Union of the Democratic Center

a political party in Greece. Founded in October 1974, the party was called the Center Union-New Forces Party until February 1976, when it received its present name. It was formed when the right wing of the Center Union (founded 1961) merged with New Political Forces (founded September 1974), a political grouping of Greek bourgeois leaders persecuted under the military dictatorship.

Expressing the interests of the liberal bourgeoisie, the Union of the Democratic Center enjoys the support of middle urban and rural strata. It opposes the authoritarian regime and stands for maintaining national and foreign monopolies in power. In foreign policy, the party affirms the necessity of achieving full independence, restoring Greece’s influence in the international arena, and actively supporting the country’s participation in Western European integration processes. The party favors the establishment of peaceful economic and cultural relations with socialist countries.

In the parliamentary elections of Nov. 20, 1977, the party received 11.95 percent of the vote and 15 seats out of 300 in parliament. In mid-1976 the Union of the Democratic Center split, and the members of the antidictatorship movement that left the party founded the Socialist Initiative organization. The political principles of the party are reflected in the newspapers To Bema and TaNea.