Centrist populism is a form ofpopulist approach to politics that does not rely onpolitical ideologies, but also criticises the political establishment, while not being extremist. It is personalistic andanti-corruption oriented, while it also moderately criticises aspects ofliberal democracy. Usually found in Central and Eastern Europe, it tends to be less supportive of theEuropean Union, while avoidingnationalist,anti-Western, andanti-capitalist positions. Similar concepts to centrist populism include centrist anti-establishmentiarism, anti-establishment reformism, andvalence populism.

Centrist populism emerged in Europe in the 1990s, with early examples being theMovement for a Democratic Slovakia. It later became more prominent in the early 2000s, particularly in Bulgaria and the Baltics. A third wave in the rise of centrist populism came after the2008 financial crisis. Other prominent centrist populist parties include theNational Movement for Stability and Progress in Bulgaria,Direction – Social Democracy in Slovakia,Labour Party in Lithuania, andPolitics Can Be Different in Hungary. Political parties such as the HungarianFidesz and PolishLaw and Justice were centrist populist before they shifted towardsright-wing populism.

Populism is often defined as an idea within the framework of aliberal democracy that defines two core groups—"the people" and "the elite".^[1] Political scientists Robert A. Huber and Michael Jankowski noted that populism could be seen in many shapes and forms. They noted that "the elite" could be portrayed asestablishment politicians, media, businessmen, or scientists.^[2] According to political scientistCas Mudde, "the people" could also have several definitions, meaning that the group can be based on ethnic, national, or class lines.^[3] Populist rhetoric could also be combined withleft-wing,right-wing, orcentrist ideologies.^[2] Despite this, populism is a contested description among academics;^[2] there is no consensus among them on the definition of the concept of populism.^[4]

Several definitions of populism exist.^[2] Huber and Jankowski suggested that populism could be described as a "chameleon-like" concept, considering that it can be "used for many different purposes, [and] in different ways across the globe".^[5] According to Mudde's framework, which is the most recognised among scholars,^[6] populism is often combined with "thick ideologies" such asnationalism,socialism, orneoliberalism;^[7] the core populist concept of "the people" is being presented as a morally good force, while "the elite" is often portrayed as corrupt and self-serving.^[8]Michael Freeden argues that populism is unable to offer answers to socio-political questions and that to succeed, it therefore needs to be attached to an ideology, such as socialism or nationalism.^[9]Margaret Canovan suggested seven versions of populism, including "farmers' radicalism", represented by the U.S.Populist Party, "populist dictatorship", represented byJuan Perón, and "reactionary populism", represented byEnoch Powell.^[10]

According to the political scientists Daniel Smilov and Ruzha Smilova, centrist,left-wing, andright-wing populism both originate from "democratic illiberalism". Centrist populists promoteanti-establishment, personalistic,^[11] andanti-corruption views,^[12] while also moderately criticising liberal democracy.^[11] Despite this, the political scientists Zsolt Enyedi and Martin Mölder wrote that centrist populists do not pose a challenge to liberal democracy.^[13] Centrist populists attack the political mainstream while not being subscribed to extremist politics.^[14] They do not rely on any political ideologies,^[15] instead claiming that they are non-ideological and anti-political,^[16] while often emphasising increasing living standards.^[17] They also focus on issues such as competence and probity,^[18] rather than on socio-economic and socio-cultural political issues.^[19] They also tend to be less supportive of theEuropean Union,^[20] and are lessculturally conservative than right-wing populists.^[21] They are also less likely to employwelfare chauvinism in comparison with right-wing populists; they advocate for maintaining the existing welfare system.^[17]

Centrist populists are considered anti-establishment as they criticise large established political parties, which they perceive to not represent "the will of the people" due to alleged corruption. They additionally reject left- and right-wing ideologies, criticise aspects of liberal democracy such asseparation of powers, independent bodies, andrule of law, and are sometimes mildlynationalistic, but they do not reject political pluralism. These positions are considered centrist as they are designed to be appealing to the majority of voters.^[22] Political scientists Vlastimil Havlík and Aneta Pinková disputed that centrist populists were nationalistic.^[23] Grigore Pop-Eleches also wrote that centrist populists avoid nationalism andanti-Western andanti-capitalist positions.^[24]

