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Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party Křesťanská a demokratická unie – Československá strana lidová | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | KDU-ČSL |
| Chairman | Marek Výborný |
| Deputy Leaders | Pavel Bělobrádek Monika Brzesková [cs] Jiří Horák Eduard Hulicius Václav Pláteník |
| Secretary General | Pavel Hořava |
| Chamber of Deputies Leader | Aleš Dufek |
| Senate Leader | Josef Klement |
| MEP Leader | Tomáš Zdechovský |
| Founder | Jan Šrámek |
| Founded | 3 January 1919; 107 years ago (1919-01-03) |
| Merger of | MSKSSM,KNKSM, ČKSSKČ,KNKSČ,KSL |
| Headquarters | Palác Charitas, Karlovo náměstí 5,Prague |
| Newspaper | Nový Hlas |
| Think tank | Institute for Christian Democratic Politics |
| Youth wing | Young Populars |
| Women's wing | Women's Association |
| Membership | 17,957[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre[10] tocentre-right[11] |
| National affiliation | Spolu |
| European affiliation | European People's Party |
| European Parliament group | European People's Party Group |
| International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International Historical: White International |
| Colors | Yellow Blue[12] |
| Chamber of Deputies | 16 / 200 |
| Senate | 12 / 81 |
| European Parliament | 1 / 21 |
| Regional councils | 49 / 685 |
| Governors of the regions | 1 / 13 |
| Local councils | 4,066 / 62,178 |
| Party flag | |
| Website | |
| kdu.cz | |
KDU-ČSL (InCzech, the initials of theChristian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party;[13]Czech:Křesťanská a demokratická unie – Československá strana lidová), often shortened tolidovci ("the populars"), is aChristian democratic[14][15]political party in the Czech Republic, led byMarek Výborný. The party has taken part in most of the Czech government coalitions since 1990, and has been represented in every parliament except for the 6th Czech parliament (2010–2013). It currently forms part of theCabinet of Petr Fiala, as part of theSpolu electoral alliance.
After the collapse of theHabsburg monarchy, thedissolution of Austria-Hungary, and the formation of theFirst Czechoslovak Republic,Jan Šrámek helped unite a number of Catholic political parties to create the Czechoslovak People's Party (ČSL) in 1919.[16] The party remained continuously active throughout the twentieth century. After theGerman occupation of Czechoslovakia, Šrámek served as head of theCzechoslovak government in exile in the United Kingdom. After 1945, ČSL was part of thenational unity government, forming its most right-wing section.[17] It was one of many parties brought together in theNational Front, which was initially atripartisme-style coalition meant to drive out the Nazis, but was permanently used by theCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) to control political and social activities in the country, especially after the1948 Czechoslovak coup d'etat.[18]
Since theVelvet Revolution in 1989, the party has participated in almost every Czech government. In theJune 2006 parliamentary election, KDU-ČSL won 7.2% of the vote and 13 out of 200 seats. However, in the2010 election, its vote share dropped to 4.4%, and the party lost all of its seats. The party regained its parliamentary representation in the2013 parliamentary election, winning 14 seats in the new parliament,[19] thus becoming the first party ever to return to theChamber of Deputies after previously dropping out.
In 2015, the KDU-ČSL leadership established a think tank, the Institute for Christian Democratic Politics (Institut pro křesťansko-demokratickou politiku), to promote Christian Democratic political ideas.[20] The foundation's headquarters are located in the party's headquarters in Palác Charitas inPrague.[21]
On 12 April 2017, KDU-ČSL signed an agreement with STAN to participate in2017 parliamentary election as a coalition. Coalition needed to get more 10% of votes get over threshold.[22] The coalition disintegrated before the election,[23] thus the party went into the elections standalone, receiving 5.8% of votes.
