Social Democracy (, SOCDEM), known as the Czech Social Democratic Party (, ÃÂSSD) until 10 June 2023, is a social democratic political party in the Czech Republic. Sitting on the centre-left of the political spectrum, it is a member of the Party of European Socialists, the Socialist International, and the Progressive Alliance. Masaryk Democratic Academy is the party-affiliated's think tank.
The ÃÂSSD was a junior coalition party within Second cabinet of Andrej Babià ¡' minority government from June 2018, and was a senior coalition party from 1998 to 2006 and from 2013 to 2017. It held 15 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic following the 2017 Czech parliamentary election in which the party lost 35 seats. From 2018 to 2021, the party was led by Jan HamáÃÂek, who has since been replaced by Michal à  marda as leader after the 2021 Czech parliamentary election, in which the party lost all of its seats after falling below 5%.
The Social Democratic Czechoslavonic party in Austria () was a political group founded on 7 April 1878 in Austria-Hungary as a regional wing of the Social Democratic Party of Austria. Founded in BÃ Âevnov atop earlier social democratic initiatives, such as the Ouls, it represented much of the Kingdom of Bohemia in the Austrian parliament, and its significant role in the political life of the empire was one of the factors that led to the creation of an independent Czechoslovakia. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I, the party became one of the leading parties of the first Czechoslovak Republic. Its members were split over whether to join the Comintern, which in 1921 resulted in the fracturing of the party, with a large part of its membership then forming the new Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
During the occupation of the Czech lands by Nazi Germany, the party was officially abolished, but its members organized resistance movements contrary to the laws of the German-controlled Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, both at home and abroad. After the re-establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1945, the party returned to its pre-war structure and became a member of the National Front which formed a new governing coalition. In 1948, after the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia gained a parliamentary majority, the Czech Social Democratic Party was incorporated into the Communist Party. At the time of the Prague Spring, a reformist movement in 1968, there were talks about allowing the recreation of a social democratic party, but Soviet intervention put an end to such ideas. It was only after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that the party was recreated. Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which came into effect on 1 January 1993, the ÃÂSSD has been one of the major political parties of the Czech Republic, and until October 2017 was always one of the two parties with the largest number of seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
At the 1998 Czech parliamentary election, the party won the largest number of seats but failed to form a coalition government, so formed a minority government under its leader Miloà ¡ Zeman. With only 74 seats out of 200, the government had confidence and supply from the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), under the so-called Opposition Agreement. At the 2002 Czech parliamentary election, the party gained 70 of the 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic. Its leader VladimÃÂr à  pidla became prime minister, heading a coalition with two small centre-right parties, the Christian and Democratic Union â Czechoslovak People's Party (KDUâÂÂÃÂSL) and the Freedom Union â Democratic Union (US-DEU) until he was forced to resign in 2004 after the ÃÂSSD lost in the 2004 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic.
The next leader was Stanislav Gross, serving as leader from 26 June 2004 to 26 April 2005 and as prime minister from 4 August 2004 to 25 April 2005. He resigned after a scandal when he was unable to explain the source of money used to buy his house. The successor of Gross as prime minister was Jià ÂàParoubek, while Bohuslav Sobotka became acting party leader from 26 April 2005 to 13 May 2006. Paroubek was then elected as the new party leader in the run-up to the 2006 Czech parliamentary election, at which the party won 32.3% of the vote and 74 out of 200 seats. The election at first caused a stalemate, since the centre-right parties plus the Green Party and the centre-left parties each had exactly 100 seats. The stalemate was broken when two ÃÂSSD deputies, Miloà ¡ MelÃÂák and Michal Pohanka, abstained during a vote of confidence, allowing a coalition of the Civic Democrats (ODS), the KDU-ÃÂSL, and the Green Party to form a government, while the ÃÂSSD went into opposition.
At the 2010 Czech parliamentary election, the ÃÂSSD gained 22.08% of the vote but remained the largest party, with 56 seats. Failing to form a governing coalition, it remained in opposition to a government coalition of the ODS, conservative TOP 09 and conservative-liberal Public Affairs parties. Paroubek resigned as leader on 7 June and was succeeded by Sobotka. It remained the largest party after the 2013 Czech parliamentary election, and in December of the same year formed a governing coalition with the populist ANO 2011 and the centrist Christian and Democratic Union â Czechoslovak People's Party. The leader of ÃÂSSD, Bohuslav Sobotka, became the new Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.
The party suffered heavy losses in the 2017 Czech parliamentary election and was reduced to 15 seats, the worst result in its history. ÃÂSSD suffered another defeat in the Prague Municipal, local and Senate elections in 2018. ÃÂSSD lost 12 senators (only one managed to win re-election), all Prague deputies and more than half of their local councillors. In 2019 ÃÂSSD lost all their representatives in the European Parliament. Some political commentators have interpreted the string of poor results as a sign of ÃÂSSD losing their position in national politics. ÃÂSSD suffered another defeat in 2020 Regional Elections and Senate elections, when they lost 10 senators (none re-elected) and 97 regional deputies. From 2018 to 2021, ÃÂSSD had Jan HamáÃÂek as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Jana MaláÃÂová as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, LubomÃÂr Zaorálek as Minister of Culture, and Miroslav Toman as Minister of Agriculture.
In the 2021 election the party fell short of the 5% threshold and subsequently lost all of its seats in the Chamber of Deputies. This came as a shock to much of the party membership, who were reportedly optimistic about party results even as predictions showed party losing its representation. Party chair Jan HamáÃÂek resigned on the election day, as some high-ranking members blamed ANO for the loss.
