Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 28âÂÂ29 May 2010 to elect the 200 members of the Chamber of Deputies. The elections had been expected to take place sometime before the end of 2009, but was postponed due to legal challenges. Before the election, the country had been governed by a caretaker administration headed by Jan Fischer. The Czech Social Democratic Party (ÃÂSSD) was the front-runner of the election and its leader Jià ÂàParoubek was the favourite to become the new prime minister.
ÃÂSSD came first in the election, although they suffered significant losses in seats and the popular vote. The conservative Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and TOP 09 followed in second and third, with the Communist Party finishing fourth. ÃÂSSD leader Jià ÂàParoubek resigned after the election, conceding that a conservative coalition government appeared likely due to the rise in support for two new right-wing parties: TOP 09 and Public Affairs (VV). In June, a centre-right coalition of ODS, TOP 09, and VV was formed, with Petr NeÃÂas becoming the prime minister.
On 24 March 2009, after four previous failed attempts, the opposition ÃÂSSD succeeded in passing a no confidence vote against the government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek (ODS) in the lower house of the Czech parliament. The measure passed with 101 votes to 96, with several members of Topolánek's own party voting with the opposition.
On 28 March 2009, ÃÂSSD leader Jià ÂàParoubek and Topolánek agreed to hold early elections in October 2009. They later agreed to form an interim government of experts (before the end of the Czech EU presidency), with half of the government nominated by ÃÂSSD and half by two parties of the incumbent government (ODS and The Greens; the third party KDUâÂÂÃÂSL did not participate), and that early elections would be held on 16âÂÂ17 October 2009. On 5 April 2009, Paroubek and Topolánek agreed on Jan Fischer, the head of the national statistical office, as the interim prime minister, to take over on 8 May 2009, and stated that elections would be held by 15 October 2009, most likely on 9âÂÂ10 October 2009.
The newly founded party Tradition Responsibility Prosperity 09 (TOP 09), which had split off from the KDUâÂÂÃÂSL, also contested the election. Some polls showed the party to be in fourth place, closely behind the Communist Party.
The election date was initially scheduled for 1 July 2009, but ex-ÃÂSSD Independent MP Miloà ¡ MelÃÂák filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court, on the grounds that he had a right to sit in parliament for a full term, and the election was postponed while the court examined the legality of the law setting the election date. A hearing was scheduled for 10 September 2009; if the court ruled against the complaint at that hearing, elections would be held as planned, but politicians agreed that they would rather change the constitution to simplify the procedure of calling early elections, and using the new provisions, the election would be held with a delay of at most one month, regardless of the court's decision, most likely on 6âÂÂ7 November.
However, the Constitutional Court viewed the constitutional amendment calling for one-off early elections as a retroactive decision in violation of the existing constitutional procedures regulating early elections, and struck down the act on the grounds that it violated the procedure for constitutional amendments, the right to vote, and the inalienable principle of a law-abiding state. As the Court ruled the election date invalid, the laws (a constitutional amendment and a law shortening election deadlines) were passed on 11 September as planned. President Klaus signed the laws on 12 September, and parliament planned to dissolve itself on 15 September. MelÃÂák stated, however, that he would likely file another complaint if this plan went ahead.
In a surprise move, ÃÂSSD announced on 15 September that it would not vote in favour of dissolution, as the new law was likely to be challenged by MelÃÂák again, and this would again call the legality of the election into question; they were now in favour of elections in mid-2010, on the initially scheduled dates. ÃÂSSD had 71 seats and needed ten more MPs to support their position to delay the election, but it was considered likely that they would succeed in blocking the election. The Christian and Democratic Union (KDU-ÃÂSL) also withdrew their support for early elections, meaning the election would be held in May 2010.
Following controversial comments about the Catholic Church, Jews and homosexuals, ODS chairman Topolánek withdrew from the election and resigned as party leader on 26 March 2010. He was replaced by Petr NeÃÂas.
Issues that featured heavily in the campaign included the Greek government-debt crisis, the 2008 financial crisis, the possibility of national bankruptcy, and corruption.
ODS launched its campaign on 16 March 2010, with reducing unemployment as the main focus. The party stated it would support shorter working periods and employment of graduates and seniors. The party used mannequins of fictional characters Václav Dobrák and Marie Sluà ¡ná as campaign mascots and the campaign slogans "ODS is the solution" and "It won't happen without your vote."
When their main rival ÃÂSSD used blue ambulances in their campaign to attack ODS, the party reacted by parking a demolished orange ambulance outside the Chamber of Deputies to depict how healthcare would look if ÃÂSSD led the government.