In March 2019 the party was officially renamed to its common abbreviation, KDU-ČSL, andMarek Výborný became the new party leader.[24] After the death of his wife, Výborný announced his resignation in November 2019 for personal reasons.[25]
KDU-ČSL had 27,662 Members in 2015, the second largest member base of any party in the Czech Republic. The number has been decreasing since the 1990s when the party had 100,000 members.[26]
| 1991 | 1992 | 1999 | 2008 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2019 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95,435 | 88,000 | 60,000 | 40,000[27] | 33,000 | 29,976 | 28,541 | 27,662[28] | 26,420[29] | 21,870 | 17,957 |
KDU-ČSL is known to have very strong electoral core concentrated primarily in South Moravia. The party has very stable electoral support thanks to the rural voters in Moravia and has managed to gain seats in theChamber of Deputies during every election cycle in theCzech Republic since 1990 with the exception of 2010.[30]


KDU-ČSL had many symbols through history, with the current logo depicting a Christian cross on alinden leaf.[31]
| Date | Leader | Votes | Seats | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | ± | Size | |||
| 1920 | Collective leadership | 699,728 | 11.3 | 33 / 281 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 1925 | Jan Šrámek | 691,238 | 9.7 | 31 / 300 | 3rd | Coalition | |
| 1929 | Jan Šrámek | 623,340 | 8.4 | 25 / 300 | 5th | Coalition | |
| 1935 | Jan Šrámek | 615,804 | 7.5 | 22 / 300 | 6th | Coalition | |
| 1946 | Jan Šrámek | 1,111,009 | 15.7 | 46 / 300 | 3rd | Coalition | |
| 1948 | as part ofNational Front | 23 / 300 | 4th | Bloc | |||
| 1954 | 20 / 368 | 3rd | Bloc | ||||
| 1960 | 16 / 300 | 4th | Bloc | ||||
| 1964 | 20 / 300 | 4th | Bloc | ||||
| 1971 | 8 / 200 | 4th | Bloc | ||||
| 1976 | 11 / 200 | 4th | Bloc | ||||
| 1981 | 12 / 200 | 3rd | Bloc | ||||
| 1986 | 11 / 200 | 4th | Bloc | ||||
| 1990 | Josef Bartončík | 629,359 | 5.9 | 9 / 150 | 5th | Support | |
| 1992 | Josef Lux | 388,122 | 4.0 | 7 / 150 | 7th | Coalition | |
| Date | Leader | Votes | Seats | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | ± | Size | |||
| 1968 | as part ofNational Front | 25 / 200 | 3rd | Bloc | |||
| 1971 | 15 / 200 | 2nd | Bloc | ||||
| 1976 | 14 / 200 | 3rd | Bloc | ||||
| 1981 | 14 / 200 | 2nd | Bloc | ||||
| 1986 | 14 / 200 | 2nd | Bloc | ||||
| 1990 | Josef Bartončík | 607,134 | 8.42 | 20 / 200 | 4th | Coalition | |
| 1992 | Josef Lux | 406,341 | 6.28 | 15 / 200 | 5th | Coalition | |
| Date | Leader | Votes | Seats | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | ± | Size | |||
| 1928 | Martin Mičura | 43,689 | 3.31 | 2 / 54 | 8th | – | |
| 1935 | Martin Mičura | 30,563 | 2.0 | 0 / 54 | 10th | – | |
| Date | Leader | Votes | Seats | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | ± | Size | |||
