Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic)
Civic Democratic Party Občanská demokratická strana | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | ODS |
| Leader | Petr Fiala |
| Founder | Václav Klaus |
| Founded | 21 April 1991; 34 years ago |
| Headquarters | Truhlářská 9, Prague |
| Membership (2021) | 12,500 |
| Ideology | Conservatism Economic liberalism |
| Political position | Centre-right to right-wing |
| National affiliation | SPOLU |
| Colors | Blue |
| Party flag | |
| Website | |
| ods | |
The Civic Democratic Party (Czech: Občanská demokratická strana, ODS) is a conservative political party in the Czech Republic. It is led by Petr Fiala, who has been Prime Minister of the Czech Republic since 2021.
The party was founded in 1991 by Václav Klaus as a pro-free market breakaway from the Civic Forum, which had been established in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution. Since 1992, the ODS has been a major party in Czech politics, emerging as one of the two strongest party in every election other than 2013. The party has most recently been in government since 2021 as part of the SPOLU coalition with Fiala as Prime Minister.
ODS is a member of the International Democracy Union and is one of the founding members of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party.
Ideology
The ODS has been variously described as conservative, liberal conservative and conservative liberal. It also supports economic liberalism and is predominantly Eurosceptic. The ODS has a number of different factions incorporating ideologies such as national conservatism, neo-conservatism and Christian democracy.