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KDU-ČSL

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KDU-ČSL
File:KDU-ČSL Logo.svg
Abbreviation KDU-ČSL
Chairman Jan Grolich
Deputy Leaders Benjamin Činčila
Monika Brzesková
Libuše Hubáčková
Václav Pláteník
František Talíř
Secretary General Pavel Hořava
Chamber of Deputies Leader Marian Jurečka
Senate Leader Josef Klement
MEP Leader Tomáš Zdechovský
Founder Jan Šrámek
Founded 3 January 1919
Merger of MSKSSM, KNKSM,
ČKSSKČ, KNKSČ, KSL
Headquarters Palác Charitas, Karlovo náměstí 5, Prague
Newspaper HLAS křesťanské demokracie
Think tank Institute for Christian Democratic Politics
Youth wing Young Populars
Women's wing Women's Association
Membership 17,328[1]
Ideology Christian democracy
Social conservatism[2]
Political position Centre[3] to centre-right[4]
European affiliation European People's Party
European Parliament group European People's Party Group
International affiliation Centrist Democrat International
Historical:
White International
Colors Yellow
Black[5]
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
Website
novi-lidovci.cz
Politics of the Czech Republic
Political parties
Elections

KDU-ČSL (In Czech, the initials of the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party;[6] Czech: Křesťanská a demokratická unie – Československá strana lidová), often shortened to lidovci ("the populars"), is a Christian democratic[7][8] political party in the Czech Republic, led by Jan Grolich since April 2026. 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 the parliamentary opposition, having been elected on the lists of the Spolu electoral alliance.

History

After the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy, the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, and the formation of the First Czechoslovak Republic, Jan Šrámek helped unite a number of Catholic political parties to create the Czechoslovak People's Party (ČSL) in 1919.[9] The party remained continuously active throughout the twentieth century. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Šrámek served as head of the Czechoslovak government in exile in the United Kingdom. After 1945, ČSL was part of the national unity government, forming its most right-wing section.[10] It was one of many parties brought together in the National Front, which was initially a tripartisme-style coalition meant to drive out the Nazis, but was permanently used by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) to control political and social activities in the country, especially after the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'etat.[11]

Since the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the party has participated in almost every Czech government. In the June 2006 parliamentary election, KDU-ČSL won 7.2% of the vote and 13 out of 200 seats. However, in the 2010 election, its vote share dropped to 4.4%, and the party lost all of its seats. The party regained its parliamentary representation in the 2013 parliamentary election, winning 14 seats in the new parliament,[12] thus becoming the first party ever to return to the Chamber 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.[13] The foundation's headquarters are located in the party's headquarters in Palác Charitas in Prague.[14]

On 12 April 2017, KDU-ČSL signed an agreement with STAN to participate in 2017 parliamentary election as a coalition. Coalition needed to get more 10% of votes get over threshold.[15] The coalition disintegrated before the election,[16] 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, and Marek Výborný became the new party leader.[17] After the death of his wife, Výborný announced his resignation in November 2019 for personal reasons.[18]

On 24 April 2026, Jan Grolich was elected in a KDU-ČSL leadership election, with 233 out of 266 votes, as the only candidate.[19]

Membership

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.[20]

1991 1992 1999 2008 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2019 2026
95,435 88,000 60,000 40,000[21] 33,000 29,976 28,541 27,662[22] 26,420[23] 21,870 17,328[1]

Party strongholds

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 the Chamber of Deputies during every election cycle in the Czech Republic since 1990 with the exception of 2010.[24]

Names over time

Leaders

Symbols

KDU-ČSL had many symbols through history, with the current logo depicting a minimalist black wordmark 'Lidovci', intended to symbolize a 'thick line' behind the past and a modern restart for the party.[5]

