The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) is a liberal-conservative eurosceptic political party in the Czech Republic which was founded on 21 April 1991 by Vaclav Klaus as the pro-free market wing of the Civic Forum. The ODS was modelled on the British Conservative Party, and it won the 1992 elections and became one of the strongest parties in the country, alongside the CSSD. In 2013, the party was annihilated due to the rise of Andrej Babis' conservative-liberal ANO 2011 party, later returning to be the second-largest party in 2017. The ODS' basic principles were "low taxes, public finances, and future without debts, support for families with children, addressable social system, reducing bureaucracy, better conditions for business, a safe state with the transatlantic links. No tricks and populism." The ODS also advocated for Euroscepticism and gun rights.
The party drew most of its support from free-market advocates (like entrepreneurs, business owners, and supporters of deregulation), urban professionals (including white-collar workers, educated individuals, and finance, technology and services workers), conservative voters (who valued traditional family values, national identity, and law and order), anti-establishment and Eurosceptic voters (who were skeptical of further European integration), and older voters (who identified with the party's roots int the anti-communist movement and appreciated the country's transition to a market economy).
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