A Pan-European Political Party Is Launched
The Libertas Party aims to run candidates in all 27 European Union states for the European Parliament elections in June
By Leigh Phillips
Declan Ganley, the Irish businessman behind the Libertas campaign group, of the key organisations that defeated the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland’s referendum on the theme in June, has launched Libertas as the elementary exactly pan-European political party.
The new Libertas Party, that aims to run candidates in all 27 European Union states for the European Parliament elections in June 2009, says it wants to democratise the European institutions, with some elected commission and a president.
“We are founding the litigant to campaign for the people of Europe to respond to the increasing anti-democratic aptitude in some of the institutions in Brussels,” Mr Ganley told reporters onward Thursday (11 December) in the organisation’s new offices true metres let us go. the European Council building where European premiers and presidents were arriving to meet for their last acme of the year.
The Irish taoisheach, Brian Cowen, is expected at the meeting to tell European leaders that he leave grasp a second referendum forward the treaty if his counterparts accede to two requests: A declaration that Irish taxation prudence, family, social and ethical issues, and common security and defence policy with regard to Ireland’s traditionary policy of neutrality should entirely be safeguarded; and a put in pledge to affirm the one-commissioner-per-state principle abolished in the Lisbon Treaty.
Pointing out that a greater percentage of Irish citizens voted against the treaty than the percentage of US citizens that voted for Barack Obama, Mr Ganley uttered that it is undemocratic to force Ireland to hold a second referendum and that other European citizens have been prevented from voting on the text.
“We will give [the EU leaders] the referendum they did not want to give the people of Europe.”
“We are at a fork in the road, betwixt the Europe of the Lisbon Treaty, an anti-democratic Europe that does not derive its legitimacy from the citizens…and a of the democrats Europe.”
He insisted that the new cause is not anti-EU or “eurosceptic”.
“We want Europe to have existence strong and stand tall in the world, but based on of the democrats principles,” he uttered.
“This is a pro-European organisation. There is no future for Euroscepticism. The European Union is necessary,” he added.
“It is the status quo that if left as it is, will allow euro scepticism to increase.”
The new party will not partner with other political parties, however rather run all its candidates in a less degree than the Libertas banner in each of the EU states.
Beyond its position on democracy in Europe, Libertas’ social and economic positions will subsist centrist, in order to attract persons from across the political spectrum, although Mr Ganley was “not sure about communists.”
The left in Ireland played a prominent role in campaigning against the treaty, as did the left for the time of the French and Dutch referendums that defeated the Lisbon Treaty’s precursor, the Constitutional Treaty.
However, at the press conference announcing the new party, Mr Ganley was light put on policy details much farther than the treaty and the formation of the EU.
Pressed by reporters to flesh out its other positions, Mr Ganley said that the party would bring forth existence broadly free-market oriented, that European defence was “very serious” and that climate change could be addressed by a pan-European competition for entrepreneurs to disentangle innovative new technologies.
He also said that abortion and gay marriage were not issues Libertas had campaigned on in Ireland, suggesting that these are not issues the pan-European party disposition either.
The party will gripe a congress in Brussels the spring and hammer out its policy positions.
Mr Ganley said that no candidates had been picked yet and would not say whether any prominent politicians had signed up to his cause. He did however say that should Philippe de Villiers, the French leader of the right-wing Mouvement pour la France so desire, he would be “very pleased to have him as a candidate.”
Declan Ganley said he would like to be a candidate himself, but had not yet made a decision.
The troop’s offices were bankrolled by means of Mr Ganley’sitting Libertas Institute in Ireland, but is inspired by the online fundraising success of the Obama campaign. He encouraged EU citizens to visit Libertas.eu, and “donate a euro or a zloty or any European currency up to the €12,000 greatest.”
“We badly need it,” he said.
Although there are umbrella groupings in the European Parliament, such because the Party of European Socialists—the centre-left political family, and the European People’s Party—its centre-right counterpart, they are still very loose and split along general lines, with very different platforms. Libertas will be the capital genuinely pan-European political party with a common programme.
UKIP grumbles at competition
Britain’session eurosceptic party, the UK Independence Party, said there was “absolutely no common loam without ceasing Europe between Declan Ganley’session renovated party, Libertas, and UKIP.”
UKIP’s leader, Nigel Farage, said: “Libertas has nailed its colours firmly to [UK Tory chief] David Cameron’s pawns of wishing to be fixed within the European Union and refine to reform from inside.”
“I think it will come considered in the state of a bewilder to many to learn just how pro EU Mr Ganley is,” he added.
Graham Watson, head of the Liberals in the European Parliament, described the unaccustomed party as “anti-European”, but welcomed the challenge coming from Libertas and before-mentioned that it ironically may even “galvanise pro-Europeans to defend the EU.”
“We are far from condemning this initiative of Declan Ganley. He is doing Europe a favour by stimulating interest and debate concerning the EU, which may result in a higher turnout at next year’s European elections,” the Liberal chief reported.
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