Reformist Centre
Encyclopedia
Reformist Centre, or Reformist centre, is a political term used in various countries around the world to define various kinds of political thought, but always connected with the centre, moderation and social reformism.
Reformist Centre is used by the People's Party for defining itself ideologically since the second half of the 1990s, with the intention of including all the ideologies that it affirms to have in its middle: right, conservatism, Christian democracy, and liberalism.
According to the article 2 (Ideology), of the status of the People's Party:
The People's Party defines itself as a political formation of the reformist centre to the service of the general interests of Spain, which has the person as the axis of its political action and social progress as one of its objective. With clear European vocation and Inspire in the values of liberty, democracy, tolerance and Christian humanism of western tradition, defends the rights of the human being and the rights and liberties that are inherent to it; it secures democracy and the state of rights as basis of the social living coexistence in liberty; it promotes, inside a market economy, the territorial solidarity, the modernization and the social cohesion as well as the equality of opportunities and the lead role of society through the participation of the citizens in the political life; it advocates for an international community founded in peace and the universal respect of the human rights.
This move on Aznar to use this term is frequently accused of simple marketing of ideas, use of an ambiguous term or of being just a right-wing/centre-right answer to social democrat/social liberal Third Way
, trying to give a new moderate and centrist image to the rightist PP, without actually moving it to the centre (Javier Arenas described their claim to being centre as '(...) nor equidistance between right and left, nor the intermediate zone between liberalism and extreme socialism. It is an attitude of openness contrary to sectarianism'), instead of an actual re-ideologisation, adopting some Christian democratic concepts (even inspiring its 1989 program on the EPP
's program) without actually adopting the ideology, not losing votes from other ideologies in the party.
Similar steps taken by the party include the adoption by the party, since 1996, of socialist II Republic politician Manuel Azaña
's legacy.
and such centrist elements of the reform movement
.
Use of Reformist Centre by the Spanish People's Party
The Spanish People's Party is the main political force to use the term Reformist centre.Reformist Centre is used by the People's Party for defining itself ideologically since the second half of the 1990s, with the intention of including all the ideologies that it affirms to have in its middle: right, conservatism, Christian democracy, and liberalism.
According to the article 2 (Ideology), of the status of the People's Party:
The People's Party defines itself as a political formation of the reformist centre to the service of the general interests of Spain, which has the person as the axis of its political action and social progress as one of its objective. With clear European vocation and Inspire in the values of liberty, democracy, tolerance and Christian humanism of western tradition, defends the rights of the human being and the rights and liberties that are inherent to it; it secures democracy and the state of rights as basis of the social living coexistence in liberty; it promotes, inside a market economy, the territorial solidarity, the modernization and the social cohesion as well as the equality of opportunities and the lead role of society through the participation of the citizens in the political life; it advocates for an international community founded in peace and the universal respect of the human rights.
This move on Aznar to use this term is frequently accused of simple marketing of ideas, use of an ambiguous term or of being just a right-wing/centre-right answer to social democrat/social liberal Third Way
Third way (centrism)
The Third Way refers to various political positions which try to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. Third Way approaches are commonly viewed from within the first- and second-way perspectives as...
, trying to give a new moderate and centrist image to the rightist PP, without actually moving it to the centre (Javier Arenas described their claim to being centre as '(...) nor equidistance between right and left, nor the intermediate zone between liberalism and extreme socialism. It is an attitude of openness contrary to sectarianism'), instead of an actual re-ideologisation, adopting some Christian democratic concepts (even inspiring its 1989 program on the EPP
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
's program) without actually adopting the ideology, not losing votes from other ideologies in the party.
Similar steps taken by the party include the adoption by the party, since 1996, of socialist II Republic politician Manuel Azaña
Manuel Azaña
Manuel Azaña Díaz was a Spanish politician. He was the first Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic , and later served again as Prime Minister , and then as the second and last President of the Republic . The Spanish Civil War broke out while he was President...
's legacy.
Use elsewhere
The term is also used elsewhere, not always in a way synonym to the PP's:- The AndorranAndorranAndorran may refer to:* Something of, or related to Andorra* A person from Andorra, or of Andorran descent. For information about the Andorran people, see Demographics of Andorra and Culture of Andorra. For specific Andorrans, see List of Andorrans....
Reformist Coalition (of which the New CentreNew Centre (Andorra)The New Centre is a Centre-right political party in Andorra that espouses a political program of Conservatism and Christian democracy. The party was founded in 2005 as a merger between the Andorran Democratic Centre and Century 21 political parties after they had been in an electoral alliance...
is a member), also claimed to follow reformist centre politics (it may be seen as a clear influence of the People's Party as Andorra is a neighbour and is culturally very connected to Spain (especially CataloniaCataloniaCatalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
); - the term reformist centre (or more correctly reformist centre-left) has been used to refers to some politics of New Zealand's Labour PartyNew Zealand Labour PartyThe New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
, to BlairiteBlairiteIn British politics, the term Blairism refers to the political ideology of former leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister Tony Blair, who left both positions in 2007 to become Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East...
New Labour and the elements of the Turkish Democratic Left PartyDemocratic Left Party (Turkey)The Democratic Left Party is a Turkish political party founded on November 14, 1985, by Rahşan Ecevit.-1985-1999:The DSP, a social democratic oriented party, was registered on November 14, 1985 by Rahşan Ecevit, wife of Bülent Ecevit, as he was banned from political life after the 1980 coup...
(Turkish: Demokratik Sol Parti, DSP) which founded the New Turkey PartyNew Turkey PartyNew Turkey Party was a political party in Turkey. It was founded in 2002 following a leadership crisis in the Democratic Left Party that was the major partner in a three party coalition government....
. Reformist centre-left may be considered synonymous with the Third Way; - in Indian politics the terms is sometimes used to refer to centrist who support modernising and secular politics similar to the Indian National CongressIndian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
; - The Italian Democracy and SocialismDemocracy and SocialismDemocracy and Socialism is a social-democratic political association in Italy. During the years it has been a faction within the Democrats of the Left, the Socialist Party and finally the Democratic Party, where it is now...
political faction refers to their position in the political spectrum as reformist centre; - in Israel the term is used to name the Kadima Party, and many previous parties who tried to position themselves between Labour and LikudLikudLikud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
; - during South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
's 2007 Presidential ElectionSouth Korean presidential election, 2007The 17th South Korean presidential election took place on 19 December 2007. The election was won by Lee Myung-bak of the Grand National Party, returning conservatives to the Blue House for the first time in ten years...
, the current Democratic Party used the name Centrist Reformists Democratic Party - in Portugal during the Marcelo CaetanoMarcelo CaetanoMarcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano, GCTE, GCC, also spelled Marcello Caetano , was a Portuguese politician and scholar, who was the last prime minister of the Estado Novo regime, from 1968 until his overthrow in the Carnation Revolution of 1974....
phase of the Estado Novo, some opposition politicians in the Liberal Wing of the National Assembly, gathered around José Pedro Pinto Leite, described themselves as reformist centrists. - In Venezuela, COPEICOPEICopei – Social Christian Party of Venezuela is a third way political party in Venezuela. The name stands for Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente...
has since 2007 refused the right-wing cathegorization and adopted the self-description of «humanist and reformist centre»
Retroactive use
The term has been retroactively been used to refer to radicalsRadicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
and such centrist elements of the reform movement
Reform movement
A reform movement is a kind of social movement that aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of society, rather than rapid or fundamental changes...
.