The party was formed in 2000 by Mate Granić and Vesna Škare-Ožbolt after they left the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) following the party's defeat in the January 2000 election and Mate Granić's defeat in the February 2000 presidential race. Upon their foundation DC described themselves as a "modern democratic popular party with a European orientation, and a party of a strong civil society".