English

Profile of the Union of Freedom – Democratic Union (Unie svobody-Demokratické unie /US-DEU)

The US-DEU headquarters
Kozí 5, Prague 1, 110 00 CZ
www.unie.cz, info@unie.cz
tel.: + 420 257 011 411
fax: + 420 257 530 102

I. US-DEU personalities

US-DEU Leadership:

Chairman:                            MVDr. Jan Černý
First Vice-Chairman:            Ing. Petr Hůla, Ph.D.
Vice-Chairmen:                    Mgr. Lenka Černá
                                            RNDr. Jan Polecha
                                            Mgr. Petr Novotný

General secretary:              Pavel Fajt

Senators elected on the US-DEU ballot:

MUDr. Richard Sequens, Ph. D. (not a member of US-DEU)
Karel Schwarzenberg (not a member of US-DEU)

US-DEU government positions:

1997 – 1998, Prime Minister Josef Tošovský (5) Ivan Pilip, Karel Kühnl, Vladimír Mlynář, Stanislav Volák, Michal Lobkowicz
1998 – 2002, Prime Minister Miloš Zeman (0)
2002 – 2004, Prime Minister Vladimír Špidla (3) Petr Mareš, Pavel Němec, Vladimír Mlynář
2004 – 2006, Prime Minister Stanislav Gross (3) Pavel Němec, Karel Kühnl, Vladimír Mlynář

II. Who are we, US-DEU presents itself

US-DEU is a liberal right-wing party whose goal is to bring to completion social reforms, based on belief in the freedoms on the individual and on the removal of mechanism which enable “patronisation” by the state. Out priority is to develop a free market economy. We do, however, realise that society cannot live at the expense of nature, that the market cannot function without a legal order, and that business cannot develop without ethics. Traditional values of European civilisation constitute the underlying principles of our agenda.

Unie svobody was established under dramatic circumstances in January 1998, by splitting from ODS. The reason was disapproval of the non-transparent financing of ODS, and the unwillingness of its Chairman, Václav Klaus, to deal with the crisis. Unie svobody is the youngest of Czech parliamentary parties. Over the few years of its existence, it has achieved a respectable position on the Czech political map. This position is supported by the principles from which the party arose, and which more-or-less distinguish it from all other democratic political parties:

Internal pluralism - there are so-called opinion platforms in the party; the Statutes grant protection to minority opinion Outward openness – US-DEU is a party opened towards the civil society, interest groups and independent personalities who run on our ballots Transparent financing – strict conditions for sponsoring, information available on the Internet Decentralised functioning Thorough Anti-Communism – US-DEU refuses to co-operate with the Communists and does not agree to their legitimisation on the Czech political scene

III. What do we want – the foundations of US-DEU’s platform

Our platform principles are based on one main goal – a speedy accession of a ready Czech Republic to the European Union, and full participation of the country in the European integration process. Changes awaiting us in the future, which are related to out entry into the EU, must be made if our country wants to catch up with developed democratic countries. In this context US-DEU, has declared four main priorities:

1. Rule of law

The main goal is to ensure fast enforceability of the law, respect for court judgements, and simplification of statutes. The aim is to create a functioning legal environment.

2. Tax reform

Economic growth and business development can be achieved by cutting down on the tax costs of labour, and by shifting the tax burden towards indirect taxes.

3. Educational reform

We want to create an educational system which will enable graduates to find their place on the labour market at home and abroad, and to set up a flexible life-long-education system as the main tool of employment policy. We want to significantly expand the range of university studies offered.

4. Pension reform

Given the demographic developments, the implementation of a pension reform constitutes a vital step on the way to the financing of the entire system and to maintaining coherence among generations. Key to this reform is the reform of the social security system.

IV. How we function – US-DEU’s base

US-DEU has 400 members throughout the Czech Republic. It is active in all 14 regions and 91 districts. The most numerous are the Prague and Brno organisations. The party has local, district, regional, and national bodies. Membership fees amount to a minimum of CZK 300 per person per year, CZK 150 in the case of students and pensioners.

