World Country Guide

History and Government

History
Czechoslovakia’s independence was established in 1918. Previously, Moravia and Bohemia had been under Austrian rule, while Slovakia came under the aegis of Hungary. During World War II, Bohemia and Moravia together became a German protectorate. After the war, a reconstituted Czechoslovakia was established under the supervision of the occupying Red Army. By 1948, as planned, the Communists had become the dominant political force in the country and took effective control, following elections that year. Soviet-style political and economic systems were put in place and Czechoslovakia became a firm Soviet ally, joining the Warsaw Pact and COMECON. The Government adhered closely to Soviet policy in all respects, until the emergence of a new leadership group under Alexander Dubcek in the late 1960s. In what became known as the ‘Prague Spring’, the Dubcek governments introduced a series of liberalising reforms.

After several months, the Soviets decided that the reforms had gone too far and, after failing to persuade the Czechoslovaks to desist from their chosen course, sent the tanks in. Dubcek and his allies were deposed in favour of a hard-line leadership led by Gustav Husak. For the next two decades, Czechoslovakia barely deviated from the Soviet line. That was until the appointment of Mikhail Gorbachev as Soviet leader and his promotion of glasnost and perestroika. The Husak Government aligned itself with those, such as East Germany’s Honeker, who were opposed to such reforms. But four years later, as Eastern Europe was engulfed by political upheaval and massive demonstrations, the Communists were swept from office. The main opposition movement, Civic Forum, became the principal political force in the country; its most celebrated member, playwright Václav Havel, was appointed president, as the country set about introducing a pluralistic political system and market economy. Multi-party elections for a new National Assembly were won by Civic Forum, in June 1990. However, divisions within the victorious party quickly emerged.

The decisive split occurred in January 1991, when right-wing federal Finance Minister Václav Klaus, the architect and chief engineer of the privatisation programme, left the Forum with his supporters to create the Civic Democratic Party (ODS, Obcanské Demokratická Strana). Klaus emerged as the most powerful figure within the federal government. Meanwhile, there was a growing clamour in Slovakia, the eastern part of the country, for greater autonomy and, among a vocal and growing constituency, full independence. Despite the firm opposition of President Havel, who considered that the country could ill afford a split at that stage, the positions adopted by Czech and Slovak nationalists were endorsed by the people at the June 1992 national election. Klaus’ ODS won a substantial majority in the Czech part of the country, just as the main Slovak party – the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), led by an ex-communist turned nationalist, Vladimir Meciar – won the lion’s share in Slovakia. Division into two independent countries was quickly accepted as the only mutually acceptable option and took place formally on 1 January 1993.

Under Klaus’ premiership, the Czech Republic pursued a comprehensive programme of market-oriented reforms and social policies designed to reduce the role of the state. A period of economic growth and rising prosperity for most of the population followed. After re-election in 1996, the ODS administration eventually fell to popular disillusionment and an economic slowdown in June 1998. The Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD), under Milos Zeman, managed to form a minority government with, improbably enough, the support of Klaus’ ODS. Also in 1998, Václav Havel, the country’s towering political figure, was comfortably re-elected to a second term as president, despite chronic ill health. Against expectations, the Social Democrats not only completed its term, which ended in 2002, but also won the ensuing general election in June. Zeman then ceded the premiership to Vladimir Spidla. However, Klaus remains a potent political figure after winning the March 2003 presidential vote by the narrowest of margins (see Government for details). Despite Klaus' reputation as a Eurosceptic, integration into the EU became a top political priority, and in May 2005, the Czech Republic became a member of the EU.

Elections in April 2005 saw Jiri Paroubek, the deputy leader of the centre left Social Democratic Party become Prime Minister. Paroubek's government faces the task of continuing with reforms designed to slash public spending in preparation for membership of the Eurozone.

Government
Under the Czech Republic’s constitution, legislative power rests with the bicameral legislature, comprising a 200-member Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká Snemovna) and an 81-member Senate (Senat), which are elected for four- and six-year terms respectively. The legislature jointly elects the President of the republic for a five-year term. The President appoints the Prime Minister as head of the Government.