New Centre

The Nouveau Centre ( NC, New center ), also known as Parti Social Libéral Européen ( PSLE, European Social Liberal Party ) is a political party in France. It was created in 2007 as a spin-off from the Union pour la démocratie française (UDF ) after its chairman, François Bayrou, the formation of a new party, the Mouvement démocrate ( MoDem ), had announced. While MoDem went in opposition to the conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP ), the NC followers wanted to continue the traditional cooperation with the UMP.

History

During the greater part of the party and the people of the electorate of the UDF joined MoDem, a majority of the UDF MPs (18 out of 29 members ) ended the French Parliament in May 2007, the Nouveau Centre at. For shortly afterwards held elections, the NC reached 17 own deputies and five other parliamentarians on the list Majorité Présidentielle ( " Presidential Majority " ), an electoral alliance with the UMP. The MoDem, which had performed better in the first round than the NC, came only three seats due to the electoral system and lack of partner parties. The NC has responded by forming their own group still grew at a by-election in 2008 by a further 23 members.

In the second cabinet of Prime Minister François Fillon three NC members were represented: the Minister of Defence Hervé Morin, Minister of State for public services André Santini and the Secretary of State for Social Solidarity Valérie Létard. At the first convention in Nimes 2008 Hervé Morin was elected party chairman. In the local elections in the same year, the NC was about keeping the level of mandates, which it had owned by adopted by the UDF mandates previously. For the European elections in France in 2009, the party was considering first to solo, but eventually joined (as well as the small party LGM ) on a common list with the UMP on. Thus, the NC won three seats in the European Parliament, where it acts like the UMP of the Group of the European People's Party ( EPP) joined. In the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of the NC representatives on the other hand belongs to the European Democratic Group.