The previous leader of ODS, former prime minister Mirek Topolánek, was replaced as leader by Petr NeÃÂas on 26 March 2010, considered a more acceptable and popular candidate than Topolánek. ÃÂSSD leader Jià ÂàParoubek stated that he could cooperate with NeÃÂas in some circumstances. NeÃÂas rejected Paroubek's comments and stated that ODS would not form a Grand coalition with ÃÂSSD after the election.
ODS started focusing on economics and public finances in April 2010, promising to reduce public debt to avoid bankruptcy, and using the example of Greece to warn against ÃÂSSD. The party also used negative campaigning against ÃÂSSD, focused primarily on Paroubek.
The Civic Democrats conducted an active campaign on the internet, communicating with potential voters on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The party held an online "virtual demonstration" against ÃÂSSD. On 30 April 2010, ODS released an election advert entitled "Your vote", commemorating the trial of Milada Horáková and the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, and warning against Social Democrats and Communists. The clip urged Jià ÂàParoubek to resign as ÃÂSSD leader, a response to Paroubek's appeal to some ODS politicians to quit politics.
NeÃÂas held campaign events in multiple towns across the Czech Republic, meeting potential voters. ODS also featured NeÃÂas heavily in its billboard campaign, launched in May 2010, which presented him as a candidate of "responsible politics".
NeÃÂas attacked ÃÂSSD over the election debate, criticising the fact that Paroubek had agreed to just three debates, and accusing him of avoiding a confrontation with him. The first head-to-head debate between NeÃÂas and Paroubek was held on 12 April 2018, resulting in no clear winner, according to analysts. A second debate was held on 23 May 2010, also with no clear winner. The last debate was held on 26 May 2010, with journalists judging NeÃÂas to have been better prepared and more confident than Paroubek, and the victor of the debate.
The party published campaign newspapers with the title JasnÃÂ ("Of Course"), introducing their policies and candidates.
ODS launched the final phase of its campaign, called "120 Hours for Victory", on 23 May 2010. NeÃÂas said that ODS had to "stop Jià ÂàParoubek and the Communists". 120 Hours for Victory included performances by Czech singers such as Eva Pilarová, Helena Zeà ¥ová, Ivan Mládek, Tereza Kerndlová and Jitka Zelenková, attended by hundreds of party supporters. The party invited foreign politicians who came to the event to support ODS. The party was endorsed by British prime minister David Cameron and Slovak politician Iveta RadiÃÂová who both attended the event.
ÃÂSSD was led into the election by former prime minister Jià ÂàParoubek. The party was considered the front-runner in the election and Paroubek was believed to be most likely to form the new government. The party's campaign slogans were "A better future for ordinary people" and "Change and Hope".
ÃÂSSD launched their campaign on 22 April 2010. Paroubek stated that the party planned to restore economic growth. The party held large rallies in Czech towns, which ceased in May 2010 when ÃÂSSD MP Bohuslav Sobotka was physically attacked by an opponent of the party. ÃÂSSD politicians decided to meet voters at factories and schools instead. The party also put a lot of effort into a telephone campaign, in which ÃÂSSD politicians phoned people to ask which party they were planning to vote for and ask them about their ideas.
ÃÂSSD made heavy use of negative campaigning directed as ODS and TOP 09, with half of their campaign billboards attacking those two parties. Slogans used on billboards included "Let's stop ODS and TOP 09 on 28 May" or "If you don't vote, you will pay by getting dismissed without cause." The party published campaign newspapers called Health Newspapers, attacking the healthcare plans of the two right-wing parties.
ÃÂSSD concluded its campaign with the slogan "Work and Prosperity", and handed out 100,000 doughnuts at events for party supporters. ÃÂSSD campaign manager Jaroslav TvrdÃÂk stated that the party wanted to "make it more pleasant for people to wake up, and remind them why is voting important".
The Communist Party, led by VojtÃÂch Filip, ran a campaign focused on young voters, and held meetings with potential voters in town squares around the country, culminating in a huge rally on NámÃÂstàRepubliky, Prague. Younger party activists also attended meetings to attract young voters. The party's campaign used the slogan "With the People, For the People" and also featured celebrities who supported the party, such as singers Martin Maxa and Jana Kociánová.
TOP 09 was founded by Miroslav Kalousek in June 2009. Karel Schwarzenberg was elected leader of the new party, and they entered a partnership with Mayors and Independents. TOP 09 decided to target conservative voters and began raising funds for their campaign, which was launched on 27 April 2010. Schwarzenberg promised a fight against corruption, healthcare reform, and moral renewal of the country. The party also attacked Public Affairs. The campaign, which was inspired by Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, featured billboards using the slogan "more than you think".
Public Affairs were led by author and journalist Radek John. The party launched its campaign on 20 April 2010, with John stating that he believed the party would receive more than 10% of votes. The party promised an end to "political dinosaurs" and promised to fight against corruption.