| 1996 | Josef Lux | 489,349 | 8.08 | 18 / 200 | 4th | ODS–KDU-ČSL–ODA | |
| 1998 | Josef Lux | 537,013 | 8.99 | 20 / 200 | 4th | Opposition | |
| 2002 | Cyril Svoboda | 680,670 | 14.27 | 22 / 200 | 4th | ČSSD–KDU-ČSL–US-DEU | |
| Part ofCoalition, which won 31 seats in total | |||||||
| 2006 | Miroslav Kalousek | 386,706 | 7.23 | 13 / 200 | 4th | ODS–KDU-ČSL–SZ | |
| 2010 | Cyril Svoboda | 229,717 | 4.39 | 0 / 200 | 6th | No seats | |
| 2013 | Pavel Bělobrádek | 336.970 | 6.78 | 14 / 200 | 7th | ČSSD–ANO–KDU-ČSL | |
| 2017 | Pavel Bělobrádek | 293,643 | 5.80 | 10 / 200 | 7th | Opposition | |
| 2021 | Marian Jurečka | 1,493,701 | 27.79 | 23 / 200 | 2nd | Spolu –PirStan | |
| Part ofSpolu coalition, which won 71 seats in total | |||||||
| 2025 | Marek Výborný | 1,313,346 | 23.4 | 16 / 200 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| Part ofSpolu coalition, which won 52 seats in total | |||||||
| Election | First round | Second round | Seats gained | Total seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | No. | Votes | % | No. | |||
| 1996[a] | 274,316 | 9.9 | 4th | 247,819 | 10.7 | 3rd | 13 / 81 | 13 / 81 |
| 1998[b] | 255,785 | 26.6 | 2nd | 166,483 | 31.0 | 2nd | 5 / 27 | 13 / 81 |
| 2000 | 121,355 | 14.1 | 4th | 137,515 | 24.4 | 2nd | 8 / 27 | |
| 2002 | 58,858 | 8.8 | 4th | 47,049 | 5.7 | 4th | 1 / 27 | |
| 2004 | 97,956 | 13.5 | 3rd | 54,501 | 11.4 | 3rd | 3 / 27 | |
| 2006 | 125,388 | 11.8 | 4th | 59,603 | 10.4 | 3rd | 4 / 27 | 10 / 81 |
| 2008 | 82,870 | 7.9 | - | 42,225 | 5.13 | - | 0 / 27 | 7 / 81 |
| 2010 | 87,182 | 7.6 | 4th | 42,990 | 6.32 | 4th | 2 / 27 | 6 / 81 |
| 2012 | 61,006 | 6.94 | 4th | 14,995 | 2.92 | 4th | 1 / 27 | 3 / 81 |
| 2014 | 84,328 | 8.21 | 5th | 77,103 | 16.27 | 2nd | 5 / 27 | 8 / 81 |
| 2016 | 74,709 | 8.48 | 5th | 78,448 | 18.50 | 2nd | 6 / 27 | 14 / 81 |
| 2018 | 99,383 | 9.12 | 4th | 34,833 | 8.33 | 5th | 2 / 27 | 15 / 81 |
| 2020 | 82,814 | 8.30 | 4th | 65,397 | 14.47 | 3rd | 3 / 27 | 13 / 81 |
| 2022 | 120,972 | 10.87 | 3rd | 74,696 | 15.57 | 3rd | 7 / 27 | 14 / 81 |
| 2024 | 46,518 | 5.86 | 4th | 15,635 | 4.00 | 5th | 2 / 27 | 14 / 81 |
| Indirect Election | Candidate | First round result | Second round result | Third round result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | %Votes | Result | Votes | %Votes | Result | Votes | %Votes | Result | |||
| 1993 | Václav Havel | 109 | 63.37 | Won | — | ||||||
| 1998 | Václav Havel | 130 | 70.65 | Runner-up | 146 | 52.3 | Won | — | |||
| 2003 | (Petr Pithart) | 128 | 46.55 | Runner-up | 129 | 48.13 | Runner-up | 124 | 46.6 | Lost | |
| 2008 | Václav Klaus[32] | 141 | 50.90 | Runner-up | 141 | 52.81 | Runner-up | 141 | 55.95 | Won | |
| Direct Election | Candidate | First round result | Second round result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | %Votes | Result | Votes | %Votes | Result | |||
