View source for Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants

{{expand Czech|date=March 2024|topic=hist}}
{{Infobox political party
| colorcode     = {{party color|Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants}}
|name = Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants
| native_name   = {{langx|cs|Republikánská strana zemědělského a malorolnického lidu}}<br />{{langx|sk|Republikánska strana zemedelského a maloroľníckeho ľudu}}
|logo = [[File:RSZML emblem.png|100px|logo of the Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants]]
| leader         = [[Stanislav Kubr]]<br />[[Josef Žďárský]]<br />[[Antonín Švehla]]<br />[[Rudolf Beran]]
| foundation    = {{start date|1899|1|6|df=y}}
| dissolution   = {{end date|1938|11|22|df=y}}
| merged        = [[Party of National Unity (Czechoslovakia)|Party of National Unity]]
| youth_wing    = Republican Youth of Czechoslovak Countryside
| think_tank    = Association of<br />Agrarian Academics
| headquarters  = [[Prague]], [[Bohemia]], Czechoslovakia
| ideology      = [[Agrarianism]]<br />[[Conservatism]]
| position      = [[Centre-right]]
| newspaper     = ''Venkov''
| membership    = 670 000
| membership_year = 1936
| international = [[International Agrarian Bureau]]
| colours       = {{Color box|{{party color|Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants}}|border=darkgray}} [[Green]]
| country       = Czechoslovakia
}}
[[File:Znak agrární strany ve štítě domu, Borečnice.JPG|thumb|Cloverleaf – symbol of the party]]
The '''Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants''' ({{langx|cs|Republikánská strana zemědělského a malorolnického lidu}}, {{langx|sk|Republikánska strana zemedelského a maloroľníckeho ľudu}}, RSZML) was a [[centre-right]] [[agrarianism|agrarian party]] of [[Czechoslovakia]], seen as representing big business and agriculture. In the period up to 1935 it was the biggest and most influential political party in the country. Led by [[Antonín Švehla]] and [[Milan Hodža]], the party influenced Czechoslovak politics between [[World War I]] and [[World War II]]. It participated in the [[Pětka]] coalition governments, and it was a member of the [[International Agrarian Bureau]].
==History==
The party was established in 1922 as a merger of the Czech [[Agrarian Party (Austria-Hungary)|Agrarian Party]] and the Slovak [[National Republican and Peasant Party]].<ref name=VM>Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, p151 {{ISBN|0-313-23804-9}}</ref> In the [[1925 Czechoslovakian parliamentary election|1925 elections]] it won 45 of the 300 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, becoming the largest party in Parliament. In the same year it introduced an agrarian tariff which was seen as protecting the producers interest, motivated by the country's agrarian crisis. It is argued that it helped the Hungarians more than it did the Slovaks. Prime Minister [[František Udržal|Udržal]] was a member of the party, but he lost its support, which meant that he failed to hold his coalition together. Internal struggles within the party grew and the coalition government failed in July 1932.  It was consistently the strongest party, forming and dominating coalitions. It moved beyond its original agrarian base to reach middle-class voters.<ref>Sharon Werning Rivera, "Historical cleavages or transition mode? Influences on the emerging party systems in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia." ''Party Politics'' (1996) 2#2 : 177-208.</ref>
Other important figures were Josef Žďářský (Party President 1905-1909), [[Antonín Švehla]] (Party President 1909-1933 and Prime Minister 1922-1926, 1926-1929), [[František Udržal]] (Prime Minister 1929-1932), [[Jan Malypetr]] (Prime Minister 1932-1935) and [[Milan Hodža]] (Prime Minister 1935-1938) as well as [[Rudolf Beran]] (Party President 1935-1938 and Prime Minister 1938-1939).
The party was not allowed to reorganize after World War II.<ref name=VM/>
==Electoral results==
{| class=wikitable
|-
| colspan=7|[[Chamber of Deputies]]
|-
! Election year
! # of<br />overall votes
! % of<br />overall vote
! # of<br />overall seats won
! +/–
! Leader
! Position
|-
! [[1920 Czechoslovakian parliamentary election|1920]]
| 603,618 (#4)
| 9.74
| {{Composition bar|28|281|hex={{party color|Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants}}}}
| {{center|–}}
| {{center|[[Karel Prášek]]}}
| {{yes|Government}}
|-
! [[1925 Czechoslovakian parliamentary election|1925]]
| 970,498 (#'''1''')
| 13.66
| {{Composition bar|45|300|hex={{party color|Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants}}}}
| {{center|{{increase}} 17}}
| {{center|[[Antonín Švehla]]}}
| {{yes|Government}}
|-
! [[1929 Czechoslovakian parliamentary election|1929]]
| 1,105,498 (#'''1''')
| 15.0
| {{Composition bar|46|300|hex={{party color|Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants}}}}
| {{center|{{increase}} 1}}
| {{center|[[Antonín Švehla]]}}
| {{yes|Government}}
|-
! [[1935 Czechoslovakian parliamentary election|1935]]
| 1,176,628 (#2)
| 14.3
| {{Composition bar|45|300|hex={{party color|Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants}}}}
| {{center|{{decrease}} 1}}
| {{center|[[Rudolf Beran]]}}
| {{yes|Government}}
|}
{| class=wikitable
|-
| colspan=6|[[Senate]]
|-
! Election year
! # of<br />overall votes
! % of<br />overall vote
! # of<br />overall seats won
! +/–
! Leader
|-
! [[1920 Czechoslovakian parliamentary election|1920]]
| 530,388 (#4)
| 10.15
| {{Composition bar|14|142|hex={{party color|Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants}}}}
| {{center|–}}
| {{center|[[Karel Prášek]]}}
|-
! [[1925 Czechoslovakian parliamentary election|1925]]
| 841,647 (#'''1''')
| 13.8
| {{Composition bar|23|150|hex={{party color|Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants}}}}
| {{center|{{increase}} 9}}
| {{center|[[Antonín Švehla]]}}
|-
! [[1929 Czechoslovakian parliamentary election|1929]]
| 978,291 (#'''1''')
| 15.2
| {{Composition bar|24|150|hex={{party color|Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants}}}}
| {{center|{{increase}} 1}}
| {{center|[[Antonín Švehla]]}}
|-
! [[1935 Czechoslovakian parliamentary election|1935]]
| 1,042,924 (#2)
| 14.3
| {{Composition bar|23|150|hex={{party color|Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants}}}}
| {{center|{{decrease}} 1}}
| {{center|[[Rudolf Beran]]}}
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/47/nakata/nakata-eng.html "Between Interest Representation and Governingthrough Parliamentary Democracy"] (2000). Slavic Research Center, [[Hokkaido University]], 11 Sept. 2007
*Janos, Andrew C. East Central Europe. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 2000.
* Miroslav Mareš, Pavel Pšeja. [http://ispo.fss.muni.cz/uploads/2download/working_papers/Agrarian%20and%20Peasant%20Parties%20in%20the%20Czech%20Republic.pdf Agrarian and Peasant Parties in the Czech Republic: History, Presence and Central European Context ]
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Political parties in Czechoslovakia]]
[[Category:Defunct agrarian political parties in Czechoslovakia]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1922]]