The Four-Coalition ( cs, Čtyřkoalice), also translated as the Coalition of Four or Quad-Coalition, abbreviated to 4K, was a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

political alliance in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

between 1998 and 2002. The four member parties were: *

Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

(KDU–ČSL), an established, large Christian democratic party * Freedom Union (US), a new, large

conservative liberal Conservative liberalism or right-liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. M. Gallagher, M. Laver and P. Mair, ''Repre ...

party that split from the Civic Democrats * Democratic Union (DEU), an established, small

party *

Civic Democratic Alliance The Civic Democratic Alliance ( cs, Občanská demokratická aliance, ODA) was a conservative-liberal political party in the Czech Republic, active between 1989 (founded shortly after the Velvet revolution) and 2007. The ODA was part of govern ...

(ODA), an established, small

liberal conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by li ...

party The 4K was formed after the creation of the Opposition Agreement by the

Czech Social Democratic Party The Czech Social Democratic Party ( cs, Česká strana sociálně demokratická, ČSSD, ) is a social-democratic political party in the Czech Republic. Sitting on the centre-left of the political spectrum and holding pro-European views, it is a ...

and Civic Democratic Party in the aftermath of the 1998 election to the Chamber of Deputies. The coalition aimed to provide 'real opposition' to the government.Hanley (2008), p. 144 The parties first participated together in the 1998 Senate election, achieving considerable success and winning 13 of the 27 seats up for election. The coalition formalised and centralised, with the merger of the US and DEU to form

Freedom Union – Democratic Union The Freedom Union–Democratic Union ( cs, Unie Svobody–Demokratická unie, US–DEU) was a small pro-European liberal party in the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2011. Freedom Union was founded in January 1998 by former members of the Civic Dem ...

(US-DEU) reducing the number of parties to three. However, the overbearing size of the KDU–ČSL – significantly larger than the others – lent instability to the coalition, as KDU–ČSL members used the coalition to further their intra-party factions.Hanley (2008), p. 147 The KDU–ČSL put pressure on the ODA to further consolidate, either reforming its long-standing debts or merging with the US-DEU. The ODA refused, and withdrew from the Four-Coalition as a result. In the 2002 election to the Chamber, the KDU–ČSL and US-DEU ran on a looser joint ticket called 'Coalition' (''Koalice''), and won 31 seats and 14% of the vote—down from the combined 39 seats and 19% of votes in the 1998 election.

Election results

Chamber of Deputies

Senate

^* Places are by number of votes gained.

Regional Assemblies

Footnotes

References

* {{cite book , title=The New Right in the New Europe: Czech transformation and right-wing politics, 1989-2006 , last=Hanley , first=Sean , year=2008 , publisher=Routledge , location=London , isbn=978-0-415-34135-6 Conservative parties in the Czech Republic Liberal parties in the Czech Republic Defunct political party alliances in the Czech Republic Political parties established in 1998 Political parties disestablished in 2002 KDU-ČSL Civic Democratic Alliance Freedom Union – Democratic Union