Election results

Czechoslovakia wide elections

Legislative elections

Date Leader Votes Seats Position
# % # ± Size
1920 Collective leadership 699,728 11.3 33 / 281 33 2nd Opposition
1925 Jan Šrámek 691,238 9.7 31 / 300 2 3rd Coalition
1929 Jan Šrámek 623,340 8.4 25 / 300 6 5th Coalition
1935 Jan Šrámek 615,804 7.5 22 / 300 3 6th Coalition
1946 Jan Šrámek 1,111,009 15.7 46 / 300 24 3rd Coalition
1948 as part of National Front 23 / 300 23 4th Bloc
1954 20 / 368 3 3rd Bloc
1960 16 / 300 4 4th Bloc
1964 20 / 300 4 4th Bloc
1971 8 / 200 12 4th Bloc
1976 11 / 200 3 4th Bloc
1981 12 / 200 1 3rd Bloc
1986 11 / 200 1 4th Bloc
1990 Josef Bartončík 629,359 5.9 9 / 150 2 5th Support
1992 Josef Lux 388,122 4.0 7 / 150 2 7th Coalition

Devolved assembly elections

Czech assembly elections

Date Leader Votes Seats Position
# % # ± Size
1968 as part of National Front 25 / 200 25 3rd Bloc
1971 15 / 200 10 2nd Bloc
1976 14 / 200 1 3rd Bloc
1981 14 / 200 0 2nd Bloc
1986 14 / 200 0 2nd Bloc
1990 Josef Bartončík 607,134 8.42 20 / 200 6 4th Coalition
1992 Josef Lux 406,341 6.28 15 / 200 5 5th Coalition

Slovak assembly elections

Date Leader Votes Seats Position
# % # ± Size
1928 Martin Mičura 43,689 3.31 2 / 54 2 8th –
1935 Martin Mičura 30,563 2.0 0 / 54 2 10th –

Czech Republic wide elections

Legislative elections

Date Leader Votes Seats Position
# % # ± Size
1996 Josef Lux 489,349 8.08 18 / 200 3 4th ODS–KDU-ČSL–ODA
1998 Josef Lux 537,013 8.99 20 / 200 2 4th Opposition
2002 Cyril Svoboda 680,670 14.27 22 / 200 11 4th ČSSD–KDU-ČSL–US-DEU
Part of Coalition, which won 31 seats in total
2006 Miroslav Kalousek 386,706 7.23 13 / 200 18 4th ODS–KDU-ČSL–SZ
2010 Cyril Svoboda 229,717 4.39 0 / 200 13 6th No seats
2013 Pavel Bělobrádek 336.970 6.78 14 / 200 14 7th ČSSD–ANO–KDU-ČSL
2017 Pavel Bělobrádek 293,643 5.80 10 / 200 4 7th Opposition
2021 Marian Jurečka 1,493,701 27.79 23 / 200 13 2nd Spolu – PirStan
Part of Spolu coalition, which won 71 seats in total
2025 Marek Výborný 1,313,346 23.4 16 / 200 7 2nd Opposition
Part of Spolu coalition, which won 52 seats in total

Senate elections

Election First round Second round Seats gained Total seats
Votes % No. Votes % No.
1996[25] 274,316 9.9 4th 247,819 10.7 3rd 13 / 81 13 / 81
1998[26] 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

Presidential

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)
Jan Sokol 		128 46.55 Runner-up 129 48.13 Runner-up 124 46.6 Lost
2008 Václav Klaus[27] 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 supported Karel Schwarzenberg
2018 Jiří Drahoš 1,369,601 26.60 Runner-up 2,701,206 48.63 Lost
2023[28] Petr Pavel 1,975,056 35.40 Runner-up 3,358,926 58.33 Won
Danuše Nerudová 777,080 13.93 3rd place supported Petr Pavel
Pavel Fischer 376,705 6.75 4th place supported Petr Pavel

European Parliament

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 0 EPP
2014 Pavel Svoboda 150,792 9.95 (#5) 3 / 22 1
2019 171,723 7.24 (#6) 2 / 21 1
2024[29] Alexandr Vondra 661,250 22.27 (#2) 1 / 21 1

