November 2011 | www.eldr.eu
The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR Party) brings together 55 political parties with common liberal, democratic and reform ideals and is the forum for member parties to develop co-ordinated policies.
NEWS 10
European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
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Parti Européen des Libéraux, Démocrates et Réformateurs
Thank you and goodbye
blic always goes for the original unless presented with an entirely different approach. This is what Liberalism and liberals must do urgently, besides working at strengthening their inner organisation: devise a new liberal paradigm, one fit for the 21st century, its magnificent possibilities and frightening threats.
Contents Page 2 ■ A Massive Task Lies Ahead ■ Opinions on the EU budget 2014-2020 ■ Associate Member delegate at ELDR Congress Page 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A liberal democratic breakthrough ■ Palermo: a bridge for Freedom
Gladstone could inspire us; he who said that «conservatism is distrust of people, qualified by fear, and liberalism is trust in people, qualified by prudence.» We should turn our backs .
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Page 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ■ Annemie NeytsUyttebroeck: President 2005-2011 Page 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Russian parliamentary elections: what do they mean for liberals? ■ Russia’s Non-Elections and European Policy Dilemma ■ ELDR Associate Membership
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Page 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ■ Prospects for European Liberals in this decade ■ Spanish elections: a European affair Page 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ■ A drink with Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck ■ Survey: Help us improve the ELDR Newspaper! ■ Liberal shakers
I have tried to do that for the last six years, with the help of many friends and supporters, and with the help of the fantastic staff at the ELDR secretariat. I thank you all and wish you the best. See you at the next Council meeting or Congress by Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck MEP
ELDR President
ELDR theme for 2012: Energy Transition
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Page 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The realities of the crisis ■ Little liberal book A guide for political party work ■ Times of crisis require liberal solutions
on conservatism, fear and distrust; we should lay the foundations for a renewal of trust in humankind and in its destiny.
As I complete my third and last term as ELDR President, Liberalism finds itself in dire straits. When you elected me for the first time as your president in Bratislava 6 years ago, we had liberal prime ministers in Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Romania. Today we have only two liberal prime ministers left: in Estonia and The Netherlands. Six years ago, Liberals participated in the governments of twelve member states; today, we find them in ten governments, including Germany and the United Kingdom for the first time since more than sixty years. Recent opinion polls and electoral surveys are not very kind to liberal parties and one cannot help wondering: is this election fatigue, is this the inevitable price to pay for the preceding long stretch of successes, is this in other words the waning succeeding the waxing as is normal in well functioning democracies, or has liberalism entered a deep existential crisis? It’s a bit of all of the above. Denmark for example has enjoyed a succession of three governments led by a liberal prime minister. Their party did progress during the last elections, but people clearly wanted a change. Few are the parties that succeed to stay in the governmental lead for more than two successive legislatures. That also applies to liberal parties, and so we have fewer prime ministers nowadays.
At the same time, the general climate turns increasingly anti-liberal. There are those who never liked liberalism in the first place and who now smell revenge; there are the social democrats who suffered setback after setback during the last decade and who have scores to settle; there are the populists and conservatives of all shades who rightly or wrongly have felt snubbed by liberals, there are the fervent anti-capitalists, etc, etc. The opponents of liberalism are many and the deteriorating financial crisis offers them ample opportunity to lash out at us. This is not to say that liberalism and liberals are beyond reproach. Too often, organisational weakness has left the electoral field open to all others. Too often, liberal leaders have ceased to lead, have stopped to show the way and have preferred to serve weakened versions of the programs of more successful parties. This has never ever worked; but still liberals fall prey to the temptation. So when the mood turns euro sceptic, they turn a little euro sceptic; when the mood turns green, so do they; when the mood turns xenophobic, they become wary of immigration... Clearly, this is not what we need. Offered the choice between the original mood and the ersatz, the pu-
The ELDR Bureau in its meeting of 16 September 2011 decided unanimously to adopt a D66 proposal to make “Energy Transition” the theme for the coming year. This means it will be formally launched at the ELDR conference in Palermo, as we wrap up the previous theme on the EU’s multi-annual financial framework. It is hoped that, as was the case this year, there will be ever increasing amounts of articles, activities and blogs on energy transition on the ELDR website, working towards a solid resolution at the 2012 Congress. The groundwork for the theme was laid by a seminar held in May 2011 by D66, Centerpartiet, the Lib Dems and the European Liberal Forum in Amsterdam, as part of the ELDR political and information activities. Under the title “A liberal roadmap for energy transition” there was a valuable exchange of best practices from the three participating countries. It remains clear, however, that successful energy transition is only possible by having solid policies at European level, which can help guide investment and policy decisions at national and regional level. Unless the basic parameters are in place (such as a fair carbon price and removal of subsidies on fossil fuels to create a level playing field) it will be hard for countries and regions to meet the targets they have set for themselves. The objectives of an EU energy policy are shared by all liberals: energy security, competitiveness and sustainability. The key question is how these strategic objectives can be translated
into clear action that is implementable, also in times of economic strain. The European Commission’s “Roadmap for a low-carbon economy” and its “Energy Roadmap 2050” outline ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gasses. As of yet, almost no member state is on track to meet these targets. It will be up to liberals to outline a sustainable way forward, keeping in mind the long term objectives. The seminar also underlined the importance of the ELDR political and information activities in bringing together national and regional politicians. Members of the European Parliament see each other regularly, but for MPs and municipal or regional representatives, it is extremely valuable to learn from each other’s experiences. Having each other’s trust and, indeed, phone numbers can also give a strong political edge. If a minister claims to be isolated in the Council of Ministers, this can be verified with a quick phone call to a colleague in another parliament. In this way liberals can use the connections forged via the ELDR to have a greater political impact. And that of course is what it should be all about! by Lousewies van der Laan
ELDR Vice-President