Czech National Social Party

From Wikinfo

The Czech National Social Party (Czech: Česk� strana n�rodně soci�ln�, 1897 - 1918), Czech Socialist Party (Česk� strana socialistick�, 1918 - 1919), Czechoslovak Socialist Party (Československ� strana socialistick�, 1919 - 1926), Czechoslovak National Socialist Party (1926 - 1948), Czechoslavak Socialist Party (Československ� strana socialistick�, 1948 - 1993), Liberal National Social Party (Liber�ln� strana n�rodně soci�ln�, 1993 - 1995), Free Democrats - Liberal National Social Party (Svobodn� demokrat� - Liber�ln� strana n�rodně soci�ln�, 1995 - 1997), and again Czech National Social Party (from 1997) was a nationalist party established in 1897 within the National Liberal Party as a nominally socialist group with a stress on achieving Czech independence from the Habsburg Empire (as opposed to the international revolution of the Social Democratic Party, which was the largest Czech socialist group at that time).

History

Leadership of the Czech National Social Party was soon assumed by [[V�clav Klof�č]]. An important role was played by [[Jiř� Stř�brn�]] and Emil Franke as well. The party platform rested on the recalled social traditions of Hussitism and Taboritism, but it was also a programme of "collectivizing by means of development, surmounting of class struggle by national discipline, moral rebirth and democracy as the conditions of socialism, a powerful popular army, etc."

In 1918 the party changed its name from Czech National Social Party to the Czech Socialist Party, in 1919 to Czechoslovak Socialist Party and then in 1926 to the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party. Edvard Bene� took actual party leadership, although nominally it was his ally V�clav Klof�č. Jiř� Stř�brn� and his friends were expelled.

From 1921, the party was part of most Czechoslovak government coalitions. Its newspaper was the Česk� slovo. In 1938, a part of the Czech membership entered into the Party of National Unity led by Rudolf Beran, while few of its Slovak members joined the Hlinka Slovak People's Party led by Josef Tiso.

Under German occupation, the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party functioned in exile and most of its members where active in the resistance movement. After 1945, the party resurfaced, under the leadership of Petr Zenkl, as one of the parties in the National Front. When Czechoslovakia became a communist state in 1948, the party was again renamed the Czechoslovak Socialist Party and democrats were expelled.

After the return to democracy in 1989, the National Front was abolished. The party renamed itself the Liberal National Social Party (Liber�ln� strana n�rodně soci�ln�), but failed to gather any significant support and was reduced to minor party status. This led in 1995 to a merger with the Free Democrats, to form the Free Democrats - Liberal National Social Party. After failure in 1996 elections, the party split and was renamed again in 1997 into Czech National Social Party.

Now it is not in Parliament.

Reference

Karel Hoch: The Political Parties of Czechoslovakia.
Erik Ritter von Kuehnelt-Leddihn: Leftism Revisited, Regnery Gateway, Washington D.C., 1990, pp. 145-146.
Mal� encyklop�dia Slovenska, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava 1987