In the Czech Republic, centrist populists are alsotechnocratic; they have argued that experts should run the government or that the government should be based off a business model. In the Central and Eastern Europe, centrist populists have also criticised thepost-communist transition led by liberals.^[25] They argue that politics in Central and Eastern Europe will remain non-ideological and that parties would compete over issues such as competence and moral probity.^[26] The political scientist Elena Cossu, however, said that criticism of the post-communist transition is rather associated with right-wing populism and that centrist populists rather associate themselves with anti-corruption sentiment.^[27]

In an article, the political scientists Sarah Engler, Bartek Pytlas, and Kevin Deegan-Krause used the term "centrist anti-establishment parties" to refer to anti-establishment parties who do not belong to right-wing or left-wing populism.^[28] Engler said that therefore parties with a centre-right or centre-left political platform could also be applied the "centrist anti-establishment party" label; the term is similar to centrist populism. She also explained that such parties are known for their anti-establishment and anti-corruption views; they differ from the radical right due to not promoting illiberal democracy,ethnocentrism, andsocial conservatism, and from the far-left due to not being anti-capitalist. They instead promote liberal democracy and themarket economy.^[29]

The political scientists Seán Hanley and Allan Sikk also defined "anti-establishment reform parties" as a similar concept to centrist populism.^[30] They argue that such parties advocate for reforms of the political system, use anti-establishment rhetoric, and are "genuinely new", ie. they are not successors of any parliamentary party. Hanley and Sikk also added that such parties accept liberal democracy and the market economy, whilst not being subscribed to illiberal democracy and anti-capitalism.^[31]

Another similar concept,valence populism, was built by the political scientist Mattia Zulianello.^[4] He distinguishes valence populism from centrist populism for having unclear positioning on theleft–right political spectrum.^[32] Zulianello said that the centrist populism term "refers to the ideological or geometric centre of the party system", while that valence populists promote "non-positional issues" such as anti-corruption, morality, democratic reform, and political transparency. They can also be technocratic.^[33]

Vladimír Mečiar (left) andSimeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (right) led successful centrist populist parties in their respective countries.

Centrist populism has been usually more common in the Central and Eastern Europe.^[34] It is also sometimes referred to as new populism,^[35] new centrist populism,^[36] reformist populism,^[37] or managerial populism.^[38] The centrist populism term was largely built by the political scientists Peter Učeň and Pop-Eleches.^[39] In the Western world, the term new populism is, however, associated with far-right politics.^[36] Centrist populist parties emerged due to the dissillusionment with mainstream political parties.^[24]

According to the political scientist Ben Stanley, the most prominent and successful force of centrist populism during the 1990s wasVladimír Mečiar'sMovement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). Stanley wrote that HZDS's platform was vague and that their populism was unusual as it stemmed from "the founding elite of the Slovak Republic". The party later abandoned populism and disappeared from the political scene. Despite HZDS disappearing from the scene, two centrist populist parties emerged in Slovakia in the late 1990s and early 2000s, theParty of Civic Understanding (SOP) andAlliance of the New Citizen (ANO). SOP emerged from the political scene by criticising other political parties; after joining the government in 1998, they moderated their rhetoric. ANO, however, had a centre-right economic platform but also criticised elites in Slovakia. The party later shifted towards liberalism.^[40] Učeň also describedDirection – Social Democracy (SMER) as a centrist populist political party that emerged in the early 2000s.^[41]

Centrist populism in Central and Eastern Europe became more prominent in the 2000s. Voters were dissatisfied with the post-communist transition, including alleged corruption. In Bulgaria, theNational Movement for Stability and Progress (NDSV), led bySimeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, rose to power by attacking elites and their alleged corruption and incompetence. Once it entered the government, its populist rhetoric toned down. TheGERB party replaced it as the leading centrist populist party in 2009. In the Baltics, the EstonianRes Publica Party (RP), LatvianNew Era Party (JL), and LithuanianLabour Party (DP) emerged in the early 2000s. RP struggled with its anti-establishment rhetoric once it joined the government; they eventually shifted towards a centre-right position. On the other hand, JL became popular due to criticising the privatisation of state companies and remained anti-establishment while in government. Despite this, JL had a neoliberal and conservative outlook. DP became the largest party in Lithuania in the2004 parliamentary election after running on an anti-corruption and anti-elitist campaign.^[42]