| 2013 | Zuzana Roithová | 255,045 | 4.95 | 6th | supportedKarel Schwarzenberg | |||
| 2018 | Jiří Drahoš | 1,369,601 | 26.60 | Runner-up | 2,701,206 | 48.63 | Lost | |
| 2023[c] | Petr Pavel | 1,975,056 | 35.40 | Runner-up | 3,358,926 | 58.33 | Won | |
| Danuše Nerudová | 777,080 | 13.93 | 3rd place | supportedPetr Pavel | ||||
| Pavel Fischer | 376,705 | 6.75 | 4th place | supportedPetr Pavel | ||||
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Zuzana Roithová | 223,383 | 9.57 (#4) | 2 / 24 | New | EPP-ED |
| 2009 | 180,451 | 7.64 (#4) | 2 / 22 | EPP | ||
| 2014 | Pavel Svoboda | 150,792 | 9.95 (#5) | 3 / 22 | ||
| 2019 | 171,723 | 7.24 (#6) | 2 / 21 | |||
| 2024[d] | Alexandr Vondra | 661,250 | 22.27 (#2) | 1 / 21 |
| Year | Vote | Vote % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 8,845,562 | 11,5 | 8,083 |
| 1994 | 9,260,542 | 7.23 | 7,616 |
| 1998 | 7,206,346 | 11.18 | 7,119 |
| 2002 | 7,728,402 | 9.58 | 6,013 |
| 2006 | 6,263,980 | 5.76 | 5,049 |
| 2010 | 4,938,960 | 5.47 | 3,738 |
| 2014 | 4,865,956 | 4.91 | 3,792 |
| 2018 | 5,599,336 | 5.02 | 3,633 |
| Year | Vote | Vote % | Seats | Places |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 537,012 | 22.86 | 72 / 675 | 2nd |
| 2004 | 226,016 | 10.67 | 84 / 675 | 4th |
| 2008 | 193,911 | 6.65 | 56 / 675 | 4th |
| 2012 | 261,724 | 9.87 | 61 / 675 | 4th |
| 2016 | 159,610 | 6.30 | 61 / 675 | 5th |
| 2020 | 252,598 | 9.12 | 53 / 675 | 5th |
| Region[33] | Coalition partner | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | Seats | Governance[34] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | ± | Position | |||||
| Central Bohemian | STAN | 92,903 | 22.21 | 2 / 65 | STAN–ODS–Pirates–TOP 09+Greens-Voice | ||
| South Bohemian | TOP 09 | 20,798 | 10.45 | 4 / 55 | ODS–KDU-ČSL+TOP 09–ČSSD–JIH12 | ||
| Plzeň | ADS and Non-Partisans | 7,588 | 4.36 | N/a | ODS+TOP 09–STAN–Pirates | ||
| Karlovy Vary | ODS | 5,870 | 7.35 | 2 / 45 | STAN+TOP 09-Pirates-ODS+KDU ČSL-Local movements | ||
| Ústí nad Labem | ODS | 24,739 | 12.37 | 1 / 55 | ANO–ODS–TOP 09+Greens | ||
| Liberec | TOP 09 | 5,328 | 3.83 | N/a | Mayors for Liberec Region–Pirates–ODS | ||
| Hradec Králové | VPM and Non-Partisans | 14,738 | 8.32 | 4 / 45 | ODS+STAN+VČ–KDU-ČSL–Pirates–TOP 09+HDK | ||
| Pardubice | SNK-ED and Non-Partisans | 22,280 | 13.41 | 4 / 45 | ČSSD–ODS+TOP 09–KDU-ČSL–STAN | ||
| Vysočina | N/a | 19,082 | 11.96 | 6 / 45 | ODS+STO–Pirates–KDU-ČSL–ČSSD–STAN | ||
| South Moravian | N/a | 56,423 | 15.54 | 11 / 65 | KDU-ČSL–Pirates–ODS–STAN | ||
| Olomouc | TOP 09 andGreens | 34,519 | 18.43 | 6 / 55 | STAN+Pirates–KDU-ČSL+TOP 09–ODS | ||
| Zlín | N/a | 35,782 | 18.62 | 9 / 45 | ANO–Pirates–ODS–ČSSD | ||
| Moravian-Silesian | N/a | 30,190 | 9.57 | 7 / 65 | ANO–ODS+TOP 09–KDU-ČSL–ČSSD | ||