The party’s bodies are elected for a two-year term. At the head of the party is its Chairman. The party’s leadership – the Executive – comprises the Chairman and four Vice Chairmen, and the chairmen of the Lower House and Senate clubs. Ministers and Deputy Speakers of Parliamentary chambers have an advisory vote. The party’s supreme body, between the National Assemblies, is the National Committee, which comprises the Executive and two representatives from each region (39 people). On average, it meets once a month. The National Assembly is the supreme body of the US-DEU. It is held once a year, with around 300 delegates representing all district organisations present. The National Assembly elects the party’s Chairman, Vice-Chairmen, approves the party’s Statutes and the basic direction of its policies. Since its establishment in 1998, US-DEU has held ten assemblies.

From the organisational point of view, US-DEU is managed by the General Secretary, who is employed by the party. Our headquarters – central office with its seat at Kozí 5 st.í – employs 2 employees. In each region, US-DEU has a regional office which employs one Regional Manager (14 Regional Managers).

US-DEU has 16 specialised committees as advisory bodies of the party, and 2 platforms (Seniors’ Platform and the Green Platform). Membership in committees is open to the party’s supporters and non-members.

In the Parliamentary election in 1998, we got 8.6% of the vote, in 2002, in coalition with KDU-ČSL 14.2%.

In the historically first Czech election for the European Parliament, US-DEU attempted to unify the fragmented forces of the liberal right. Unfortunately, not all parties approached the integration process with the same intentions. In the end, the project of the Union of Liberal Democrats failed.

In the 2004 regular Senate election, US-DEU defended two seats. Karel Schwarzenberg, put forward by US-DEU, defended the Prague 6 seat vacated by Jan Ruml; voter turnout in this riding was the greatest in the country.

In the 2004 regional election, the party managed to defend its successful work; in the Pardubice region, it got, in a a coalition, 22.79% of the vote, and 5 seats in the regional government; in the Central Bohemian Region, together with KDU-ČSL, US-DEU got 6.62% of the vote and one representative. In other regions, where US-DEU ran independently, the party was not successful.

V. US-DEU’s History

Unie svobody was established on 17 January 1998 from an ODS Platform, as a response to the crisis in ODS. The trigger was the appeal of two top ODS representatives Jan Ruml and Ivan Pilip for the resignation of ODS Chairman Václav Klaus. The first Chairman of the party was former Minister of the Interior Jan Ruml (2/1998-12/1999). US went into the election with a right-wing platform and the promise that would not form a government coalition with the social democratic party, ČSSD, after the election. ČSSD won the 1998 parliamentary election; 19 Members of Parliament were elected on the US ballot. US fulfilled its promise and refused to form a government with ČSSD. The election’s result enabled the formation of a centre-right government (US, ODS, and KDU-ČSL), which our party preferred. Post-election negotiations ended up in the signing of the so-called Opposition Agreement. This non-standard solution, when a minority left-of-centre government was supported by a right-wing opposition party, erased the difference between the opposition and the government.

In reaction to that situation, US joined up with another three parties to form the so-called Quad-Coalition (US, KDU-ČSL, DEU, and ODA). Quad-Coalition’s representatives sealed their co-operation by signing the so-called St. Wenceslaus Agreement, on 28 September 1999. Over the next three years, the Quad-Coalition took part in elections on all levels. In 1998 and 2000, it won the Senate election.

In 1998 – 2002, US was an opposition party. In 1999 we supported NATO action in Kosovo and in late 2000 and early 2001, we stood up against political pressure on the public Czech TV, and stood by the rebellious staff.

After Jan Ruml’s resignation, former Minister of Industry and Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Karel Kühnl (2/2000-6/2001), was elected the head of the party, who, after the first crisis in Quad-Coalition in March 2001, became its leader and the shadow Prime Minister. In June, Quad-Coalition presented its electoral platform and in October, the party introduced its joint ballot for the 2002 parliamentary election. At that point, the Quad-Coalition had 30% of the popular vote in the polls, and was the clear favourite of the upcoming election. K. Kühnl was replaced at the head of US by Hana Marvanová (6/2001-7/2002), who stood at the birth of US’ integration with one of the Quad-Coalition parties – DEU (27 October 2001).

