Centrists

The Centrists were one of the two major, yet unofficial, political factions that had formed in the Galactic Senate of the New Republic over the two decades following the founding of the regime. Unlike the Populists, they were in favor of a stronger galactic government and a more powerful military, with Centrist worlds priding themselves on their values of law and order. Due to this, many Centrist Senators secretly supported and praised Palpatine's Empire. At some point, the tension between the two factions became so intense that the Centrists called for the election of a "First Senator" whose charisma would bring order to the divided Senate.

History
The Centrists emerged as a political faction in the New Republic's Galactic Senate six years before the destruction of the Hosnian system. They valued law and order and saw the Galactic Senate as weak and indecisive. Many Centrist senators liked to dress in rich, extravagant clothing which contrasted with the simpler, more practical attire worn by their Populist opponents. Centrists loathed the Populists to the extent that it was considered rare for a Centrist like Ransolm Casterfo to work together with a Populist like Senator Leia Organa.

Following Leia and Casterfo's mission to Bastatha, the Centrists accused Leia of withholding information from the Senate. During the same session, Lady Carise Sindian announced a motion calling for the creation of the position of First Senator due to the weakness of the position of Chancellor. The First Senator would hold greater power over the New Republic's military and economic resources than the Chancellor. While the Senate was not swayed by Carise's arguments, Ransolm managed to win over many independent Senators by pointing to the deadlock in the New Republic. As a result, Ransolm's motion was adopted by a slim majority; forcing the Populists to reconsider their strategy.

When Leia accepted the Populist nomination for First Senator, Lady Carise manipulated Ransolm into exposing her true parentage as the daughter of the universally reviled Darth Vader. This had the effect of weakening the Populists and destroying Leia's political career. Several Centrists like Lady Carise and Ro-Kiintor claim that Leia's calls for the New Republic to deal with threats like the Amaxine warriors and Rinnrivin Di's cartel was warmongering. In secret, Lady Carise worked as an agent for the First Order, which was secretly funding the Amaxines and Rinnrivin in order to channel smuggling revenue into rebuilding the old Imperial Navy.

The far-right wing of the Centrist faction constantly asserted that the New Republic was not doing enough to support individual planetary defenses and was diverting too much funding to the New Republic military. They had a tense relationship with the far-left wing who constantly pushed for government control of the smallest details of personal and political interaction. Some Centrist Senators like Erudo Ro-Kiintor sought to earmark government funds towards Centrist worlds.

After Ransolm defended Leia's report, Lady Carise hired the former TIE fighter pilot Arliz Hadrassian to assassinate Senator Tai-Lin Garr, the new Populist First Senator nominee. She then fabricated evidence framing Ransolm for the deed. Following Ransolm's arrest, the Centrists officially disowned Casterfo. They also agreed to suspend the upcoming elections for the First Senator in the name of maintaining peace and stability. In secret, Lady Carise planned to present a motion calling for Centrist worlds to secede from the New Republic and join the First Order.

Appearances

 * Bloodline