Democratic Coalition (, CD) was a Spanish electoral coalition formed in December 1978 to contest the general election the following year, after the approval of the Constitution.
History
In the first weeks, the coalition - after its foundation on 16 December 1978 - adopted the names Spanish Democratic Confederation () or Progressive Democratic Confederation () before changing its name to Democratic Coalition on 9 January 1979.
Alfonso Osorio and
José María de Areilza
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...
had been ministers in the UCD governments, who resigned from them at different times because of disagreements with President
Adolfo Suárez
Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected Prime Minister of Spain, prime minister since the Second Spanish Republi ...
. The presidential candidate of the government was
Manuel Fraga
Manuel Fraga Iribarne (; 23 November 1922 – 15 January 2012) was a Spanish professor and politician during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, who was also one of the founders of the People's Alliance (Spain), People's Alliance (AP). Fraga ...
.
It won nine seats in the Congress of Deputies, nearly half of its predecessor,
People's Alliance People's Alliance may refer to:
* People's Alliance ( ''Volksunie''), Belgian political party which split in 2001 into the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie and Spirit
* People's Alliance (Bulgaria), a Bulgarian party from 1921 to 1923
* People's Alliance ( ...
, had obtained in the
1977 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 1977.
Africa
* 1977 Afars and Issas Constituent Assembly election
* 1977 Algerian legislative election
* 1977 Gambian general election
* 1976–1977 Guinea-Bissau legislative election
* 1977 Malagasy ...
. Given the dismal results, Fraga resigned as leader of the coalition and went solo in front of People's Alliance.
In the case of the 1979 municipal elections, Democratic Coalition withdrew in March of that year their lists of candidates for Madrid, Aviles, Cordoba, Bilbao and other cities.
The parliamentary group of Democratic Coalition continued as such until the 1982 general elections. In that year, People's Alliance formed with other parties a broad coalition that would later be known as the People's Coalition.
Composition
The coalition brought together at the time of the 1979 election to various center-right parties:
*
People's Alliance People's Alliance may refer to:
* People's Alliance ( ''Volksunie''), Belgian political party which split in 2001 into the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie and Spirit
* People's Alliance (Bulgaria), a Bulgarian party from 1921 to 1923
* People's Alliance ( ...
(AP) of
Manuel Fraga Iribarne
Manuel Fraga Iribarne (; 23 November 1922 – 15 January 2012) was a Spanish professor and politician during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, who was also one of the founders of the People's Alliance (AP). Fraga was Minister of Informatio ...
José María de Areilza
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...