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:
“Art knows no happier moment than the opportunity to show the symmetry of an extreme, during that moment of spheric harmony when the dissonance dissolves for the blink of an eye, dissolves into a blissful harmony, when the most extreme opposites, coming together from the greatest alienation, fleetingly touch with lips of the word and of love.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
“Go anywhere in England where there are natural, wholesome, contented, and really nice English people; and what do you always find? That the stables are the real centre of the household.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)