Centrist Union (Lihnidos)
Centrist Union Κεντρική Ένωση | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Lazaros Metaxas |
| Chairperson | Agni Apostolou |
| Founder | Katina Traka |
| Founded | 1 January 2009 |
| 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.
Ideology
The Centrist Union seeks to be seen as a centrist party that can appeal to both left and right-wing voters. The party generally embraces economic and social liberalism and describes itself as a big tent party. Party leadership and members have expressed their desire to merge the divide between the left and right wing parties in the National Assembly. Party members regularly propose legislation written from a centrist viewpoint that could be viewed favorably by both left and right-wing politicians from other parties. Despite this, the party rarely succeeds in getting legislation from its members passed, as both major parties in the National Assembly accuse the Union of being too sympathetic to the other side.
Organization
Structure
The Centrist Union is one of the most decentralized parties in Lihnidos with regards to its structure. The party manages many of the administrative and financial functions at the national level through the Union Governing Committee. The governing committee is comprised of twenty members who are elected by a popular vote held online. The vote is only open to party members. The governing committee has little oversight on how its members coordinate. Union members and non-Union members are able to create local associations without consulting the national party administrative leadership. The governing committee has no power over local associations which are allowed to operate largely as separate entities. The party does not have any provincial-level organizations.
Membership
The Centrist Union is he fourth largest party by membership count in Lihnidos with almost 100,000 paid members. According to information given by members, a plurality of members came from the Democratic Coalition, followed closely by the Conservative-National Alliance and then by people who had not previously been members of a political party. The party saw a spike in new members following the March 2018 revelation that the Republican Party had accepted illegal contributions from individuals in Kaselia. The crime resulted in Republican Party Leader Panagiotakis Xanthopoulos being arrested and charged with numerous campaign finance violations. A dip in Republican Party membership pointed to many Republican Party members leaving the party and seeking membership in other parties in response to the controversy.
When the Union was first founded it did not charge membership fees. In 2012 the Union began to charge an annual membership fee of X10 for all members.
Candidates
The Centrist Union allows a wide variety of candidates to run for office within the party. Allowing both left and right-wing candidates to run for office under the party's banner has resulted in the party being one of the parties that run the most candidates during elections. During the 2018 general election the Union ran candidates in 227 constituencies and had run candidates in all 350 constituencies in 2014. The Union Governing Committee reviews applications by individuals who are seeking to run as the party's candidate in constituencies during elections.
Funding
Funding for the Centrist Union primarily comes from donations by individuals. Many of the donations the party receives are in small amounts, often under X500. In 2018 the National Board of Elections reported that the party's income was X3.9 million and had expenditures of approximately X2.4 million.
Electoral campaigns and results
Campaigns are generally left to be managed by the individual candidates with little oversight by the national party. The funding that candidates receive primarily come from voters and supporters in constituencies rather than money distributed by the national party. Candidates may rely on any party associations in their constituency. As local party associations are not overseen by the national party, candidates are mainly relying on local support and infrastructure.
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 | |||