In August 1982, 13 deputies under the leadership of
Óscar Alzaga split from the
Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) and founded the PDP, entering into an alliance with the
People's Alliance (AP), which received the second largest number of votes in the
1982 and
1986 general elections. The party president was Óscar Alzaga until 1987, then
Javier Rupérez led the party into a merger with AP and
Liberal Party (PL).
Jaime Mayor Oreja, subsequently a leading PP politician, was a leading member of PDP. The PDP was a member of the
European People's Party from 1986 onwards. In 1988, the party was renamed Christian Democracy (Democracia Cristiana). In 1989, the party, along with the Popular Alliance and the
Liberal Party, merged with others to create the new
People's Party (PP). ==Electoral performance==