The coalition formalised and centralised, with the merger of US and DEU to form the Freedom Union – Democratic Union (US-DEU) reducing the number of parties to three. However, the overbearing size of the KDU–ČSL – significantly larger than the others – lent instability to the coalition, as KDU–ČSL members used the coalition to promote their intra-party factions.[3] KDU–ČSL put pressure on ODA to consolidate further, either reforming its long-standing debts or merging with US-DEU.[3] ODA refused, and withdrew from the Four-Coalition as a result.
In the 2002 legislative election, KDU–ČSL and US-DEU ran on a looser joint ticket called Coalition (Koalice),[3] and won 31 seats with 14% of the vote—down from the combined 39 seats and 19% of votes in the 1998 election.
Hanley, Sean (2008). The New Right in the New Europe: Czech transformation and right-wing politics, 1989-2006. London: Routledge. ISBN978-0-415-34135-6.