KDUâÂÂÃÂSL, led by Cyril Svoboda, launched its campaign on 8 April 2010. The party had a shortage of campaign funding, and focused on a personal campaign, with party leaders visiting workplaces, social institutions and retirement homes. KDU-ÃÂSL used the slogans "KDU-ÃÂSL, the better in us" and "A good day is when ..."
The Green Party, led by Ondà Âej Lià ¡ka, launched its campaign on 27 April 2010, which featured prominent supporters of the party such as former president Václav Havel, Lenka Dusilová, and Meda Mládková.
The Greens focused heavily on communicating directly with citizens and their internet campaign. Lià ¡ka stated that the Greens wanted to be different from the big parties and be "modest and sincere". The Greens considered TOP 09 and Public Affairs to be their main rivals. Their campaign focused on the environment and support for a healthy lifestyle, while also telling voters that their economic programme was good for the Czech Republic.
The party concluded its campaign by releasing three video adverts in which party supporters tried to convince people to vote for them.
Party of Civic Rights was led by former prime minister Miloà ¡ Zeman, who stated that party's aim was to enter the Chamber of Deputies. Zeman used a bus called "Zemák" for his campaign.
Sovereignty launched its campaign in January 2010, which focused heavily on leader Jana Boboà ¡ÃÂková. The party used a campaign bus called Bobobus.
Defenestration 2010 was an independent initiative organised by Frantià ¡ek Janouch and Lenka Procházková, urging voters to use their preferential votes to help elect lesser known politicians, as they were "less likely to be involved in corruption".
Replace Politicians was an independent initiative supported by celebrities such as Dan Bárta, Aneta Langerová, Radek Banga, Viktor Preiss and David Koller, calling for voters to support smaller parties. The initiative held events and concerts, and the band Nightwork released a video clip to support the initiative.
The leaders of the two largest parties, Petr NeÃÂas and Jià ÂàParoubek, appeared in four head-to-head debates. The first debate was organised by ÃÂeská televize in April 2010. The second was organised by Prima televize, and was a calm debate without personal attacks. The third debate was more aggressive and featured a number of personal attacks. The final debate was organised by ÃÂeská televize and was based on the format of debates organised by the BBC in the United Kingdom.
The centre-left ÃÂSSD won the most votes, with 22.1%. The conservative ODS and TOP 09 followed with 20.2% and 16.7% respectively. The Communist Party came fourth with 11.3%, ahead of the centre-right Public Affairs (VV) which received 10.9%. It was the first time that the Communists had finished lower than third in a Czech election. TOP 09 and VV won seats in Parliament for the first time. The Christian Democrats (4.4%), the Party of Civic Rights (4.3%), the Green Party (2.4%), and Sovereignty (3.7%), failed to gain the 5% necessary to enter parliament. Voter turnout was 62.6% nationally, highest in Prague-West District (71.69%) and lowest in Sokolov District (50.89%). The results were a setback for the Czech Republic's largest parties, ÃÂSSD and ODS. President Václav Klaus said that the results would cause a "fundamental weakening" of the two parties.
After the election results were announced, Jià ÂàParoubek resigned as ÃÂSSD leader, citing disappointment with the outcome, and saying that "it seems that people have chosen the direction the republic should go in and it is a different direction than the one ÃÂSSD were offering". ÃÂSSD had led comfortably in polling before the election, and its 22% share of the vote was a significant drop from the party's 32% in the 2006 election. Paroubek conceded that a conservative coalition government was likely.
KDU-ÃÂSL failed to enter the parliament for the first time in the party's history. Party leader Cyril Svoboda admitted disappointment, and took responsibility for the result, resigning as leader on 6 June 2010. Michaela à  ojdrová became acting leader.
The Green Party also dropped out of the Chamber of Deputies. Party leader Ondà Âej Lià ¡ka resigned and announced a snap leadership election.
ODS, TOP 09 and VV had all committed to government spending cuts, raising the prospect of the formation of a fiscally conservative cabinet. The leaders of the three parties held coalition talks shortly after the results were published. ODS leader Petr NeÃÂas said that the three parties had a "common will" to form a government, stating that their financial plans would work together to help the country avoid a crisis similar to the one affecting Greece at the time. Negotiations between the three parties about the formation of a new government started on 2 June 2010, and the parties signed a proclamation to continue negotiations.
After extensive talks regarding the terms of the coalition, NeÃÂas was appointed prime minister on 28 June 2010. Public Affairs held a referendum among party members to decide whether to join the new government. The result was announced on 12 July 2018, with 2,912 members voting in favour and 815 against. The coalition agreement was signed on the same day.