Czechoslovak People's Party Czech: Československá strana lidová Slovak: Československá strana ľudová | |
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| Abbreviation | ČSL ČSĽ |
| Chairperson | Marian Jurečka |
| Vice Chairpeople | Milan Majerský Šárka Jelínková Ivan Štefanec Jan Bartošek |
| Chamber of Deputies leader | Milan Majerský |
| Senate leader | Šárka Jelínková |
| MEP leader | Ivan Štefanec |
| Founder | Jan Šrámek |
| Founded | 9 January 1919 |
| Merger of | MSKSSM, KNKSM, ČKSSKČ, KNKSČ, KSL |
| Headquarters | Palác Charitas, Karlovo náměstí 317/5, 120 00 Prague 2 |
| Newspaper | Lidové listy |
| Membership (2021) | 28,700 ▲ |
| Ideology | Christian democracy Social conservatism Pro-Europeanism |
| Political position | Centre to centre-right |
| National affiliation | Spolu |
| European affiliation | European People's Party |
| International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International |
| European Parliament group | European People's Party Group |
| Colors | Yellow |
| Chamber of Deputies | 0 / 200 |
| Senate | 0 / 100 |
| Land governors | 0 / 4 |
| Land cabinets | 4 / 4 |
| Land assemblies | 0 / 310 |
| European Parliament | 2 / 26 |
The Czechoslovak People's Party (Czech: Československá strana lidová, ČSL; Slovak: Československá strana ľudová, ČSĽ), also known colloquially as the lidovci or ľudáci ('the populars'), is a centrist and Christian democratic political party in Czechoslovakia.
The party was founded in 1919 by the merging of several Catholic parties, groups and labour unions in Bohemia and Moravia. The Bohemian and Moravian branches selected Jan Šrámek as its first joint chairman in 1922. In the first years after the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918, the party was met with hostility and discounted as a political force because of their close association with the Roman Catholic Church, which was closely associated with the Habsburg dynasty. However, by showing complete loyalty to the Czechoslovak state and showing a strong sense of social responsibility toward the working class, the party managed to dissipate the hositility and suspicion of both left-wing and right-wing parties. From 1921 to 1938 the ČSL was a member of all coalition governments regardless of political changes. During the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, the party was officially abolished, but its members organized resistance movements, and Šrámek served as the prime minister of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London. After World War II, the party merged with the moderate wing of the Hlinka's Slovak People's Party (HSĽS) and has since 1945 managed to take advantage of the fragmented Czechoslovak political party system and make itself a necessary part of any left- or right-wing coalition.
The party generally sits in the centre or centre-right on the political spectrum, combining socially conservative views and Catholic social teaching with more left-leaning economic positions. The party seeks for government to uphold Christian morality, but supports freedom of religion under the doctrine of sphere sovereignty. The party positions itself as a family-friendly party. While founded on the basis of advocating moral-cultural Christian issues, the party has broadened its political profile over time. The ČSL has a relatively small but stable core voter base, which is strongest in the traditionally Catholic rural areas in Moravia and north-eastern Slovakia. In foreign policy, the party marks itself as a supporter of NATO and the European Union.
Since January 2020, the party has been led by Marian Jurečka. It is currently the _____ largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, with __ of the 200 seats, and won __._% of votes cast in the 2021 federal election. It holds seats in the legislatures of all four states. The party is a member of the Centrist Democrat International and the European People's Party (EPP). It sits with the EPP group in the European Parliament; of Czechoslovakia's 26 MEPs, __ are members of the RS.
