.
Centrist parties typically hold the
middle position between major left-wing and right-wing parties, though in some cases they will hold the left-leaning or right-leaning vote if there are no viable parties in the given direction. Centrist parties in
multi-party systems hold a strong position in forming
coalition governments as they can accommodate both left-wing and right-wing parties, but they are often junior partners in these coalitions and are unable to enact their own policies. These parties are weaker in
first-past-the-post voting and
proportional representation systems. Parties and politicians have various incentives to move toward or away from the centre, depending on how they seek votes. Some
populist parties take centrist positions, basing their political position on opposition to the government as opposed to
left-wing or
right-wing populism.
Centrism developed with the left–right political spectrum during the French Revolution, when assemblymen associated with neither the radicals nor the reactionaries sat between the two groups.
Liberalism became the dominant centrist ideology in the 18th century with its support for
anti-clericalism and
individual rights, challenging both
conservatism and
socialism. Agrarianism briefly existed as a major European centrist movement in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. The
eugenics associated with
the Holocaust caused centrists to abandon
scientific racism in favour of
anti-racism. Centrism became more influential after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union as it spread through Europe and the Americas, but it declined in favour of populism after the
2008 financial crisis.