Local elections

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

Regional elections

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

2020 Czech regional election results

Region[30] Coalition partner # of
overall votes 		% of
overall vote 		Seats Governance[31]
# ± Position
Central Bohemian STAN 92,903 22.21 2 / 65 2 5th STAN–ODS–Pirates–TOP 09+Greens-Voice
South Bohemian TOP 09 20,798 10.45 4 / 55 6th ODS–KDU-ČSL+TOP 09–ČSSD–JIH12
Plzeň ADS and Non-Partisans 7,588 4.36 2 11th ODS+TOP 09–STAN–Pirates
Karlovy Vary ODS 5,870 7.35 2 / 45 1 8th STAN+TOP 09-Pirates-ODS+KDU ČSL-Local movements
Ústí nad Labem ODS 24,739 12.37 1 / 55 1 8th ANO–ODS–TOP 09+Greens
Liberec TOP 09 5,328 3.83 7th Mayors for Liberec Region–Pirates–ODS
Hradec Králové VPM and Non-Partisans 14,738 8.32 4 / 45 5th ODS+STAN+VČ–KDU-ČSL–Pirates–TOP 09+HDK
Pardubice SNK-ED and Non-Partisans 22,280 13.41 4 / 45 1 5th ČSSD–ODS+TOP 09–KDU-ČSL–STAN
Vysočina 19,082 11.96 6 / 45 1 3rd ODS+STO–Pirates–KDU-ČSL–ČSSD–STAN
South Moravian 56,423 15.54 11 / 65 2nd KDU-ČSL–Pirates–ODS–STAN
Olomouc TOP 09 and Greens 34,519 18.43 6 / 55 1 4th STAN+Pirates–KDU-ČSL+TOP 09–ODS
Zlín 35,782 18.62 9 / 45 3 2nd ANO–Pirates–ODS–ČSSD
Moravian-Silesian 30,190 9.57 7 / 65 1 4th ANO–ODS+TOP 09–KDU-ČSL–ČSSD

