1 district.
2000 151,943 17.7
5 / 27
 3rd 53,503 9.5 5th
1 / 27
15 / 81
2002 122,397 18.4
14 / 27
 2nd 224,386 27.3 2nd
7 / 27
11 / 81
2003 2,424 6.8
0 / 2
 6th  
0 / 2
11 / 81
 By-elections in Strakonice and Brno-city district.
2004 5,203 14.7
1 / 2
 3rd 5,358 20.51 3rd
0 / 2
11 / 81
 By-elections in Prague 4 and Znojmo districts.
2004 90,446 12.5
3 / 27
 4th 24,923 5.2 4th
0 / 27
7 / 81
2006 204,573 19.2
11 / 27
 2nd 120,127 20.9 2nd
6 / 27
13 / 81
2007 6,456 21.66
1 / 2
 1st 4,338 21.54 2nd
1 / 2
13 / 81
 By-elections for Chomutov and Přerov
2008 347,759 33.2
26 / 27
 1st 459,829 55.9 1st
23 / 27
29 / 81
2010 290,090 25.3
22 / 27
 1st 299,526 44.0 1st
12 / 27
41 / 81
2011 12,088 44.3
1 / 1
 1st 13,505 65.1 1st
1 / 1
41 / 81
 By-election in Kladno district
2012 199,957 22.7
23 / 27
 1st 207,064 40.3 1st
13 / 27
46 / 81
2014 3,695 16.1
0 / 1
 3rd  
0 / 1
46 / 81
 By-election in Zlín district
2014 226,239 22.0
19 / 27
 1st 165,629 35.0 1st
10 / 27
33 / 81
2014 2,092 16.8
1 / 1
 1st 3,664 50.9 1st
1 / 1
33 / 81
 By-election in Prague 10 district, Ivana Cabrnochová was a Green Party candidate supported by ČSSD
2016 128,875 14.6
9 / 27
 2nd 55,622 13.1 3rd
2 / 27
25 / 81
2018 1,294 5.7
0 / 1
 6th  
0 / 1
25 / 81
 By-election in Trutnov district.
2018 1,270 7.5
0 / 1
 6th  
0 / 1
25 / 81
 By-election in Zlín district.
2018 100,478 9.2
5 / 27
 3rd 33,887 8.10 6th
1 / 27
13 / 81
2019 2,674 13.9
0 / 1
 3rd  
0 / 1
13 / 81
 By-election in Prague 9 district, Petr Daubner was a Czech Pirate Party candidate supported by ČSSD
2020 81,105 8.1
3 / 27
 5th 18,175 4.0 8th
0 / 27
3 / 81
2022 43,870 3.9
1 / 27
 7th 10,344 2.2 9th
0 / 27
1 / 81
2024 28,479 3.59
0 / 27
 7th  
1 / 27
1 / 81
Notes
  • In 1996, the whole Senate elected (81 seats), while in next elections only one third of seats is to be contested.

Presidential elections

[edit]
Indirect election Candidate First round result Second round result Third round result
Votes % Result Votes % Result Votes % Result
1998 Václav Havel 130 70.65 Runner-up 146 52.3 Won —
2003
Jaroslav Bureš 46 17.04 Eliminated —
Miloš Zeman 83 30.18 Eliminated —
Jan Sokol 128 46.55 Runner-up 129 48.13 Runner-up 124 46.6 Lost
2008 Jan Švejnar 138 49.82 Runner-up 135 48.74 Runner-up 113 44.84 Lost
128 49.10 Runner-up 141 47.19 Runner-up 111 44.05 Lost
Direct election Candidate First round result Second round result
Votes % Result Votes % Result
2013 Jiří Dienstbier Jr. 829,297 16.12 4th Supported Miloš Zeman
2018 No candidate
2023 Josef Středula withdrawn

European Parliament elections

[edit]
Election List leader Votes % Seats +/− EP Group
2004 Libor Rouček 204,903 8.78 (#5)
2 / 25
 New PES
2009 Jiří Havel 528,132 22.39 (#2)
7 / 22
 Increase 5 S&D
2014 Jan Keller 214,800 14.17 (#3)
4 / 21
 Decrease 3
2019 Pavel Poc 93,664 3.95 (#8)
0 / 21
 Decrease 4 −
2024 Lubomír Zaorálek 55,260 1.86 (#9)
0 / 21
 Steady 0

Regional elections

[edit]
Election
 Votes % Councillors
2000 344,441 14.67
112 / 675
2004 297,083 14.03
105 / 675
2008 1,044,719 35.86
280 / 675
2012 621,961 23.58
205 / 675
2016 386,150 15.25
125 / 675
2020 185,714 6.71
37 / 675

Local elections

[edit]
Election
 % Councillors
1994 8.7 1,628
1998 17.54 4,259
2002 15.57 4,664
2006 16.61 4,331
2010 19.68 4,584
2014 12.65 3,773
2018 5.17 1,882
2022 2.49 799

