| Centre Democrats | |
|---|---|
| |
| Abbrevation | SLP |
| Chairperson | Michael Mortensen |
| Deputy chairperson | Robert Helms |
| Founded | 1950 |
| Dissolved | 2013 |
| Ideology | |
| Ideology | Centrism Agrarianism |
| Spectrum | Center |
| Brunanter politics | |
| Close to | CDU, FLP |
| Far from | SDP, CvB |
| European affiliation | European Democratic Party |
The Centre Democrats (Dutch: Centrum-Democraten) was a major political party in Brunant. Centrism was the base of the political party's ideology, and members usually held moderate stances on many issues. In addition to being centrist in economic views, the party was centrist in social views as well, being more liberal than the Christian Democratic Union, but more conservative than the Free Liberal Party. The party held 0 seats in the House of Representatives before dissolving. Michael Mortensen, a representative, was the last chairman of the party, while Robert Helms, the former Prime Minister of Brunant, was the vice-chairman. CD members often became the Prime Minister in grand coalitions, because they were in the middle ground of the political spectrum.
History[]
The Centre Democrats were founded in 1950 by former White Party and Liberal Party members. The party quickly gained a respectable amount of support and was able to get members elected into Congress. With this policy they were able to get party leader Stefan De Vries elected as Prime Minister in 1960, serving one term. Though they have not had any Prime Ministers since (or any presidents at all) the Centre Democrats were able to take the most seats in the 1981 General Elections, and Prime Minister Henry Jorgeson had to succumb to the Centre Democrats' platform to remain in his position[1]. The CD has since been known as a "kingmaker" party, having formed part in various leftist or rightist coalitions over the years.
The last chairman of the party was Michael Mortensen, who was elected in 2008. In the 2009 General elections, vice-chairman Robert Helms was put forward as Prime Ministerial candidate, winning with 29% of the popular vote. Mortensen did not contend the position as party candidate. In 2013 Helms resigned as Prime Minister and brought down the governing coalition, leading to earlier than expected elections. Following Helms' resignation, the majority of party members joined parties from across the spectrum, or retired, resulting in the party dissolving in late 2013.
Notes[]
- ↑ The PCD had a solid 28% of seats and formed a coalition with CDU in order to lead. Though CDU leader Jorgeson became the PM, he had to follow mostly centrist policies in order to not lose his spot.
Chairpersons[]
- Charles Hewitt (1985-1991)
- Piet Kleinbeek (1991-1996)
- Elisabeth Horst (1996-2003)
- Martin Gruber (2003-2005)
- TBD (2005-2007)
- Robert Helms (2007-2012)
- Michael Mortensen (2012-2013)