Civic Forum leadership election, 1990

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Civic Forum leadership election, 1990
OF logo.png
13 October 1990

  Vaclav Klaus headshot.jpg Martin-Palous-2012.jpg
Candidate Václav Klaus Martin Palouš
Party MKDP MOS
Electoral vote11552
Percentage68.9%31.1%
Leader of Civic Forum before election

none

Elected Leader of Civic Forum

Václav Klaus

A leadership election for the Civic Forum party was held in Czechoslovakia on 13 October 1990. Václav Klaus was elected the leader of the party, defeating Martin Palouš. [1] [2] Election was held in Hostivař. Klaus received 115 votes while Palouš only 52. [3]

Civic Forum Czech political movement established during the Velvet Revolution in 1989

The Civic Forum was a political movement in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, established during the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The corresponding movement in Slovakia was called Public Against Violence.

Czechoslovakia 1918–1992 country in Central Europe, predecessor of the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Czechoslovakia, or Czecho-Slovakia, was a sovereign state in Central Europe that existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until its peaceful dissolution into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993.

Václav Klaus 2nd President of the Czech Republic

Václav Klaus is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second President of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. He also served as the second and last Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, federal subject of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, from July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, and as the first Prime Minister of the newly-independent Czech Republic from 1993 to 1998.

Contents

Background

Civic Forum was formed in 1989 as a syncretic political movement. Two major wings were formed in the party. Right-wing was represented by Václav Klaus and Miroslav Macek. Centrist wing was represented by Pavel Rychetský, Petr Pithart and Martin Palouš. People representing rightist wing within Civic Forum eventually formed Interparliamentary Club of the Democratic Right (MKDP). [4] Centrists formed Interparliamentary Civic Association (MOS). MKDP wanted Civic Forum to become a right-wing political party while MOS wanted to prevent it. [5]

Right-wing politics hold that certain social orders and hierarchies are inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, or tradition. Hierarchy and inequality may be viewed as natural results of traditional social differences or the competition in market economies. The term right-wing can generally refer to "the conservative or reactionary section of a political party or system".

Miroslav Macek is a politician, writer and former deputy prime minister of Czechoslovakia. In May 2006 Macek made international news when, coming from behind, he struck the Minister of Health David Rath at a dentists' conference, accusing him of having insulted his wife.

Pavel Rychetský President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic

Pavel Rychetský is a Czech lawyer and former politician who is the 3rd and current President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. The Senate confirmed him on 16 July 2003 and on 6 August 2003 he was sworn in by President Václav Klaus and reappointed in 2013 by President Miloš Zeman.

Leadership election of Civic Forum was scheduled for 13 October 1990 in Hostivař. MKDP supported Václav Klaus for the position. Martin Palouš became a candidate of MOS. Palouš was considered front-runner but Klaus was building his support in regions. Pavel Rychetský also decided to run for the position of the leader. Palouš was endorsed by the Council of Civic Forum. [4] [6]

Martin Palouš Czech diplomat

Martin Palouš is the ex-Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the Czech Republic. He presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 11 September 2006. Palouš is married to Pavla Paloušová and they have two children.

Candidates

Interparliamentary Club of the Democratic Right was a faction in Civic Forum. It represented political right within the movement. It transformed into the Civic Democratic Party after the dissolution of the Civic Forum.

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization. The central tenets of conservatism include tradition, human imperfection, hierarchy, authority, and property rights. Conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as monarchy, religion, parliamentary government, and property rights, with the aim of emphasizing social stability and continuity. The more extreme elements—reactionaries—oppose modernism and seek a return to "the way things were".

Liberal Club of the Civic Forum, or simply Liberal Club was a faction in the Civic Forum.

Voting

CandidateVotes
Václav Klaus11568.86
Martin Palouš5231.14

Voting was held on 13 October 1990. Klaus was considered outsider in the election. Both candidates had their speech to address electors. Klaus talked about division of the movement in economical policy and stated that the future of OF should not be coming from view of limited group in the centre but should start from basis of te people below. Palouš' supporters argued that the new leader should come from people who resisted communist regime. When the vote occurred, Klaus decisively won the election when he received 115 votes to 52. [10]

Aftermath

Klaus started to transform Civic Forum into a political party after his victory. This deepened conflicts with Liberal wing that transformed MOS into Liberal Club of the Civic Forum. Conflicts between both wings led to dissolution of Civic Forum in February 1991. [4] [6] It was split to Civic Democratic Party led by Václav Klaus and Civic Movement led by Jiří Dienstbier. [6]

Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic) Czech political party

The Civic Democratic Party is a liberal-conservative political party in the Czech Republic. It holds 25 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and is the second strongest party following the 2017 election.

Civic Movement political party in the Czech Republic

The Civic Movement was a liberal political party based in the Czech Republic, which existed from 1991 to 1996. The party was established after the break-up of Civic Forum by the liberal wing of Civic Forum, while the conservative wing established the Civic Democratic Party. Jiří Dienstbier was elected leader of the Civic Movement. The party participated in the 1992 legislative election but failed to reach the required 5% threshold and was left without parliamentary representation. The party then renamed itself as the Free Democrats. The party merged with the Czech National Social Party in 1996. Some former members of OH later established the Party for the Open Society.

Jiří Dienstbier Czech journalist and politician

Jiří Dienstbier was a Czech politician and journalist. He was one of Czechoslovakia's most respected foreign correspondents before being fired after the Prague Spring. Unable to have a livelihood as a journalist, he worked as a janitor for the next two decades. During this time, he secretly started Lidové noviny.

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References

  1. ↑ "CEVRO - Václav Klaus - předsednictví v datech". www.cevro.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "Jirko Dienstbiere, tohle je na pěst. Pozoruhodný příběh politika, který nechtěně dostal do sedla Klause i Zemana". Parlamentní Listy. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  3. ↑ "Martin Palouš životopis". OSOBNOSTI.cz. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Pšeja, Pavel (2004). "Občanské fórum jako katalysátor vývoje stranického systému ČR" (PDF). Politologický Časopis. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  5. ↑ Vance, Charles; Paik, Yongsun (2006). Managing a Global Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities in International Human Resource Management. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN   9780765620163 . Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 televize, Česká. "OF(F). Před čtvrtstoletím se rozpadlo Občanské fórum". ČT24 (in Czech). Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Nepolitická politika Občanského fóra předznamenala jeho úspěch i pád". Pražský deník (in Czech). 19 November 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "Občanské demokraty čeká kongres, rozhodne o dalším směřování ODS i o osudu vlády". www.kurzy.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "Co na sebe vím VII – Divadelní noviny". www.divadelni-noviny.cz. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  10. ↑ Hanley, Seán (2007). The New Right in the New Europe: Czech Transformation and Right-Wing Politics, 1989–2006. Routledge. p. 86. ISBN   9781134295654 . Retrieved 4 December 2017.
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