The (
Political Party in the
Czech Republic . In its public statements, it typically mixes
Eurosceptic and
Market Liberal rhetoric, although it is often viewed as more moderate on both issues in actual policies.
The party was founded in
1991 , after the
Civic Forum split, by
Václav Klaus and it is currently led by
Mirek Topolánek . It led the Czech government in 1993-1997 and supported the government of the
Czech Social Democratic Party in 1998-2002 under a power sharing agreement.
In the 2002 elections, it went from being the largest seat holder to being the second largest party in the
Chamber Of Deputies with 58 of 200 seats, and for the first time in its history, assumed the role of a true
Opposition Party . The current Czech president,
Václav Klaus , was a member of the party, but the head of government is from the rival
Czech Social Democratic Party . In the European Parliament elections in June 2004 and in Senate and regional assembly elections in November 2004 it received over 30% of the votes.
In the 2006 elections it again was the largest seat holder in the Chamber of Deputies with 81 seats. It formed a government in coalition with the
Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) and the
Green Party (SZ).
Internationally, it is aligned with the
International Democratic Union , the party itself claims to have similar ideas along the lines of the
British Conservative Party , the
Polish Civic Platform and the
Spanish Partido Popular .
In July 2006, the Civic Democratic Party signed an agreement with the
British Conservative Party to leave the
EPP-ED Group and form a new centre-right European political grouping in 2009. Yet, at the same time, Mirek Topolánek “has not ruled out the possibility of staying in the EPP-ED".
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