Svobodní

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Political party in the Czech Republic
Svobodní
Svobodní
LeaderLibor Vondráček
Founded14 February 2009; 15 years ago (2009-02-14)
Split fromCivic Democratic Party
HeadquartersHráského 2231/25 148 00 Praha 4-Chodov, Prague
NewspaperBeran Magazine
Membership

Svobodní, formerly known as Party of Free Citizens or the Free Citizens' Party (Czech: Strana svobodných občanů) until 2019,[8] is a classic liberal and right-libertarian,[2] Eurosceptic political party in the Czech Republic founded in 2009 by Petr Mach, an economist and professor of macroeconomics. Prior to assuming his position as an MEP, Mach taught economics at VŠFS and VŠEM (two private business colleges in Prague). The party is led by Libor Vondráček.

Svobodní participated in the 2009 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic. Its platform called for a referendum on the introduction of the euro in the Czech Republic and the rejection of the Treaty of Lisbon. The party unsuccessfully negotiated with Declan Ganley to join his European Union-wide Libertas movement.[9] Its symbol is the green outline of a ram's horns.[10][11] After the 2014 European Parliament election, the party's MEP joined the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) group. Party is member of the International Alliance of Libertarian Parties and Interlibertarians.[12]

Several county councilors successfully ran on the party's ballot in the 2010 local elections as thirty-eight councilors held positions, primarily in towns and small cities. The party fielded candidates in the 2014 local elections, increasing its number of councilors. There are elected councilors in city districts (Prague 3, Prague 18 and Brno-Slatina) and towns (Chrudim, Hodonín and Kutná Hora).

Philosophy

The party may be described as libertarian, opposing high government involvement in the economy [13][14] and personal lives[15] and the centralization of political power. Its free market advocates often adhere to the Austrian School of economics. They aim to lower tax rates, restrict state redistribution of wealth as much as possible[14][16] The party believes that downsizing the government would leave less opportunity for corruption, a problematic issue in Czech politics. They also say that Czech sovereignty is indispensable for a true democratic system and they see the respect for state free-making decisions as an analogy of respect for human freedom.[15][1]

Chamber of Deputies

The party has contested four elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Parliament.

Year Leader Votes Percentage ±
2010 Petr Mach 38,897 0.7% Increase 0.7%
2013 Petr Mach 122,564 2.5% Increase 1.7%
2017 Petr Mach 79,229 1.6% Decrease 0.9%
2021 Zuzana Majerová Zahradníková 148,457 2.8% Increase 1.2%
Part of Tricolour–Svobodní–Soukromníci coalition, which won 0 seats in total

European Parliament

Election List leader Votes % Seats +/− EP Group
2009 Petr Mach 29,846 1.3 (#11)
0 / 21
 New −
2014 79,540 5.2 (#7)
1 / 21
 Increase 1 EFDD
2019[a] Vít Jedlička 15,492 0.7 (#13)
0 / 21
 Decrease 1 −
2024 Libor Vondráček 52,408 1.76 (#10)
0 / 21
 Steady 0
  1. ^ Run in a joint list with Happy Czechia.

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Do TOP 09 se hrnou lidé i přes bídné volby. Libují si i propadlí Zelení a Svobodní". Blesk (in Czech). Czech News Center. 23 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Strana svobodných občanů – čeští monotematičtí euroskeptici?" (PDF). Masaryk University (in Czech). 1 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Svobodní ‒ volební program 2017" (PDF). svobodni.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  4. ^ Cabada, Ladislav (2016). "Party of Free Citizens And the Genesis of the Czech Liberal-conservative "Anti-EU" Stream in Czech Politics". Matej Bel University.
  5. ^ Negrine, Ralph; Stetka, Vaclav; Fialová, Marta (2013). Campaigning in but not for Europe: European Campaign Strategies in the UK and the Czech Republic. Ashgate. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Horváth, Kata (2012). Silencing and Naming the Difference. C. Hurst. p. 154. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  7. ^ https://dspace.cuni.cz/handle/20.500.11956/84397 Vývoj Strany svobodných občanů v letech 2009–2015
  8. ^ [web.archive.org/web/20090219001228/http://svobodni.cz/files/docs/eng-press-release.pdf "Press Release"] (PDF). Svobodní (Press release). 19 February 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2019. {{cite press release}}: Check |archive-url= value (help)
  9. ^ "Anti-Lisbon party launches in Czech Republic". The Irish Times. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  10. ^ "Euroskeptiker mit Nähe zum Präsidenten". Der Standard (in German). Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  11. ^ "Website's New Party's Name Party Free Citizens".[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Interlibertarians Members". Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Zjednodušení práce". Svobodní (in Czech). Archived from the original on 17 January 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Svobodní chtějí rušit daně". Svobodní (in Czech). Archived from the original on 17 January 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Významná redukce byrokracie". Svobodní (in Czech). Archived from the original on 17 January 2013.
  16. ^ "Státní zadlužování musí skončit". Svobodní (in Czech). Archived from the original on 17 February 2013.
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