Reporting back on the Who, What and Whys of ALDE Party Congress 26-28 May 2023
Merlene Emerson, one of the 10 LibDem Council delegates to ALDE Party reporting back.
Who?
ALDE Party (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe) is an umbrella membership party of liberal leaning and social democratic parties in Europe. There are currently 77 members across 44 countries in Europe, both in EU as well as non-EU countries. Sadly the LibDems have now fallen into the 2nd category but it remains a lifeline that keeps us connected with others in the liberal and democratic family in Europe.
What?
So what was the recent Congress all about and how do I encapsulate in a short blog the spirit and substance of the annual gathering? There were Policy resolutions passed (ranging from Restoration of a pro-active Trade Policy, to supporting Introduction of Civil Partnerships in Ukraine), election of new Bureau members and important amendments to internal regulations, but it was the first session, a fireside chat with Vice-President Margrethe Vestager and Commissioner Vera Jourova that I found hugely inspiring.
The world is on fire (metaphorically speaking). EU stepped up during Covid19 to protect its citizens as well as managed to export vaccines to the rest of the world. Our "liberal footprint" can be seen in the continuous championing of the rule of law, the fight against climate change and in seeking to uphold fundamental rights of free speech and an independent media. We now have to look into introduction of EU regulations of AI (…and no, this blog has not been written by Chat GPT).
Why?
Europe is an amazing continent made up of cultures and peoples who have influenced the globe for over 500 years (Portuguese explorers such as Magellan and Vasco da Gama are household names, whilst the French, Dutch and British have left their mark on many a country in the ASEAN region.) Despite the large diaspora Chinese E & SE Asian communities in Europe, this was the first year I finally met someone else of CESEA background at an ALDE gathering. Julie Tran is an elected Swedish politician of Vietnamese heritage from our sister party Centerpartiet.
Perhaps diversity is growing within ALDE Party too as evidenced by Muharrem Demirok of Turkish heritage becoming leader of Centerpartiet earlier this year. And Malik Azmani MEP of Moroccan descent from Dutch party VVD getting elected to the Bureau this weekend. Yet populist and nationalist parties continue to grow across Europe and migration policies remain a hot potato. Let's face it, the UK is suffering from a cost of living crisis in part due to Brexit, which was voted for as a result of scare-mongering about increased migration from UK's EU membership .
The penny finally dropped for me sitting through a heated debate on an urgency motion censuring Mr Babis (leader of ANO in Czech Republic) showing support for Victor Orban at a CPAC event in Hungary. The DNA of liberals in Europe was forged by memories of the Holocaust and fascism. In Asia, reference points for freedom and liberalism stem from the Pacific war and the Japanese occupation (WWII) as well as the fights for independence from colonialism and imperialism. That is not to say we disagree on what are liberal values and the pursuit of democracy and human rights. But countries with different political systems (such as democracies vs autocracies) are not the same as values and beliefs. And it is clear in my mind that an "Indo-Pacific strategy" that tries to label and divide countries as allies for purposes of trade, security and defence is at best aspirational, and at worst divisive and deeply dangerous. The elephant (or panda) in the room was perhaps not China but Sinophobia.
It is at conferences such as ALDE Party Congress where we have the opportunity to listen, learn and collaborate with European colleagues to find the best liberal democratic solutions to global problems (including poverty, climate change, health inequalities, peace and security.)