Svobodní
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Svobodní Svobodní | |
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Leader | Libor Vondráček |
Founded | 14 February 2009 |
Split from | Civic Democratic Party |
Headquarters | Hráského 2231/25 148 00 Praha 4-Chodov, Prague |
Newspaper | Beran Magazine |
Membership (2023) | 333[1] |
Ideology | |
Political position | Right-wing[7] |
International affiliation | International Alliance of Libertarian Parties Interlibertarians |
European Parliament group | Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (until 2019) |
Colours | Green |
Chamber of Deputies | 0 / 200 |
Senate | 1 / 81 |
European Parliament | 0 / 21 |
Regional councils | 0 / 675 |
Local councils | 117 / 61,892 |
Party flag | |
Website | |
svobodni | |
Svobodní (until 2019 known as the Party of Free Citizens or the Free Citizens' Party (Czech: Strana svobodných občanů),[8]) is a classical liberal and right-libertarian,[2] Eurosceptic political party in the Czech Republic founded in 2009 by Petr Mach, an economist and professor of macroeconomics. Before assuming his position as an MEP, Mach taught economics at VŠFS and VŠEM (two private business colleges in Prague). The party is led by Libor Vondráček.
Svobodní participated in the
Several county councilors successfully ran on the party's ballot in the 2010 local elections as thirty-eight councilors held positions, primarily in towns and small cities. The party fielded candidates in the 2014 local elections, increasing its number of councilors. There are elected councilors in city districts (Prague 3, Prague 18 and Brno-Slatina) and towns (Chrudim, Hodonín and Kutná Hora).
Philosophy
reliable, independent, third-party sources. (May 2014) ) |
The party may be described as
Membership
Party membership consists primarily of
The elected Republic Leadership (Republikove predsednictvo) consists of one president and four vice-presidents. They have a common responsibility for the party and with the help of the council they make statements and direct its political affairs. After every Chamber of Deputies election (the lower house of the Czech parliament), new party leadership is elected.
The Regional Councils (Krajske predsednictvo), corresponding to the Czech Republic's 14 districts, approve new members and allocate funds for local campaigns. The Republic Council (Republikovy vybor), consisting of 28 elected members, the Republic Leadership and the Regional Council heads, make administrative decisions.
Symbol and colors
The party's primary color,
Electorate
According to most Czech media, the largest portion of the party's voters are dissatisfied with the Civic Democratic Party's (ODS) lack of Euroscepticism and national conservatism. Many are followers of former ODS leader Václav Klaus, who became president of the country. A minority are former TOP 09, Green Party or US-DEU voters. A large number are first-time voters. Occasional support is exchanged with the Czech Pirate Party.
Party support in student elections is from four to eight percent. Apprentices and industrial high schools lead grammar schools and private schools which does not correlate with the adult vote. Voters are mostly college graduates, irreligious, middle-class, live in larger cities and work in IT or economics. The party's stronghold has traditionally been Prague. It is also popular in cities with lower unemployment, such as České Budějovice, Liberec, Hradec Králové, Brno and Zlín. The party is also popular with small business owners and organizes demonstrations at tax offices for lower taxation.
Autumn 2014 polls predicted party success in Prague and larger Bohemian cities such as Mladá Boleslav, České Budějovice, Pardubice and Hradec Králové which would attract about five percent of the vote. However, this did not happen and the party received about 3.5 percent of the vote.
Election results
The party regularly contests major elections, whose candidates are chosen in an Internet primary by members and registered supporters. This system, unique in Czech politics, creates a platform reflecting voter mood.
Chamber of Deputies
The party has contested four elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Parliament.
Year | Leader | Votes | Percentage | ± |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010
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Petr Mach | 38,897 | 0.7% | 0.7% |
2013
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Petr Mach | 122,564 | 2.5% | 1.7% |
2017
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Petr Mach | 79,229 | 1.6% | 0.9% |
2021
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Zuzana Majerová Zahradníková | 148,457 | 2.8% | 1.2% |
Part of Tricolour–Svobodní–Soukromníci coalition, which won 0 seats in total |
Results indicated increased support in the 2013 election (which was held seven months early due to the right-wing government collapse after the Prime Minister Petr Nečas) as many voters sought alternatives to right-wing politics. The party did best in Prague, Central Bohemia, the Pilsen region and Zlín.
The election cost the party about four million Kč. Since every party crossing the 1.5 percent threshold receives its deposit and extra, one-time state-funding, the party received about 13 million Kč. This made it the second-most-effective party in terms of cost per vote.
European Parliament
Year | Leader | Votes | Percentage | ± | Seats |
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2009 | Petr Mach | 29,846 | 1.3% | 1.3% | 0 / 21
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2014 | Petr Mach | 79,540 | 5.2% | 4.0% | 1 / 21
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2019 | Vít Jedlička | 15,492 | 0.7% | 4.6% | 0 / 21
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The European elections are significant as the party is the most dominant hard-line
European Union and Euroscepticism
The party is sceptical about the European Union, and does not see a way to reform what it sees as a bureaucratic colossus; however, it does not emphasize nationalism and does not oppose the European Union for that reason.[citation needed]
Footnotes
- ^ "Do TOP 09 se hrnou lidé i přes bídné volby. Libují si i propadlí Zelení a Svobodní". 23 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Strana svobodných občanů – čeští monotematičtí euroskeptici?".
- ^ "Svobodní ‒ volební program 2017" (PDF). svobodni.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ Cabada, Ladislav (2016). "Party of Free Citizens And the Genesis of the Czech Liberal-conservative "Anti-EU" Stream in Czech Politics". Matej Bel University.
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(help) - ^ Negrine, Ralph; Stetka, Vaclav; Fialová, Marta (2013), "Campaigning in but not for Europe: European Campaign Strategies in the UK and the Czech Republic", Political Communication in European Parliamentary Elections, Ashgate
- ^ Horváth, Kata (2012), "Silencing and Naming the Difference", The Gypsy 'menace': Populism and the New Anti-Gypsy Politics, C. Hurst, p. 154
- ^ https://dspace.cuni.cz/handle/20.500.11956/84397 Vývoj Strany svobodných občanů v letech 2009–2015
- ^ "English Press Release". Archived 19 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Anti-Lisbon party launches in Czech Republic". The Irish Times. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ "Euroskeptiker mit Nähe zum Präsidenten". derStandard.at. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ "Website's New Party's Name Party Free Citizens".[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Interlibertarians Members". Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ Zjednodušení práce Archived 17 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine Svobodni.cz.
- ^ a b "Svobodní chtějí rušit daně". Archived 17 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine Svobodni.cz.
- ^ a b "Významná redukce byrokracie". Archived 17 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine at svobodni.cz
- ^ a b "Státní zadlužování musí skončit". Archived 17 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine Svobodni.cz.
External links
- Official page (in Czech)