Christian Democratic Team of the Spanish State (in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Equipo Demócrata Cristiano del Estado Español'', EDCEE) was a political alliance of the

Democratic Union of Catalonia The Democratic Union of Catalonia ( ca, Unió Democràtica de Catalunya; , UDC), frequently shortened as Union ( ca, Unió; ), was a regionalist, Christian-democratic political party in the Catalonia region of Spain existing between 1931 and 2017 ...

, the

Federation of Christian Democracy Federation of Christian Democracy ( es, Federación de la Democracia Cristiana, FDC) was a Spanish political organization formed on April 14, 1977 by Democratic Left of Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez and Democratic People's Federation of José María Gi ...

(composed of Democratic Left of Ruiz Giménez and the

Democratic People's Federation Democratic People's Federation ( es, Federación Popular Democrática, FPD) was a Christian Democratic political organization created in 1975 by José María Gil-Robles, heir of the Christian Social Democracy of José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones. ...

of Gil Robles, formed in January 1976) and other regional parties. EDCEE contested the 1977 general elections in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in alliance with Catalan centrist forces. The alliance got 215,841 votes (1.18% of the nationwide vote).

History

The team was formed in

Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

) during the XVII European Congress of Christian Democratic Parties, between 9 and 12 December 1965. The creation of the team was a requirement of the body which brought together the European Christian Democratic parties, which only contemplated a member per country. The initial members of the team were Democratic Left (ID),

Basque Nationalist Party The Basque Nationalist Party (, EAJ ; es, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, PNV; french: Parti Nationaliste Basque, PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially Basque National Party in English,) was rejected by party members in November 2011. Nonetheless, the party did ...

(PNV) and

(UDC). Shortly after the Social Christian Democracy joined, led by

José María Gil-Robles José María Gil-Robles y Gil-Delgado (17 June 1935 – 13 February 2023) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament in the European People's Party group, and was President of the European Parliament from 1 ...

, without the reticence of the Basque and Catalan nationalists. At first the team did not act as such. Only in March 1973 they took place the First Conference of the Christian Democratic Team of the Spanish State (EDCEE) at the

Abbey of Montserrat Santa Maria de Montserrat () is an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict located on the mountain of Montserrat in Monistrol de Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain. It is notable for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat. The monastery was f ...

, where a federalist program was defined. Soon after, the

Democratic Union of the Valencian Country Democratic Union of the Valencian Country (in Catalan: ''Unió Democràtica del País Valencià'', UDPV) was a political party in the Valencian Country, Spain. It was founded clandestinely in the University of Valencia in 1962. The party was illeg ...

(UDPV) joined the team, while Social Christian Democracy was transformed in the

(FPD) in 1975. In any case, the team doesn't developed a unified political action, with each of the parties, especially the Basque and Catalan nationalists, acting for free. In 1976 the

Galician People's Party The Galician People's Party ( gl, Partido Popular Galego, gl, Partido Popular Gallego, PPG) was a Galician political party in the first years of the Spanish democracy. History It was founded in July 1976 as a result of the union of the Democr ...

(PPG) was created, including militants of the Galician Democratic Left, which participated in the activities of the team but not integrated into it. In 1977, Democratic Left and the Democratic People's Federation joined creating the

(FDC). In the general elections of 1977, the candidacy of the Christian Democratic Team of the Spanish State was a coalition between the FPD and ID, including UDPV in the current

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

but without the Galician People's Party although supporting him, and it doesn't presented candidates in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, where it supported the Union of the Center and Christian Democracy of Catalonia, a coalition that included UDC, or the Basque Country, where it supported

Basque Christian Democracy Basque Christian Democracy ( es, Democracia Cristiana Vasca, DCV; eu, Euskal Kristau Demokrazia, EKD) was a Basque Country Christian-democratic party active during the Spanish transition to democracy - legalized in 1977. Although it was the on ...

. The results were very bad (215,841 votes, 1.18%) without getting the team any seats in Congress, and it was dissolved and its members defected to the Union of the Democratic Centre or People's Alliance.

Members

At the time of the 1977 election, the Christian Democratic Team of the Spanish State was comprised *

*** Christian Democracy of Castile ***

*** Murcian Christian Democracy *** Western Christian Democracy *** Aragonese Christian Democracy *** Andalusian Democratic People's Party ** Democratic Left *

Union of the Centre and Christian Democracy of Catalonia Union of the Centre and Christian Democracy of Catalonia ( ca, Unió del Centre i la Democràcia Cristiana de Catalunya, UCiDCC) was an electoral coalition formed in Catalonia in December 1976 to contest the Spanish Congress of Deputies election ...

Catalan Centre Catalan Centre ( ca, Centre Català) was a Spanish political party of the Catalan region born during the Spanish transition to democracy in 1976. It was part of the Union of the Centre and Christian Democracy of Catalonia (UCiDCC) in the 1977 Span ...

* Navarrese People's Rallyhttp://www.losgenoveses.net/Personajes%20Populares/Perezdeloscobos/biografia%20y%20ocurrencias/Perez%20de%20los%20Cobos%20Antonio.%20JEC.Candidato%20Fuerza%20Nueva%20Congreso.%201977.pdf

References

* Donato Barba, ''La oposición durante el franquismo'', 2001, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian Democratic Team Of The Spanish State Defunct political party alliances in Spain 1973 establishments in Spain 1977 disestablishments in Spain Political parties established in 1973 Political parties disestablished in 1977