In the aftermath of the2008 financial crisis, several centrist populist parties saw an increase in popularity. In Romania, thePeople's Party – Dan Diaconescu rose in popularity by campaigning on an anti-elitist platform, criticising the established parties for poorly handling the financial crisis. In the Czech Republic, thePublic Affairs gained prominence for promoting direct democracy andrecall elections; they eventually joined the government but disappeared after the2013 parliamentary election. In Slovakia, theOrdinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) became known for rallying against clientelism and elites, while in Hungary,Politics Can Be Different supported separation of powers to counter authoritarianism, while also campaigning on anti-elitist themes.^[43]

Pop-Eleches wrote that centrist populist parties served as vehicles for personal ambitions of politicians.^[44] Enyedi and Mölder wrote that leaders of centrist populist parties were usually charismatic, citingBoyko Borisov of GERB,Andrej Babiš ofANO 2011,Viktor Uspaskich of DP, and Mečiar of HZDS as examples.^[45] According to Smilov and Smilova, voters of centrist populist parties criticise aspects of liberal democracy, but are not economically impoverished. They are also usually not less educated than voters of other political parties.^[46]

Smilov and Smilova labelled the BulgarianThere Is Such a People (ITN) as a centrist populist party as it is personalistic, supports direct democracy, and rejects left- and right-wing political ideologies; they also added that not much is known about the party's political views. Additionally, they added that ITN cannot be considered a right-wing populist party, as it does not oppose the European Union, NATO, and democracy, while it is also not overtly xenophobic and homophobic.^[47] Regarding GERB and NDSV in Bulgaria, they also said that they started as centrist populist "of theBerlusconi type".^[48] NDSV later joined theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and shifted towards liberalism, while GERB did not radicalise, but participated in governments with right-wing populist parties.^[49]

Regarding Slovakia, Učeň also labelled SMER and ANO as centrist populist, as they constantly criticised the elites and refused to elaborate their political views.^[50] Stanley also described SMER as a centrist populist party that took a leftward shift.^[51] In Croatia, the political scientists Marijana Grbeša and Berto Šalaj describedThe Bridge as a blend of moderate centrist populism and anti-establishment reformism, as they advocated for political reforms and anti-elitism.^[52] They also described the politicianIvan Grubišić as a centrist populist.^[53] In France,Emmanuel Macron has been identified as a centrist populist,^[54] while in the United States, David Nolan and Stephanie Brookes identified GovernorChris Christie as a centrist populist.^[55] The Slovenian government ofMarjan Šarec has also been identified as centrist populist.^[56]

Before entering politics, Babiš, Borisov, and Matovič were entrepreneurs. Borisov started out his career as a high-profile member of NDSV, before founding GERB in 2006. Although GERB is a centre-right party, Borisov has also praised the accomplishments ofTodor Zhivkov's communist government. In the Czech Republic, ANO 2011 has also been identified astechnocratic populist; they were not ideologically-driven. After the2021 Czech parliamentary election, however, ANO 2011 grew closer toViktor Orbán's Fidesz but still considered themselves to be centrist. In Slovakia, OĽaNO presented itself as an anti-establishment and anti-corruption movement, but over the years it grown closer to conservatism.^[57] Babiš andIgor Matovič of OĽaNO argued that their political parties were movements instead.^[58]

Enyedi and Mölder described the GreekPolitical Spring and PortugueseNational Solidarity Party as cases of "borderline" centrist populist parties.^[59] The HungarianFidesz and the PolishLaw and Justice were formerly centrist populist but later shifted to right-wing populism.^[60] Smilov and Smilova argued that their positions radicalised and turned towards right-wing populism in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Fidesz started out as a liberal party and gradually transformed into a centrist populist party in the 2000s.^[61] Enyedi and Mölder classified Fidesz as centrist populist up until 2010.^[62]

The following list includes political parties that have been labelled as centrist populist:

• Radical centrism

• Učeň, Peter (2007). "Parties, Populism, and Anti-Establishment Politics in East Central Europe".SAIS Review of International Affairs.27 (1):49–62.doi:10.1353/sais.2007.0021.
• Učeň, Peter; Gyarfášová, Ol̕ga; Krivý, Vladimír (2005). "Centrist Populism in Slovakia from the Perspective of Voters and Supporters".Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs.6 (1):28–46.

• Comparative politics
• Centrism
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• Populism

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