Later that year, Mayor of the Nové MÃÂsto na MoravàMichal à  marda defeated former Minister of Labor Jana MaláÃÂová in the leadership contest, vowing to return the party to Parliament. He also said he does not want to repeat the cooperation with ANO, as he reckoned that it will not exist when the next parliamentary election is held.
At its 2023, the party elected to change its name to just Social Democracy, and adopt a new visual identity with a new logo. Ã Â marda was reelected as chairman, claiming that the party will be an alternative to both a Spolu-led government and an ANO-led opposition. He also says he sees the party back at a 30% vote share in four years and at 10% in the next parliamentary election, claiming that under his leadership, SOCDEM will not form a government with ANO, ODS, TOP 09, SPD or KSÃÂM.
For the 2023 Czech presidential election, the party nominated a trade union leader Josef Stà Âedula, though he dropped out shortly before the election. à  marda refused to support any other candidate, but called on his fellow party members to vote against Andrej Babià ¡, Jaroslav Baà ¡ta and Karel Divià ¡.
Former party leader LubomÃÂr Zaorálek was selected as the party's lead candidate for the 2024 European Parliament election. The party had chosen to run independently, after coalition talks with the Greens failed, but opted to invite Budoucnost members on its list. SOCDEM received 1.86% of the vote share at the election, failing to enter the European Parliament for the second consecutive time, and finishing 9th overall. à  marda, describing the result as his personal failure, called for a new leadership election, blaming the party disunity for the result.
After the unsuccessful election, Jana MaláÃÂová was elected chairwoman of the party, defeating former Minister for Human Rights Jià ÂàDienstbier Jr.. MaláÃÂová called for the party to shift to the left and called for a Czech version of the French New Ecological and Social People's Union alliance. Doing so, she refused to work with KSÃÂM, causing a stir among some party members. Later, former ministers Jan Petà ÂÃÂÃÂek, Petra Buzková and former party leader Jan HamáÃÂek had left the party in protest.
Shortly after being elected, MaláÃÂová began talks with the StaÃÂilo! alliance, seeking cooperation for the 2025 Czech parliamentary election, citing the success of the French NUPES. This resulted in further protests from party members as well as the Young Social Democrats, which warned against another mass departure of members if SOCDEM collaborates with StaÃÂilo!.
In February 2025, MaláÃÂová announced that the talks had broken down, saying that StaÃÂilo! was "not left-wing enough" and that it focused on anti-system politics rather than on social-economical issues. The party has added that it is still open to cooperation with other subjects.
On 7 April 2025, former MEP Libor RouÃÂek left the party in protest against SOCDEM leaders secret negotiations with ANO for places on ANO's candidate lists for the 2025 Czech parliamentary election.
On 25 June 2025, SOCDEM leaders released a press release where they invited StaÃÂilo! to cooperate for the 2025 Czech parliamentary election again. Former Minister for Human Rights Jià ÂàDienstbier Jr., Senator Petr VÃÂcha, former MP Václav Votava, former MEP Miroslav Poche and governor of Pardubice Region Martin Netolický left the party in protest. Former Czech president, PM and ÃÂSSD chairman Miloà ¡ Zeman commented cooperation between SOCDEM and StaÃÂilo! as "sensible solution".
On 17 July 2025, both StaÃÂilo! and SOCDEM agreed on cooperation for the 2025 Czech parliamentary election. Former SOCDEM leader Michal à  marda announced that he will leave the party in protest.
On 21 July 2025, MaláÃÂová at the StaÃÂilo! press conference announced that she will lead StaÃÂilo! in Prague, vice-chairman Jià ÂàNedvÃÂd in Karlovy Vary Region and first vice-chairman LubomÃÂr Zaorálek would be listed second in Moravian-Silesian Region after StaÃÂilo! leader Kateà Âina KoneÃÂná. Forty SOCDEM members would be listed on StaÃÂilo! candidate lists.
The party used to hold pro-European views until early 2020s. However, in August 2025, the party pledged to promote and follow the program of StaÃÂilo!, which includes reconsideration and a referendum on the Czech Republic's withdrawal from NATO and the European Union. MaláÃÂová stated that she sees no contradictions between the programs of SOCDEM and StaÃÂilo!, arguing that their programs are "98% similar" and that SOCDEM "has long supported a general referendum, including on foreign policy issues". Czech political scientists TomÃ¡à ¡ Cirhan and Mattia Collin wrote that since entering cooperation with StaÃÂilo!, SOCDEM has shifted "towards a less pro-European stance and a more favourable position on Russia", and became increasingly divided in terms of stances in GAL-TAN dimension (progressive and traditional values on social issues).
StaÃÂilo! failed to reach 5% threshold to get in parliament, thus SOCDEM failed to gain any deputies. On 6 October 2025, MáláÃÂová announced that SOCDEM leaders would resign at an extraordinary congress.
On 13 December 2025, Jià ÂàNedvÃÂd was elected in a SOCDEM leadership election, with 69 out of 133 votes, defeating Petr PavlÃÂk and Petr Hà ¯la. Former Minister for Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Jan Chvojka, former Minister of Regional Development Radko MartÃÂnek, former Chairman of the SOCDEM Prague organization Petr PavlÃÂk, the mayor of Náchod Jan Birke and the former PM and European Commissioner VladimÃÂr à  pidla left the party in protest.
Czech lands as part of Austria-Hungary:
In economic matters, the ÃÂSSD party platform is typical of Western European social democratic parties. It supports a mixed economy, a strong welfare state, and progressive taxation. In foreign policy, it supports European integration, including joining the Eurozone, and is critical of the foreign policy of the United States, especially when in opposition, though it does not oppose membership of the Czech Republic in NATO.
<div style=display:inline-table>
</div> <div style=display:inline-table>
</div>