Harmony Centre (Latvian: Saskaņas Centrs, SC; Russian: Центр Cогласия, ЦC) is a political alliance in Latvia. It was formed in 2005 and its member parties are the Social Democratic Party "Harmony" and the Socialist Party of Latvia (the Social Democratic Party "Harmony" was formed in 2010 when the National Harmony Party, the Social Democratic Party, the New Centre and later on the Daugavpils City Party merged with each other). Journalist Nils Ušakovs has been chairman since Autumn 2005 (the first chairman was Riga city councillor and head of the NC Sergejs Dolgopolovs).
In the 2006 parliamentary election, the party got 14.42% (130,887 votes) and won 17 of the 100 seats. It became the fourth largest party in Parliament and the second largest opposition party.
In January 2009, the Social Democratic Union (Latvian: Sociāldemokrātu savienība, abbreviated SDS) joined the alliance.
In the 2009 European Parliament Election, Harmony Centre was the second most voted party in Latvia. The party received 19.57% (154,894 votes) and won 2 of the 8 MEPs seats.
In the 2010 parliamentary election, Harmony Centre became the second Latvian political force and the main opposition alliance in Parliament. It received 26.04% (251,397 votes) and won 29 of the 100 seats. In the following 2011 parliamentary election, Harmony Centre obtained the largest number of votes (28.36%) and seats (31 of the 100 seats), but remains in Opposition - partly due to its political positions being perceived by the majority ethnic-Latvian parties as incompatible with Latvian national interests.
Read more about Harmony Centre: Political Positions
Famous quotes containing the words harmony and/or centre:
“The only coöperation which is commonly possible is exceedingly partial and superficial; and what little true coöperation there is, is as if it were not, being a harmony inaudible to men. If a man has faith, he will coöperate with equal faith everywhere; if he has not faith, he will continue to live like the rest of the world, whatever company he is joined to.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Marriage and deathless friendship, both should be inviolable and sacred: two great creative passions, separate, apart, but complementary: the one pivotal, the other adventurous: the one, marriage, the centre of human life; and the other, the leap ahead.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)