Prague municipal elections

[edit]
Year Leader Vote % Seats +/− Place Position
1990 484,484 5.6
5 / 76
 4th Opposition
1994 Jiří Paroubek 2,435,279 8.6
5 / 55
 Steady 4th Opposition
1998 Jiří Paroubek 363,917 17.5
10 / 55
 Increase5 3rd Coalition
2002 Jiří Paroubek 656,936 14.7
12 / 70
 Increase2 3rd Coalition
2006 Petra Buzková 4,197,631 15.9
12 / 70
 Steady 2nd Opposition
2010 Jiří Dienstbier Jr. 615,209 17.9
19 / 65
 Increase7 2nd Coalition
2014 Miloslav Ludvík 2,160,963 10.4
8 / 65
 Decrease11 5th Coalition
2018 Jakub Landovský 727,826 2.9
0 / 65
 Decrease8 8th No seats

Chairmen

[edit]
Former leader Jan Hamáček
Former party leader Milos Zeman, the president of the Czech Republic

Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party in Austria

[edit]

Czechoslavonic Social Democratic Workers' Party

[edit]

Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers' Party

[edit]

Czechoslovak Social Democracy

[edit]

Czechoslovak Social Democracy in-exile

[edit]

Czechoslovak Social Democracy

[edit]

Czech Social Democratic Party

[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Vládní strany ztrácí členy. Prim hrají fígle marketingových mágů, míní politologové". 7 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "European Election Watch Czech Republic". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  3. ^ Paul G. Lewis (2000). Political Parties in Post-Communist Eastern Europe. Routledge. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-415-20182-7.
  4. ^ Dimitri Almeida (2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. CRC Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-136-34039-0.
  5. ^ a b c Nordsieck, Wolfram (October 2021). "Czechia". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Czech centre-left party approves joining coalition, new government close". Reuters. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Hamáček dostal důvěru. ČSSD má teď být levicovým rebelem ve vládě". 20 October 2018.
  8. ^ Merle, Jean-Christophe (2012). Die Legitimität von supranationalen Institutionen der EU Die Debatte in den neuen und alten Mitgliedstaaten Reihe. Lit Verlag. p. 255. ISBN 978-3-643-11207-1.
  9. ^ "Masarykova demokratická akademie". ČSSD. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Končím, prohlásil Hamáček po propadu ČSSD ve volbách". iDNES.cz (in Czech). 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Šéf ČSSD Paroubek po volbách rezignoval. Prohráli obyčejní lidé, řekl". iDNES.cz (in Czech). 29 May 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  12. ^ Leos Rousek (11 December 2013). "Czechs Clear Way for Three-Party Coalition Government". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  13. ^ "Novým premiérem byl jmenován předseda ČSSD Bohuslav Sobotka". vlada.cz (in Czech). 17 January 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Eurovolby jsou pro ČSSD debaklem, potvrdili politologové". Globe24.cz. Czech News Agency. 27 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Czech Senate and regional elections 2020: Bitter victory for the Prime Minister, dominance of the opposition in the Senate". Heinrich Böll Stiftung.
  16. ^ Kouba, Karel; Lysek, Jakub (2021). "The 2020 Czech regional elections: A story of a winner that lost". Regional & Federal Studies. 32 (4): 485–497. doi:10.1080/13597566.2021.1948839. S2CID 237827332.
  17. ^ Kowalski, Werner. Geschichte der sozialistischen Arbeiter-Internationale: 1923 – 1938, Berlin: Dt. Verl. d. Wissenschaften, 1985. p. 327.
  18. ^ Gargulák, Karel (2011). "Členská základna. Česká strana sociálně demokratická" (PDF). IS Muni (in Czech). Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Masarykova demokratická akademie – Zpráva o činnosti československé sociální demokracie strany dělnické v letech 1933-1936 vydaná k XVIII. řádnému sjezdu v Praze ve dnech 15. Až 17. Května 1937".
  20. ^ "Masarykova demokratická akademie – Protokol XI. řádného sjezdu českoslovanské sociálně-demokratické strany dělnické kon. Ve dnech 7., 8. A 9. Prosince 1913 (1913)".
  21. ^ "ODS ztratila tři tisíce členů, Babiš láká více než Peake". 6 May 2013.
  22. ^ "Počet členů ANO strmě roste, Okamurův Úsvit zamrzl na devíti členech". 11 April 2014.
  23. ^ "ČSSD nevzkvétá. Jen letos odešlo dalších 2 500 členů". Seznam Zprávy. 25 July 2019.
  24. ^ "ČSSD vysychá tradiční zdroj. Přišla o miliony od členů, kteří ji opustili". Seznam Zprávy. 8 April 2020.
  25. ^ "Během posledního roku přišla sociální demokracie o 2000 členů. Novým hnutím naopak lidé přibývají". iROZHLAS. 30 December 2020.
  26. ^ "Členská základna ODS je větší než ČSSD, z mladých uskupení nejvíce roste SPD". ČT24.
  27. ^ "Politické strany na vymření. Mizí jim straníci, nejvíce těm z levice". iDNES.cz. 27 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Během posledního roku přišla sociální demokracie o 2000 členů. Novým hnutím naopak lidé přibývají". iROZHLAS (in Czech). 30 December 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
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