Union of the Centre and Christian Democracy of Catalonia

Union of the Centre and Christian Democracy of Catalonia (Catalan: Unió del Centre i la Democràcia Cristiana de Catalunya, UCiDCC) was an electoral coalition formed in Catalonia in December 1976 to contest the Spanish Congress of Deputies election of 1977, the first democratic election to be held in Spain since the Second Spanish Republic. It was formed by the Catalan Centre (CC) and the historic Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC), and came to be supported by the Christian Democratic Team of the Spanish State, which did not run on its own in Catalonia.[2] The coalition was officially registered on 3 May 1977.[3] The alliance dissolved shortly after the election upon the start of the newly elected parliament, with UDC deputy Antón Cañellas joining the Catalan–Basque Group and Carlos Güell going into the Mixed Group.[4][5]

Not to be confused with Union of the Centre of Catalonia.
Union of the Centre and Christian Democracy of Catalonia

Unió del Centre i la Democràcia Cristiana de Catalunya
AbbreviationUCiDCC
Founded28 December 1976 (1976-12-28)
Dissolved26 July 1977 (1977-07-26)
Succeeded byCentrists of Catalonia
Convergence and Union
IdeologyChristian democracy
Liberalism
Catalan nationalism
Political positionCentre to centre-right[1]
National affiliationChristian Democratic Team of the Spanish State
MembersSee list of members

History

The alliance was formed by the Catalan Centre (CC) and the historic Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC),[6] which on 28 December 1976 had signed an agreement for coalescing into a joint list ahead of the 1977 Spanish general election.[7][8] Attempts for the coalition to expand or to merge with parties from other blocs—such as the Democratic Front formed by Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) and Democratic Left of Catalonia (EDC)—failed to materialize,[9] mostly as a result of a lack of programatic concretion and in the Front's strategy to appeal to centre-left voters, whereas the UCiDCC aimed for establishing itself within the centre to centre-right ground of the political spectrum.[10] The UCiDCC parties would join the Democracy and Catalonia alliance for the Spanish Senate.[11]

The coalition obtained two deputies, both from the Barcelona constituency: Antón Cañellas from UDC and Carlos Güell de Sentmenat from CC. The former joined the Catalan–Basque Group, whereas the latter went to the Mixed Group. The results were regarded as disappointing–something which was attributed to the hasted establishment of the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) candidacies in support of Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez[1]–leading to the alliance breaking up shortly after the election and upon the new parliament's constitution on 26 July 1977.[4][5]

Composition
Party
Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC)
Catalan Centre (CC)

Electoral performance

Congress of Deputies
Congress of Deputies
Election Catalonia
Votes % # Seats +/–
1977 172,791 5.67% 5th
2 / 47
 —

References
  1. Culla i Clarà, Joan B. (1989). "L'evolució de l'espai centrista a Catalunya (1976–1982)" (PDF). Working Papers (in Catalan). Barcelona: Institut de Ciències Polítiques i Socials (4). Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  2. Barrio, Astrid (2009). "Alianzas entre partidos y cambio organizativo: el caso de Convergència i Unió". Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert (in Spanish): 51–74. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  3. Sáenz-Díez, Margarita (4 May 1977). "Con la formación de siete coaliciones se clarifica el panorama catalán". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  4. "Unió Democràtica de Catalunya". www.enciclopedia.cat (in Catalan). Diccionari dels Partits Polítics de Catalunya, segle XX. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  5. "Centre Català". www.enciclopedia.cat (in Catalan). Diccionari dels Partits Polítics de Catalunya, segle XX. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  6. Fernández Amador, Mónica (25 February 2014). El poder municipal en Almería durante la transición a la democracia (in Spanish). Universidad de Almería. p. 363. ISBN 9788416027156. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  7. "Centre Català y Unió Democràtica de Catalunya hacen público un programa electoral común". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 December 1976. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  8. Llorens Pascual, F. (5 January 1977). "El anuncio de nuestro pacto es importante para Cataluña ya que obliga a que otros partidos decidan su espacio político". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  9. "Cada vez más remota la posibilidad de pacto entre Unió Democrática y Convergencia y Esquerra Democrática". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 23 April 1977. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  10. Roses, Joan (13 April 1977). "U.D.C. propone un programa electoral al Front Democrátic". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  11. Roses, Joan (5 May 1977). "Se perfilan las opciones para el Senado". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 July 2020.
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