Union of the Democratic Centre (Spain)
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The Union of the Democratic Centre (Spanish: Unión de Centro Democrático, UCD) was a coalition, and later political party, in Spain, existing from 1977 to 1983, and initially led by Adolfo Suárez.
The coalition, in fact a federation of parties, was formed on May 3, 1977, during the transition to democracy from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, with the involvement of leaders from a variety of newly formed centrist and rightist factions, under the leadership of Suárez, then Prime Minister. The principal components of the UCD defined themselves as Christian democrats, liberals, social democrats, or “independents,” the latter frequently comprising conservative elements which had been part of the Franco regime. UCD constituted itself as a party on Aug 4, 1977.
The UCD governed Spain to 1982. In the elections of June 15 1977, the party took 34.4% of the vote and 166 seats of the 350 in the Congress of Deputies. The party governed as a minority and worked with all major parties in the Congress, including the rightist People’s Alliance as well as the parties of the left, the Socialists (PSOE) and Communists (PCE). Suárez became the first democratically chosen prime minister of Spain after the Franco period. The UCD played a major role in writing the new constitution, as three of the seven members of the constitutional drafting commission, established after those elections, came from the party. In March 1979 the UCD again won the elections but could not attain a majority, with 34.8% of the vote and 168 deputies.
The fundamental reason for the party’s disappearance was internal conflict between its diverse factions, which led to the resignation of Suárez as prime minister in January 1981. Suárez was replaced by Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo for the remainder of the term of the Cortes. Many believe that the only factor that had kept the party together was the writing of the constitution. With that work done, the party became increasingly unpopular due to the growth of unemployment, inflation and the general economic crisis affecting the country. Following the attempted coup of 1981, the socialists convincingly won the general election. The UCD, presenting Landelino Lavilla as its candidate for prime minister, took only 6.7% of the vote and 11 seats.
After his resignation, Adolfo Suárez formed the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) to occupy the center ground, competing in the 1982 elections and beyond; other groups were integrated both into the PSOE and the AP. Most of the UCD’s electorate became supporters of the People's Alliance (AP), which later became the People's Party, today Spain's principal conservative party. Many ex ministers and leaders of UCD also joined the AP ranks. Subsequently, the UCD was disbanded on February 18, 1983
See also: Politics of Spain
