Center-Right Union

{{Short description|Lithuanian political party}}

{{About-distinguish|party in Lithuania|Union of the Right and Centre}}{{for|other political parties with similar names|Freedom and Justice Party (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox political party

| country = Lithuania

| name = Center-Right Union

| native_name = Centro dešinės sąjunga

| colorcode = {{party color|Center-Right Union}}

| headquarters = Vilnius

| logo = Freedom and Justice logo.png

| logo_size = 225

| leader = Artūras Zuokas

| founder = Artūras Zuokas

| merger = LiCS, YES {{small|(2014)}}
Order and Justice, Movement Forward, Lithuania {{small|(2020)}}

| foundation = {{start date|df=yes|2014|7|12}} {{small|(as the Lithuanian Freedom Union)}}
6 June 2020 {{small|(as Freedom and Justice)}}

| dissolved =

| merged =

| membership = 4,569 (2022)

| ideology = {{ubl|class=nowrap|

|Conservative liberalism{{refn|{{cite web|title=Zuokas, Žemaitaitis and Paulauskas founded a new party and expect several dozen seats at the Seimas |website=Tricksfast |url=https://tricksfast.com/lithuania/zuokas-zemaitaitis-and-paulauskas-founded-a-new-party-and-expect-several-dozen-seats-at-the-seimas/|date=6 June 2020|access-date=29 August 2022}}{{cite web|title= Litauen vor der Parlamentswahl - Spannungsarmer Wahlkampf im Schatten von Covid |website=Konrad Adenauer Stiftung |url=https://www.kas.de/de/laenderberichte/detail/-/content/litauen-vor-der-parlamentswahl-spannungsarmer-wahlkampf-im-schatten-von-covid|date=5 October 2020|access-date=29 August 2022}}}}

|National liberalism{{cite web|title=Wenn am nächsten Sonntag Europawahl wäre (März 2022): Aufstieg der Newcomer |website=foederalist.eu |url=https://www.foederalist.eu/2022/03/europawahl-umfragen-maerz-2022.html|date=1 March 2022|access-date=27 October 2022}}

|Soft Euroscepticism}}

| position = {{nowrap|Centre-right{{cite web|first=Justinas|last=Šuliokas|title=Who's who in Lithuania's 2020 parliamentary election – explainer |website=LRT |url=https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1232763/who-s-who-in-lithuania-s-2020-parliamentary-election-explainer|date=20 September 2020|access-date=29 August 2022}} to right-wing}}

| international =

| european =

| europarl =

| abbreviation = CDS

| colours = {{Legend inline|#fbba00|Selective yellow}} {{Legend inline|#144d9c|Persian blue}}

| seats1_title = Seimas

| seats1 = {{Composition bar|1|141|hex={{party color|Center-Right Union}}}}

| seats2_title = European Parliament

| seats2 = {{Composition bar|0|11|hex={{party color|Center-Right Union}}}}

| seats3_title = Municipal councils

| seats3 = {{Composition bar|55|1498|hex={{party color|Center-Right Union}}}}

| seats4_title = Mayors

| seats4 = {{Composition bar|2|60|hex={{party color|Center-Right Union}}}}

| website = {{URL|https://laisve-teisingumas.lt/}}

}}

File:Lithuanian Freedom Union (Liberals) logo.png]]

Center-Right Union ({{langx|lt|Centro dešinės sąjunga}}, CDS), previously knows as Freedom and Justice ({{langx|lt|Laisvė ir Teisingumas}}, PLT) and Lithuanian Freedom Union (Liberals) ({{langx|lt|Lietuvos Laisvės Sąjunga (Liberalai)}}), is a conservative-liberal political party in Lithuania. It holds soft eurosceptic views.{{Cite web|url=https://europeelects.eu/lithuania/|title = Lithuania}}

History

The party was originally founded on 12 July 2014, when the Liberal and Centre Union (LiCS) merged with YES.{{cite web|url=http://www.taip.lt/naujienos/jungiasi-politine-partija-sajunga-taip-ir-liberalu-ir-centro-sajunga-.html|title=Jungiasi politinė partija "Sąjunga TAIP" ir Liberalų ir centro sąjunga|publisher=YES|date=May 15, 2014|access-date=March 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110439/http://www.taip.lt/naujienos/jungiasi-politine-partija-sajunga-taip-ir-liberalu-ir-centro-sajunga-.html|archive-date=April 2, 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.lrytas.lt/lietuvos-diena/aktualijos/taip-ir-lics-suvaziavime-ikurta-lietuvos-laisves-sajunga.htm|title="TAIP" ir LiCS suvažiavime įkurta Lietuvos laisvės sąjunga|publisher=Lietuvos rytas|date=July 12, 2014|access-date=March 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231055231/http://www.lrytas.lt/lietuvos-diena/aktualijos/taip-ir-lics-suvaziavime-ikurta-lietuvos-laisves-sajunga.htm|archive-date=December 31, 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/lietuvoje-ikurta-nauja-partija.d?id=65276798|title=Lietuvoje įkurta nauja partija|publisher=Delfi|date=July 12, 2014|access-date=March 1, 2015}} YES leader Artūras Zuokas became a leader of newly formed party.

In the 2015 Lithuanian municipal election, the party won 4.91 per cent of votes. Its best performance was in northeast of Lithuania. In the 2016 Lithuanian parliamentary election, the party won 2.16 per cent of votes in multi-member constituency.

