Czech National Social Party

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Czech National Socialist Party.
Czech National Social Party
Česká strana národně sociální
Political positionCentre to centre-left
Historical:
Centre-left
National affiliationStačilo!
International affiliationInternational Entente of Radical and Similar Democratic Parties
(1929–1936)
Colours       
White, Red, Blue, Gold
Chamber of Deputies
0 / 200
Senate
0 / 81
European Parliament
0 / 21
Regional councils
0 / 675
Local councils
9 / 62,300
Party flag
Flag of the Czech National Social Party
Website
www.csns.cz

Czech National Social Party (

President during the 1930s and 1940s.[3]

Despite the similar name, the Czech "National Socialists" were not affiliated with

German occupation of Czechoslovakia
, the Nazis persecuted (former) party members, who in turn offered resistance against the occupying forces or worked in exile.

After the Second World War, the party was revived and became the second strongest party, behind the

bloc party. Anti-communist members were persecuted again, forced to exile, or even executed like Milada Horáková. After the Velvet Revolution
of 1989, the party failed to regain its importance. Since the 1990s, several splinter parties claim to continue the ČSNS's tradition.

History

The party was founded in 1897 and was led by

Taboritism, but it was also a programme of "collectivizing by means of development, surmounting of class struggle by national discipline, moral rebirth and democracy as the conditions of socialism, a powerful popular army, etc."[6]

In 1918 the party changed its name from the Czech National Social Party to the Czech Socialist Party, in 1919 to the Czechoslovak Socialist Party, and in 1926 to the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party. Edvard Beneš took de facto party leadership, although de jure, it was his ally Václav Klofáč. Jiří Stříbrný and his supporters were expelled for disagreements with Václav Klofáč and Edvard Beneš. The expelled Stříbrný faction later cooperated with the fascist movement and National Democratic Party.[7]

In its first years, the party bore some resemblance to

French Radical-Socialist Party. It also had close links with similar parties such as the Russian Narodniks of Alexander Kerensky and the People's Socialist Party in Yugoslavia. During the World War II, the exiled leadership of the party also cooperated with the British Labour Party
.

From 1921, the party was part of most Czechoslovak government coalitions. Its newspaper was the

National Labour Party, while a minority joined right-wing Party of National Unity led by Rudolf Beran, and a few of its Slovak members joined the Hlinka's Slovak People's Party led by Jozef Tiso.[8]

Under German occupation, the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party functioned in exile and most of its members were active in the

fascist sympathies.[9]
The party was again renamed the Czechoslovak Socialist Party and operated as pro-communist bloc-party. In exile, Petr Zenkl led the Council of Free Czechoslovakia in London.

During the

Free Democrats, to form the Free Democrats – Liberal National Social Party.[11] However, in the 1996 elections, its support tumbled to 2.1 percent and it was shut out of the legislature, never to return.[12]

After the 1996 elections, the party split and was renamed again in 1997 to the Czech National Social Party. Having fallen well short of returning to parliament and crippled by financial debts, the party has almost disappeared. In 2017, Karel Schwarzenberg and Mirek Topolánek said that the Civic Democratic Party can be considered a spiritual successor to the pre-war Czechoslovak National Social Party.[13][14]

Party Chairman

Homeland leaders

Leaders in-exile


Name changes

Name Year
Party of Czechoslavonic National Workers (Czech: Strana národního dělnictva českoslovanského) 1897 - 1898
Czech National Social Party (Czech: Česká strana národně sociální) 1898 - 1918
Czech Socialist Party (Czech: Česká strana socialistická) 1918 - 1919
Czechoslovak Socialist Party (Czech: Československá strana socialistická) 1919 - 1926
Czechoslovak National Socialist Party (Czech: Československá strana národně socialistická) 1926 - 1948
Czechoslovak Socialist Party (Czech: Československá strana socialistická) 1948 - 1993
Liberal National Social Party (Czech: Liberální strana národně sociální) 1993 - 1995
Free Democrats – Liberal National Social Party (Czech: Svobodní demokraté – Liberální strana národně sociální) 1995 - 1997
Czech National Social Party (Czech: Česká strana národně sociální) From 1997

Symbols

Traditional symbol of the party is a quill and hammer, that symbolize clerks and workers. According to their sign, they are nicknamed quills (Czech: brkouni).

