The Czech Crown
(Monarchist Party of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia)
Koruna Česká (monarchistická strana Čech, Moravy a Slezska)
AbbreviationMonarchiste.cz
KČ (1991–2018)
PresidentVojtěch Círus
Vice PresidentLuboš Samuel Erbandorf
Founded25 November 1990[note 1]
Preceded byCzech Children Movement
HeadquartersRevoluční 1082/8, Prague 1
NewspaperMonarchistický zpravodaj
Monarchistické listy
Think tankRoyal Institute of Political Science
Youth wingYoung monarchists
Membership (2015)195[1]
IdeologyMonarchism
Legitimism
Conservatism
Christian Democracy
Soft Euroscepticism
Political positionCenter-right to right-wing
International affiliationInternational Monarchist Conference[2]
ColoursBlue, gold
Slogan„The King belongs to the Castle“
Senate[note 2]
0 / 81
Local councils
4 / 61,892
Party flag
Website
korunaceska.cz

Czech Crown (Monarchist Party of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia) (Czech: Koruna Česká (monarchistická strana Čech, Moravy a Slezska), Monarchiste.cz) is a Czech monarchist political party that strives for the restoration of Czech monarchy with the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. The party was founded in 1990 and its current leader is Vojtěch Círus. In the 2017 Czech legislative election Koruna Česká ran in a coalition with TOP 09 and received 5.35% of the votes. In the 2019 European Parliament election it ran together with KDU-ČSL and received 7.24% of the votes.

History

Political movement

Koruna Česká is one of the oldest active political parties in the Czech Republic founded after the end of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Its precursor was a monarchist civic initiative České děti ("Czech Children") founded in 1988 by Petr Placák as a dissident group against the communist regime. They published a samizdat magazine called Koruna.

Another version of the logo of the Koruna Česká (monarchist party of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia)
Another version of the logo of the Czech Crown (monarchist party of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia)

Koruna Česká as a political movement was founded on 25 November 1990 in Švanda Theatre in Prague, officially named Czech Crown (Royalist Movement of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia). Dalibor Stejskal was elected as its first leader. On 14 December 1991 the first General Assembly of Koruna Česká convened.[1] In 1993 KČ formed a political partnership with the Christian Democratic Party of Václav Benda[3] and in the following years they closely cooperated, until the latter merged into the Civic Democratic Party in 1996.[1]

The second leader of KČ was Dalibor Pták (1997–1999) and the third one was Milan Schelinger (1999–2003), a musician and brother of a famous Czech rock Singer Jiří Schelinger. In 2003 KČ was transformed from a political movement into a political party.

Political party

In May 2003 Schelinger resigned as the leader of the party[4] and in November 2003 Václav Srb, who had been the party's hejtman of Bohemia was elected as the new leader. Since 2004 the party actively contested in every elections. In 2006 Czech municipal elections they gained first local councillors and mayors.

While in the early years, the official position of KČ was that they have no authority to decide who would be the new Czech king, in 2007 KČ clarified its monarchist position as legitimism (actively supporting the claim of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine as descendants of Charles I of Austria, the last King of Bohemia).

In 2011 KČ suffered an internal crisis when a "conservative platform" was formed, critical of the policy of the party and striving to shift its political position more in a national conservative direction. The conservative platform tried to take over the party, but it was defeated during the XX General Assembly in November 2011. Many of its members then left the party and founded a conservative monarchist association called MONOS.

Fictional royal voting ticket for the presidential election 2013

In 2013 Czech presidential election, the first direct presidential election in the country, KČ boycotted the election, as it was contrary to its goal of unelected head of state. At the same time, an independent monarchist candidate, sculptor Emil Adamec announced his candidacy, but he failed to gather enough signatures of citizens to become a candidate. Some members of KČ supported him,[5] while others urged the party to support the candidacy of Karel Schwarzenberg as an aristocrat and a personal friend of the royal house. KČ remained neutral, but issued a statement that if monarchists want to participate, then Schwarzenberg is the best choice.[6] Some KČ members also created mock ballots for Karl von Habsburg as an heir to the throne, which garnered some media attention.[7][8]

In 2013 legislative election KČ competed in 11 of 14 regions. They were locally successful in Hlinná in Ústí nad Labem Region where they got 16% of votes.[9]

In 2014 Senate election a coalition candidate of KČ and ODS Lumír Aschenbrenner was successful in Plzeň. In the XXIII General Assembly on 29 November 2014 Petr Nohel defeated Petr Krátký with 72% of the vote to become the new leader of the party.

In 2017 legislative election Koruna Česká together with Conservative Party and Club of Committed Non-Party Members agreed on joint endorsement of TOP 09, while TOP 09 added candidates of the smaller parties on their list.[10][11][12] The TOP 09 list eventually received 5.3% of votes, winning seven seats in the parliament, none of them for KČ members.

In 2018 presidential election KČ again boycotted the election and endorsed their members to cast a fictional ballot for Karl von Habsburg.[13] In 2018 Czech Senate election Jitka Chalánková, an independent candidate running with the support of Koruna Česká and Conservative Party was successful.[14][15]

In the XXVII General Assembly in November 2018 Radim Špaček was elected as the new leader of the party.

