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 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 PL. Jaime Mayor Oreja, subsequently a leading PP politician, was a leading member of PDP.
In 1988, the party was renamed as "Christian Democracy" (Democracia Cristiana). In 1989, the party, along with the Popular Alliance and the Liberal Party (PL), merged with others to create the new People's Party (PP).[4][5]
^Matuschek, Peter (2004), "Who Learns from Whom?: The Failure of Spanish Christian Democracy and the Success of the Partido Popular", Christian Democratic Parties in Europe since the End of the Cold War, Leuven University Press, p. 246