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Centrist Union Κεντρική Ένωση
Leader	Lazaros Metaxas
Chairperson	Agni Apostolou
Founder	Katina Traka
Founded	1 January 2009 (2009-01-01)
Headquarters	14 Abidaea Street, Arcadia, Lihnidos
Student wing	Student Union of Centrists
Youth wing	Youth Union of Centrists
Membership (2018)	99,174
Ideology	Big tent Liberalism Economic liberalism
Colors	Gold
National Assembly	13 / 350
Provincial councils	1 / 140
Provincial governments	0 / 20
Local governments	1,297 / 34,547

The Centrist Union (Hellenic: Κεντρική Ένωση), also known as the CU or the Union, is a centrist political party in Lihnidos. The CU is one of four minor political parties in Lihnidos and the fourth largest party in the National Assembly. The party was formed in 2009 as an alternative to the right and left-wing parties that dominated Lihnidosi politics. Since its creation the party has attempted to maintain a balance between right and left-wing policies and has shown itself to be an alternative party for those disaffected by the polarized political climate in Lihnidos.

The Centrist Union currently holds thirteen seats in the National Assembly. Created in 2009, the party has participated in three general elections and two provincial council elections. The party performed best during the 2014 general election in which it gained eight seats. The party has consistently placed fourth in the popular vote during general and provincial elections.

History

Founding

The Centrist Union was founded on 1 January 2009 by Katina Traka. Lazaros Metaxas and Agni Apostolou, along with several others, assisted in founding the party, however only Traka's name appeared on the official party formation papers filed with the National Board of Elections. Traka and Apostolou, both previous members of the Democratic Coalition, and Metaxas, a previous member of the Conservative-National Alliance, began exploring the formation of the party in 2007. The defeat of several bipartisan bills in the National Assembly in committee prompted the small group to begin planning a possible centrist party. Traka cited a "history of needless partisanship" as a reason the party was founded during a press conference on the day of the party's founding. She accused both the Democratic Coalition and Conservative-National Alliance of "dangerous factionalism" and said she hoped the Centrist Union could be "a party for everyone who hopes to see a functioning National Assembly without pointless arguments and disagreements."

Following the creation of the party, Katina Traka, Agni Apostolou, and Lazaros Metaxas resigned their positions in the National Assembly, stating that "voters elected us under different circumstances than we currently face," and that it "wouldn't be fair to continue as if nothing has changed." The three seats were filled through by-elections in which the three did not seek election, instead announcing that they would seek election in the 2010 general election to be held the following year. The Democratic Coalition and Conservative-National Alliance kept the seats under their control following the by-elections. Between Jaunary 2009 and October 2010 the Centrist Union published its party platform and began fundraising. By the 2010 general election, the party had failed to gain much momentum. Traka, Apostolou, and Metaxas ran for the seats they had resigned the prior year. In a surprising result, all three won their seats when running as Centrist Union candidates. The party also managed to win roughly 300 local councilor seats during the same election.

Electoral campaigns and results

National Assembly

The following table shows the electoral performance of the Centrist Union in general elections since the party's creation in 2009.

National Assembly of Lihnidos
Election	Leader	Seats won	+/−	Rank	Government	Notes
2010	Lazaros Metaxas	3 / 350	3	#4	Opposition
2014	Lazaros Metaxas	11 / 350	8	#4	Opposition
2018	Lazaros Metaxas	13 / 350	2	#4	Opposition

See also

• List of political parties in Lihnidos
• List of Lihnidosi general elections
• National Assembly of Lihnidos