Union of Centrists
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2012) |
Union of Centrists Ένωση Κεντρώων Énosi Kentróon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | ΕΚ |
| Leader | Vassilis Leventis |
| Founded | 2 March 1992 |
| Headquarters | 28 Karolou St. 122 42 Athens |
| Newspaper | Antidiaploki |
| Youth wing | Youth Union of Centrists |
| Ideology | Venizelism Centrism[1] Conservative liberalism[1] |
| Political position | Centre[1] |
| European affiliation | European Democratic Party |
| Colours | Orange |
| Parliament | 0 / 300 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 21 |
| Website | |
| enosi-kentroon.gr | |
The Union of Centrists (Greek: Ένωση Κεντρώων, romanized: Énosi Kentróon, IPA: [ˈenosi cenˈdro.on]) is a centrist,[1] liberal[1] political party in Greece. The leader and founder of the party is the veteran anti-corruption activist Vassilis Leventis. It strongly supports Greece in remaining an integral part of the European Union.
History
[edit]The party was founded by Vassilis Leventis in 1992 under the title "Union of Centrists and Ecologists" (Greek: Ένωση Κεντρώων και Οικολόγων). The name was changed shortly after. The Union of Centrists claims to be the ideological continuation of the old party Centre Union. Previously Vassilis Leventis was a part of the PASOK party when it was launched, but Vassilis Leventis left and started the Union of Centrists because of disagreements.
The party strives to become "the political continuance of the centrist expression in Greece". Leventis aimed to become part of the Venizelist legacy of some Greek politicians of the past, such as Eleftherios Venizelos and George Papandreou (senior).
Electoral support
[edit] |
Until 2015, the party's influence was marginal, with 1.79% of the total vote in the January 2015 Greek legislative election and no MPs being its highest achievement. In the September 2015 Greek legislative election the party cleared the 3% hurdle for representation in the Greek Parliament with nine MPs after it won 186,457 votes (3.43%).[2] Two MPs left the parliamentary group: Georgios Dimitrios Karras in November 2016 and Theodora Megaloeconomou in July 2017, the latter becoming a Syriza MP in January 2018. The party currently has five MPs.[3][4]
In the 2019 election, the party did not reach the 3% threshold and thus lost representation in the Hellenic Parliament.
Election results
[edit]Hellenic Parliament
[edit]| Election | Hellenic Parliament | Rank | Government | Leader | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Seats won | +/− | ||||
| 1993 | 15,926 | 0.23% | New | 0 / 300
|
New | 7th | Extra-parliamentary | Vassilis Leventis |
| 1996 | 48,659 | 0.72% | +0.49 | 0 / 300
|
 0
|
7th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2000 | 23,218 | 0.34% | –0.38 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
7th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2004 | 19,510 | 0.26% | –0.12 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
7th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2007 | 20,840 | 0.29% | +0.03 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
8th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2009 | 18,296 | 0.27% | –0.02 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
11th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| May 2012 | 38,313 | 0.61% | +0.34 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
17th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| Jun 2012 | 17,145 | 0.28% | –0.33 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
14th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| Jan 2015 | 110,923 | 1.79% | +1.51 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
9th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| Sep 2015 | 186,644 | 3.44% | +1.65 | 9 / 300
|
 9
|
6th | Opposition | |
| 2019 | 70,178 | 1.24% | –2.20 | 0 / 300
|
 9
|
9th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| May 2023 | 22,449 | 0.38% | –0.86 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
16th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| Jun 2023 | 14,881 | 0.29% | –0.09 | 0 / 300
|
0
|
16th | Extra-parliamentary | |
European Parliament
[edit]| European Parliament | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election | Votes | % | ±pp | Seats won | +/− | Rank | Leader | EP Group |
| 1994 | 77,951 | 1.19% | New | 0 / 21
|
New | 7th | Vassilis Leventis | − |
| 1999 | 52,512 | 0.82% | −0.37 | 0 / 21
|
0
|
9th | ||
| 2004 | 34,511 | 0.56% | −0.26 | 0 / 21
|
0
|
9th | ||
| 2009 | 19,660 | 0.38% | −0.18 | 0 / 21
|
0
|
14th | ||
| 2014 | 36,879 | 0.64% | +0.26 | 0 / 21
|
0
|
19th | ||
| 2019 | 82,072 | 1.45% | +0.81 | 0 / 21
|
0
|
10th | ||
| 2024 | 10,933 | 0.27% | –1.18 | 0 / 21
|
0
|
22nd | ||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Greece". Parties and Elections in Europe.
- ^ "Greek Elections: New Poll Shows Slight New Democracy Lead Over SYRIZA". GreekReporter. 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Centrists Union MP Megaloeconomou becomes independent". The Greek Observer. 10 July 2017.
- ^ "Centrists Union MP Karras becomes independent". ERT. 30 November 2016.