References

  1. Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Novotný, Jáchym (24 April 2026). "Novým šéfem lidovců je Grolich. Prvním místopředsedou byl zvolen Činčila". ČT24 (in Czech). Czech Television. Czech News Agency. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  2. Back to citation Terry, Chris (20 February 2014). "Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-CSL)". The Democratic Society. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. "Czech KDU-CSL congress re-elects Belobradek party chairman". České Noviny (in Czech). 23 May 2015. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  3. Back to citation K455080 "Politická strana KDU-ČSL". iDNES.cz. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025. Schmarcz, Martin (16 August 2025). "Lidovci zradili svou misi: Od konzervativních hrdinů k liberálním impotentům". Info.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 1 September 2025. Trojan, František (18 October 2024). "Lidovci pokračují středem. Čunek neuspěl, Výborný se vrací jako předseda". Respekt. Retrieved 1 September 2025. "Czech president appoints coalition leader Petr Fiala as new PM". Al Jazeera. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2025. "Q&A: Czech election". BBC News. BBC. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  4. Back to citation Keudel-Kaiser, Dorothea (2014). Government Formation in Central and Eastern Europe: The Case of Minority Governments. Budrich UniPress Ltd. p. 105. ISBN 978-3-86388-237-2. Retrieved 29 August 2014. Europe Elects – Czechia
  5. Back to citation occurrence 5.0 Back to citation occurrence 5.1 Machová, Martina (24 April 2026). "Musíme udělat tlustou čáru za poučováním lidí, jak mají žít. Hejtman Grolich chce prorazit s "novými lidovci"". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Economia. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  6. Back to citation "Stanovy". KDU-ČSL (in Czech). Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  7. Back to citation Nordsieck, Wolfram (15 September 2019). "Czechia". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  8. Back to citation Magone, José (2010). Contemporary European Politics: A Comparative Introduction. Routledge. p. 456. ISBN 978-0-203-84639-1.
  9. Back to citation "KDU-ČSL - Who We are". en.kdu.cz. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  10. Back to citation Alte, Rüdiger (2003). Die Auenpolitik der Tschechoslowakei und die Entwicklung der internationalen Beziehungen 1946-1947. Oldenbourg Verlag. p. 45. ISBN 978-3-486-56617-8.
  11. Back to citation "Czech Republic - Stalinization". countrystudies.us. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  12. Back to citation Velinger, Jan (26 October 2013). "Social Democrats win election but result is poorer than expected". Radio Prague. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  13. Back to citation Koubova, Karolina (8 November 2021). "Vláda musí říct, kde vybere peníze, na kom dokáže ušetřit peníze, upozorňuje politolog Eichler". Cesky Rozhlas. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  14. Back to citation "Institut pro křesťansko-demokratickou politiku, z.ú., ⇒ IČO: 04600240 - Obchodní rejstřík". Peníze.cz (in Czech).
  15. Back to citation "Lidovci a Starostové podepsali koaliční smlouvu, za premiéra chtějí Bělobrádka". ČT24 (in Czech). Czech Television. 12 April 2017.
  16. Back to citation "Koalice nebude. Vedení KDU-ČSL vyzvalo STAN, ať vstoupí na jejich kandidátky". Lidové noviny (in Czech). Mafra. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  17. Back to citation "Lidovci zvolili vedení a upravili název strany na zkratku KDU-ČSL". České Noviny (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  18. Back to citation Kenety, Brian (18 November 2019). "Christian Democrat Leader May Resign in the Wake of Wife's Death". Radio Prague. Czech Radio. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  19. Back to citation Cigánek, Lukáš (24 April 2026). "Nový šéf lidovců: Děláme tlustou čáru. Už žádné moralizování ani „kam vítr, tam plášť"". CNN Prima News (in Czech). Prima F.T.V. Czech News Agency. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  20. Back to citation Martínek, Jan (12 April 2015). "Stranám utíkají i vymírají členové po tisících". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  21. Back to citation "Členům KSČM je v průměru 70 let, zjistila si strana". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Czech News Agency. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  22. Back to citation Martinek, Jan (12 April 2015). "Stranám utíkají i vymírají členové po tisících". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  23. Back to citation "Základny tradičních politických stran klesají, mnohé partaje proto sbírají registrované příznivce". Euro Zprávy (in Czech). INCORP MEDIA GROUP. Czech News Agency. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  24. Back to citation Kopecký, Josef; Zvolánek, Jan; Formáčková, Lucie (30 May 2019). "Sjezd KDU-ČSL rozhoduje o budoucnosti Čunka i celé strany". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Mafra. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  25. Back to citation The whole Senate was elected. Only one third of Senate was elected in all subsequent elections.
  26. Back to citation Participated as part of Four-Coalition
  27. Back to citation Šídlo, Jindřich (15 January 2008). "Lidovci jsou pro Klause". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Economia. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  28. Back to citation The SPOLU coalition supported 3 independent candidates for this election.
  29. Back to citation Run as part of the SPOLU coalition.
  30. Back to citation Czech Statistical Office
  31. Back to citation Kašpar, Mirko (14 December 2020). "Přehledně: Všechny kraje už mají vedení. Starostové a ODS získali čtyři hejtmany". Aktualne.cz (in Czech). Economia. Retrieved 15 September 2024.

Further reading

  • Brenner, Christiane; Gehler, Michael; Kaiser, Wolfram (2004). "A Missed Opportunity to Oppose State Socialism? The People's Party in Chechoslavakia". Christian Democracy in Europe since 1945. Routledge. pp. 151–168. ISBN 0-7146-5662-3.
  • Suppan, Arnold (2004). "Catholic People's Parties in East Central Europe: The Bohemian Lands and Slovakia". Political Catholicism in Europe 1918-1945. Vol. 1. Routledge. pp. 178–192.
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