Logos

  • Party logo, 1948–1990
    Party logo, 1948–1990
  • Party logo, 1995–1997
    Party logo, 1995–1997
  • Party symbol, 1997–2012
    Party symbol,
    1997–2012
  • Party logo before 1948, Current logo
    Party logo before 1948, Current logo

Election results

Imperial Council

Date Leader Votes Seats Position
# % # ± Size
1900–1901 Václav Klofáč 5,404 0.50
4 / 425
 Increase 4 16th Opposition
1907 Václav Klofáč 75,101 1.63
6 / 516
 Increase 2 21st Opposition
1911 Václav Klofáč 95,901 2.11
13 / 516
 Increase 7 15th Opposition

Czechoslovakia wide elections

Legislative elections

Date Leader Votes Seats Position
# % # ± Size
1920 Václav Klofáč 500,821 8.1
24 / 281
 Increase 24 5th Coalition
1925 Václav Klofáč 609,915 8.6
28 / 300
 Increase 4 5th Opposition
1929 Václav Klofáč 767,328 10.4
32 / 300
 Increase 4 3rd Coalition
1935 Václav Klofáč 755,872 9.2
28 / 300
 Decrease 4 5th Coalition
1946 Petr Zenkl 1,298,980 18.3
55 / 300
 Increase 27 2nd Coalition
1948 as part of National Front
23 / 300
 Decrease 22 4th Bloc
1954
20 / 368
 Decrease 3 3rd Bloc
1960
19 / 300
 Decrease 1 3rd Bloc
1964
24 / 300
 Increase 5 3rd Bloc
1971
20 / 200
 Decrease 1 3rd Bloc
1976
17 / 200
 Decrease 3 4th Bloc
1981
18 / 200
 Increase 1 3rd Bloc
1986
18 / 200
 Steady 0 3rd Bloc
1990 Jiří Vyvadil 201,532 1.9
0 / 150
 Decrease 18 12th No seats
1992 František Trnka 378,962 4.0
1 / 150
 Increase 1 8th Opposition

Since 1990

  • 1990 Czech National Council
    : 2.7% - no seat
  • 1992 Czech National Council
    : (as a part of Liberal-Social Union 6.5% - 16 seats)
  • 1996 Chamber of Deputies
    : (with Free Democrats 2.1% - no seat)
  • 1996 Senate: no seat
  • 1998 Chamber of Deputies
    : 0.3% - no seat
  • 1998 Senate: no seat
  • 2000 Senate: no seat
  • 2002 Chamber of Deputies
    : 0.8% - no seat
  • 2002 Senate: no seat
  • 2006 Chamber of Deputies
    : 1.3% - no seat
  • 2006 Senate: no seat

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9788021077959
    . Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  2. ^ Havránek, Jan (1995). Český liberalismus: texty a osobnosti. Torst. p. 277.
  3. ^ "Osobnost ČSNS: Edvard Beneš". www.csns.cz (in Czech). 29 March 2010. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  4. ^ Detlef Brandes (1979). Karl Bosl (ed.). Die Tschechoslowakischen National-Sozialisten. pp. 149–150. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ISBN 978-0-253-01872-4
    .
  6. ISBN 978-0-88033-586-7
    .
  7. ISBN 80-7023-117-3
    .
  8. ISBN 80-7185-626-6
    .
  9. ISBN 80-7239-138-0
    .
  10. ISBN 978-80-86603-85-8
    .
  11. ISBN 978-80-247-8270-6
    .
  12. ^ "Historie ČSNS". www.csns.cz (in Czech). 5 April 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Schwarzenberg: Buďme vděční Madeleine Albrightové za to, že jsme v NATO. Když jsme chlastali s Topolánkem..." Parlamentní Listy. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  14. ^ "Schwarzenberg: Vztahy v koalici nejsou dobré a budou se ještě zhoršovat". MZV.cz. Retrieved 10 December 2017.

Bibliography

  1. Karel Hoch: The Political Parties of Czechoslovakia.
  2. Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn: Leftism Revisited, Regnery Gateway, Washington D.C., 1990, pp. 145–146.
  3. Malá encyklopédia Slovenska, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava 1987

External links

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