After poor results of 2019 European Parliament elections, Lithuanian Freedom Union (Liberals), Order and Justice and public election committee "Strong Lithuania in United Europe" started negotiations.{{Cite web|url=https://www.15min.lt/m/id/aktualu/lietuva/r-zemaitaitis-a-zuokas-ir-a-paulauskas-paskelbe-vienijantys-jegas-56-1237586|title = R.Žemaitaitis, A.Zuokas ir A.Paulauskas jungiasi: Laukite, mes jus dar nustebinsime}}

In June 2020, Order and Justice and former MP Arturas Paulauskas' movement "Forward, Lithuania" merged into the party (combining with Artūras Zuokas–led party) and the new movement was renamed to Freedom and Justice. The party was affiliated with ALDE until its merger in 2020.

MPs from Order and Justice, Remigijus Žemaitaitis and Kęstutis Bartkevičius became Freedom and Justice' representatives in the Seimas. In 2020 Lithuanian parliamentary election only Remigijus Žemaitaitis retained his seat. In 2021, Žemaitaitis joined the Lithuanian Regions Parliamentary Group.{{cite web | url=https://www.lrs.lt/sip/portal.show?p_r=35403&p_k=1&p_t=276522 | title=Seime įkurta Lietuvos regionų frakcija - Naujienos }}

On 19 May 2023, Freedom and Justice terminated Remigijus Žemaitaitis membership in the party due to controversial antisemitic comments.

The party managed to regain representation in Seimas after 2024 Lithuanian parliamentary election, when party's leader Artūras Zuokas took single member constituency in Vilnius.https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/2399856/perskaiciavus-balsus-naujininku-rasu-apygardoje-nugaletoju-liko-zuokas It was renamed to the Center-Right Union in May 2025,https://madeinvilnius.lt/en/news/Lithuanian-news/The-Zuoka-Party-is-changing-its-name/ with the name adopted during the party congress on 31 May 2025.https://www.bernardinai.lt/partija-laisve-ir-teisingumas-keicia-pavadinima-i-centro-desines-sajunga/

Ideology

The party has a conservative-liberal,{{cite web|first=Wolfram|last=Nordsieck|title=Lithuania|website=Parties and Elections in Europe|url=http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/lithuania.html|year=2020|access-date=27 October 2020}} centre-right profile and is supportive of both the European Union and NATO. The party is in favour of allowing civil unions for same-sex couples. After it merger with Order and Justice in 2020, the party adopts soft eurosceptic stance on European integration.

The party is economically liberal. It supports the privatization of parts of the health care sector and opposes the establishment of a national development bank. The party favours giving tax incentives to companies that hire seniors and opposes progressive taxation. Instead, it wants to lower value-added taxes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt5vlMKf4sw|title=Europe Elects: Laisvė ir Teisingumas Freedom and Justice Lithuania, Parliament Election 2020|website=YouTube|date=11 October 2020|access-date=October 26, 2020}}

The Intertwined Concepts of Liberty, Justice, and Equality.

Conceptual Foundations

The articles "Liberty and Justice" and "Equality, Justice, and Liberty" explore these fundamental principles from a constitutional perspective, emphasizing their necessity for a functional and ethical society. Liberty is often defined as the absence of undue restrictions, while justice ensures fair treatment and upholds rights. Meanwhile, equality seeks to reconcile disparities and provide opportunities for all.

Constitutional and Regional Applications

The article "Equality, Justice, and Liberty" explores how these principles are embedded in legal frameworks and offers a roadmap for governance. The article "Freedom and Justice in the Modern Middle East" examines the practical challenges and regional nuances of implementing these ideals amidst cultural and political complexities.

In short, combining these perspectives reveals that liberty, justice, and equality are interconnected. Constitutional frameworks provide the structure, but regional contexts highlight the complexities of implementation, and the collective pursuit of these ideals remains essential for societal progress and stability.

James A. in Cate Journal Vol. 34 No.3 (2014 Cot, 1) Cato institute Publishing Adapted: https://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/equality-justice-freedom-constitutional-perspective

Bernard Lewis Vol. 84, No.3 (May- Jun., 2005) Published by Council on Foreign Relations::https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/20034348?origin=crossref

Election results

=Seimas=

class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"
Election

! Leader

! Votes{{efn|Proportional representation votes.}}

! %

! Seats

! +/–

! Government

2016

| Artūras Zuokas

| 27,274

| 2.23 (#9)

| {{Composition bar|0|141|hex={{party color|Freedom and Justice}}}}

| New

| {{no|Extra-parliamentary}}

2020

| Remigijus Žemaitaitis

| 23,355

| 2.06 (#11)

| {{Composition bar|1|141|hex={{party color|Freedom and Justice}}}}

| {{increase}} 1

| {{no2|Opposition}}

2024

| Artūras Zuokas

| 9,367

| 0.77 (#14)

| {{Composition bar|1|141|hex={{party color|Freedom and Justice}}}}

| {{steady}}

| {{no2|Opposition}}

{{notelist}}

= European Parliament =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! Election

! List leader

! Votes

! %

! Seats

! +/–

! EP Group

2019

| Artūras Zuokas

| 24,143

| 1.92 (#14)

| {{Composition bar|0|11|{{party color|Freedom and Justice}}}}

| New

| rowspan=2 | –

2024

| Artūras Paulauskas

| 8,458

| 1.25 (#15)

| {{Composition bar|0|11|{{party color|Freedom and Justice}}}}

| {{steady}} 0

References

{{Reflist}}