In January 2002, after the crisis in the Quad-Coalition and the departure of ODA, the Quad-Coalition broke up, and only the coalition of US-DEU and KDU-ČSL ran in the Parliamentary election. This crisis took a toll on the electoral result – the sure winner became the outsider, who ended up behind the communists, in fourth place, getting 14.2% of the vote and 31 MPs. US-DEU became the smallest parliamentary party, with only 10 Deputies.

In spite of that, it managed to form a government with the winner of the 2002 Parliamentary election, ČSSD. US-DEU got three ministerial posts. The party’s Chairman, Hana Marvanová, resigned over compromises made in the programme. The government coalition, relying on the support 101 Deputies (of 200), took its first serious blow. After the catastrophic floods which struck the country, the Government prepared a so-called ‘tax-law package’. Its goal was to get funds for remedying the flood-related damage quickly and efficiently. Due to Hana Marvanová’s vote, the compromise package of statutes was not approved. After extended coalition talks and thorough discussion in MP Clubs, an “Amendment” to the Coalition Agreement was drafted, in which all government parties undertook to support all important government bills.

At that time, the party was lead by its 1st Vice-Chairman, the former Minister of Education and Minister of Finance, Ivan Pilip, who led the party to the municipal and Senate elections at the end of October and beginning of November 2002. In the Senate election, we got one new Senator. In the municipal election, we incurred a significant drop in the number of our representatives in large cities. Overall, the number of our representatives at city halls remained the same (830). In Prague, which was the only region to hold a regional election, US-DEU just made the 5% cut-off line.

US-DEU did not run a presidential candidate. In the first election, it supported Petr Pithart. In the second, Jaroslava Moserová, and in the third, Jan Sokol. At US-DEU’s 8th National Assembly (19 January 2003), Petr Mareš, for a long-tome a Vice-Chairman of the Party, was elected Chairman. In mid 2003, US-DEU initiated government talks about a public finance reform. Laws related to the reform were approved in September and October 2003. At a national meeting of the party’s members in Litomyšl, on 27 September 2003, US-DEU launched a new communication and electoral campaign called Agenda 12.

After the failure in the European Parliament election, US-DEU Chairman Petr Mareš and the rest of the party’s leadership accepted their political responsibility and resigned. Pavel Němec was elected the new Chairman at the party’s 10th National Assembly, on 27 June 2004.

VI. US-DEU electorate

US-DEU electorate is derived, in part, from amongst the original ODS supporters who disproved of the direction in which it was headed, and from amongst the sympathisers of the former government party, ODA. The Union enjoys the greatest support in Prague. For the most part, US-DEU relies on students, people up to 30 years of age, people from large cities, people with higher education, and women. It also finds support among small entrepreneurs and tradesmen, and in the middle class. US-DEU does not have a hard core of voters, as it is in part still looking for the right profile – for many people, it is rather an acceptable alternative to ODS or a formation for dissatisfied voters (disappointed by the loss of direction in post 1989 reforms), than the ideal party. That is why the party is more susceptible than others to sways in voter potential, and its voter preferences are not as stable, compared to established political parties. On the political continuum, voters spontaneously place US-DEU between the liberal centre and the right.

VII. Presentation in election campaigns

The style of our electoral campaigns is based on several principles:

Decentralised campaign – we give a significant amount of space to regional organisations and regional representatives, while maintaining a unifying line.

Thematic campaign – we are in favour of presenting specific proposals which constitute a part of our electoral agenda (preparation of the country for entry into EU, joint taxation of spouses, direct election of president, tuition fees at universities, etc.).

Modern campaign – we use modern communication technologies (Internet, e-mail, cell phones).

Interesting campaign – we try to capture voters’ attention. We use unusual promotional items (cards, bars of soap, energy drinks), specific forms of direct-voter-contact electoral campaign (happenings with actors, theatre performances for children and adults), contests for voters with prizes in the form of a trip to a European country, petitions (direct election of the president).

Positive campaign – we emphasise the abilities and expert knowledge of our politicians, we do not attack our political opponents.

Financially-efficient campaign – the expenditures do not exceed our budget, which ends up in a surplus every year.