Centrism
Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society to the left or the right.[1]
For the Marxist categorisation, see Centrist Marxism. For the post-World War II political alliance in Italy, see Centrism (Italy).Both centre-left and centre-right politics involve a general association with centrism that is combined with leaning somewhat to their respective sides of the left–right political spectrum. Various political ideologies, such as Christian democracy,[2] Pancasila,[3][4][5] and certain forms of liberalism like social liberalism,[6] can be classified as centrist, as can the Third Way,[7] a modern political movement that attempts to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating for a synthesis of centre-right economic platforms with centre-left social policies.[8][9]
Usage by political parties by country[edit]
Australia[edit]
There have been centrists on both sides of politics who serve alongside the various factions within the Liberal and Labor parties. Centrism is represented by the moderates in the Liberal Party and Labor Right in the Labor Party.
The Australian Democrats are the most prominent centrist party in Australian history. The party had representation in the Senate from 1977 to 2007, frequently holding the balance of power. Formed by Don Chipp on a promise to "Keep the Bastards Honest", it was known to have represented the "middle ground". The party regained registration in 2019.
In addition, many smaller groups have formed in response to the bipartisan system that upholds centrist ideals. South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon launched his centrist political party called the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) in 2014, which was renamed the Centre Alliance in 2018.
Bangladesh[edit]
In Bangladeshi politics, the term "centre" (as well as centre-left) is often labelled with Bengali nationalism and secularism, in contrast to the right wing, which is labelled with Bangladeshi nationalism and Islamism. The Awami League is the oldest existing centrist political party in Bangladesh.[10][11] It was originally founded as a centre-left party but moved towards centrism in the late 1970s.
Other centrist political parties in Bangladesh include the Nationalist Democratic Movement, the Liberal Democratic Party, and Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh.
Belgium[edit]
The traditional centrist party of Flanders was the People's Union, which embraced social liberalism and aimed to represent Dutch-speaking Belgians who felt culturally suppressed by Francophones. The New Flemish Alliance is the largest and, since 2009, the only extant successor of that party. It is, however, primarily composed of the right wing of the former People's Union and has adopted a more liberal-conservative ideology in recent years.
Among French-speaking Belgians, the Humanist Democratic Centre is a centre party as it is considerably less conservative than its Flemish counterpart, Christian Democratic and Flemish.
Other parties in the centre of the political spectrum are the liberal Reformist Movement and the French-speaking minority party DéFI.
Brazil[edit]
There are several centrist parties in Brazil, such as the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), a catch-all party and one of the largest political parties in Brazil.
The Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) is another example of a centrist party in Brazilian politics.
Other centrist parties include the Social Democratic Party (Brazil, 2011) (PSD), the Green Party (Brazil) (PV), Citizenship (Brazil) (CID), and the Republican Party of the Social Order (PROS).
Due to the high number of centre parties in Brazil, they exert a major position in local politics, and due to that, parties that are not part of major parties of the right-wing or the left-wing are pejoratively called Centrão (meaning 'big centre').[12]
