Vassilis Leventis
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Vassilis Leventis (Greek: Βασίλης or Βασίλειος Λεβέντης; born 1951, Messinia, Greece) is a Greek politician, leader of the Greek centrist party, Union of Centrists (Greek: Ένωση Κεντρώων). Vassilis Leventis is the fourth child of Apostolos and Gregoria Leventis. Leventis family moved to Piraeus where Vassilis Leventis graduated from high school and in 1969 was admitted to the Civil Engineering department of the National Technical University of Athens.
In a 1992 congress he decided to found the Union of Centrists, which strove to become "the political continuance of the centrist expression in Greece". Leventis aimed to become part of the legacy of some great politicians of the past, such as Eleftherios Venizelos and George Papandreou, senior. However, his total influence has been marginal, with 1.2% of the total vote (in the 1994 European Parliament election) being his highest achievement ever. His percentage has furthermore declined to 0.56% at the European Parliament election of 2004.
Vasilis Leventis expresses his political opinion through his Antidiaplokí (Αντιδιαπλοκή) weekly newspaper and his TV show that has been hosted in several stations so far. He is particularly noted for his allegations against the mainstream media and the major political parties of Greece that he is being deliberately excluded from publicity (listen). However such allegations have not been confirmed. He is a colorful, to say the least, orator. His frequent use of expletives and his animated style of speaking have led him often to be the object of jokes at his expense.
