How will the Center Party reverse the negative trend of declining voter support and does Demirok have the ability to unite the party? How will the Center Party attract back the voters in the countryside? Can the Center Party be seen as standing outside the two blocs?
On September 18, Student Evening welcomes the Center Party's party leader Muharrem Demirok to a party leader's evening.
Muharrem Demirok's initial tenure as party leader has not been easy. With record low trust figures and falling voter support, Demirok has had to navigate the Center Party in its new role as an opposition party in Sweden's increasingly polarized political climate. However, this has not prevented Demirok from starting a change process in the party with an increased focus on climate change and security in society. As a liberal centre-party, the Center Party has been sandwiched between the red-green opposition and the right-wing conservative government base. C has clearly marked against giving influence to the bloc's outer parties whose ideologies are not compatible with the party's own liberal stance. The past year has been characterized by internal strife within the party. Demirok has been accused of moving to the left with his big political project: limiting profit taking in schools. Despite the fact that it likes to profile itself as a rural party and for an active rural policy, support for the Center Party continues to decrease even in rural areas where voters switch parties. The uphill is steep for Muharrem Demirok.
Demirok was unanimously elected by the party as party leader of the Center Party in February 2023. Demirok began his political career in 2002 when he joined the Center Party. The following year, he obtained a bachelor's degree in political science at Linköping University. Before taking office as party leader, Demirok held positions as a member of the party board, municipal councilor in Linköping municipality and member of parliament for the Center Party.
The evening begins with an hour of moderated conversation, followed by half an hour where the audience can ask questions directly to Demirok. Moderator for the evening will be Sydsvenskan's Moa Berglöf.
When: Monday, September 18, at 19
Location: Lilla Salen, AF-Borgen. Sandgatan 2
Price: SEK 70 for students, SEK 120 for others