In 2019 European Parliament election Koruna Česká together with other smaller parties made a coalition with KDU-ČSL and their list received 7.24% of the vote. After the election KČ suggested Archduke Karl von Habsburg as the next President of the European Commission and sent a formal request to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic to support him.[16] Since June 2019 Czech royalists have been heavily involved in the protests against Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and President Miloš Zeman as was reported by some Czech media and the International Monarchist League.[17]

Presidum

The composition of the Presidum resulting from the XXXth General Assembly held on 1 April 2023 in Kroměříž:[18][19]

  • President – Vojtěch Círus
  • Vice President – Luboš Samuel Erbandorf
  • Secretary General – Kateřina Boušková
  • Land governors:
    • Czech Provincial Governor – Luboš Samuel Erbandorf
    • Moravian Provincial Governor – Pavel Andrš
    • Silesian Provincial Governor – Romana Hegrová
  • Other presidium members: Jiří Čížek, Matěj Čadil, Jindřich Holub, Jan Konrád, Miroslav Pošvář

Presidents

# Person Photo Period
1 Dalibor Stejskal 19 December 1991 – 24 February 1996
2 Dalibor Pták 24 February 1996 – 3 June 1999
3 Milan Schelinger 3 June 1999 – 29 November 2003
4 Václav Srb 29 November 2003 – 29 November 2014
5 Petr Nohel 29 November 2014 – 24 November 2018
6 Radim Špaček 24 November 2018 – 1 April 2023
7 Vojtěch Círus from 1 April 2023

Honorary members of the Koruna Česká

Since 2015, at its general assemblies, the Koruna Česká has granted honorary membership to prominent public figures who are related to the party in thought and have contributed significantly to the promotion of its ideas.[20] Honorary membership in the Koruna Česká was awarded to the following personalities:

  • 2015: Milan Buben, Jan Royt, Jaroslav Maxmilián Kašparů
  • 2016: Jiří Rak, Jan Drocár
  • 2017: Hugo Mensdorff-Pouilly, Jan Vrabec
  • 2022: Zdeněk Prázdný[21]

Election results

Chamber of Deputies

Year Vote Seats
2006 0.13% 0
2010 0.07% 0
2013 0.17% 0
2017 5.35% [note 3] 0
2021 0.16% 0

European Parliament

Year Vote Seats
2004 0.21% 0
2009 0.19% 0
2014 0.16% 0
2019 7.24% [note 4] 0

Elected representatives

Mayors and municipal councillors

Representatives who have been nominated by or are members of the Koruna Česká are counted.

2014-2018

2018-2022

2022-2026

Senators

2014-2020

  • Lumír Aschenbrenner (coalition candidate ODS and Monarchiste.cz)

2018-2024

2020-2026

Notes

  1. ↑ Officially registered on 29 August 1991.
  2. ↑ Monarchiste.cz has a coalition senator with ODS, TOP 09, KDU-ČSL, ADS (Lumír Aschenbrenner).
  3. ↑ In coalition with TOP 09 and other parties
  4. ↑ In coalition with KDU-ČSL and other parties

References

  1. 1 2 3 Drnek, Jan (2016). Kronika KČ 1988–2016. Plzeň: Koruna Česká.
  2. ↑ Conférence Monarchiste Internationale (13 September 2011). "Monarchist Conference - Members". internationale.monarchiste.com. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  3. ↑ Benda, Václav; Stejskal, Dalibor (1993). "Smlouva mezi Korunou Českou a Křesťansko-demokratickou stranou o politickém partnerství". Koruna Česká, bulletin Royalistického hnutí Čech, Moravy a Slezska (1/1993).
  4. ↑ "Zprávy, novinky, informace, oznámení, termíny". Monarchistické listy: 2. Spring 2003.
  5. ↑ Adamec, Emil. "Poděkování za podporu". Monarchistický zpravodaj (51/2012): 4.
  6. ↑ "Presidentské volby 2013". Koruna Česká (in Czech). Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  7. ↑ "Plzeňan hlasoval pro dědice Habsburků, lístek si vyrobil sám". Mladá fronta DNES. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Šupálek, Michal (23 January 2013). "Prezidenta monarchista z Valtic nevolí, máme přece krále" (in Czech). Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "Značku s jménem Hlinné ozdobila korunka, monarchisté dostali 16 procent". Mladá fronta DNES. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  10. ↑ ČTK (9 May 2017). "Monarchisté a konzervativci podpoří ve sněmovních volbách TOP 09" (in Czech). Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  11. ↑ Novotný, Svatopluk. "SPOLEČNÉ TISKOVÉ PROHLÁŠENÍ politických subjektů: Koruna Česká (monarchistická strana Čech, Moravy a Slezska), Konzervativní strana a Klub angažovaných nestraníků – Koruna Česká – monarchistická strana Čech, Moravy a Slezska". korunaceska.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "Konzervativní strana: Viribus Unitis". konzervativnistrana.cz. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  13. ↑ "Prohlášení Koruny České k prezidentským volbám". Koruna Česká (in Czech). Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  14. ↑ Echo24 (12 June 2018). "Chalánková končí v TOP 09, do Senátu bude kandidovat jako nezávislá – Echo24.cz". echo24.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 31 July 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ "Výzva voličům pro 2. kolo voleb do Senátu". Koruna Česká (in Czech). Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  16. ↑ "Archduke Karl von Habsburg proposed as President of the European Commission". Royal Central. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  17. ↑ "Bohemian royalists heavily involved in ongoing protests in the Czech Republic". Royal Central. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  18. ↑ "Rejstřík politických stran a hnutí - Ministerstvo vnitra České republiky".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ↑ "Monarchisté si na XXX. generálním sněmu zvolili nové vedení strany - Koruna Česká" (in Czech). 4 April 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  20. ↑ "Čestní členové - Koruna Česká". Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  21. ↑ "TISKOVÁ ZPRÁVA K VÝSLEDKŮM XXIX. GENERÁLNÍHO SNĚMU - Koruna Česká" (in Czech). 22 March 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
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