Former Prime Minister To Lead Libertas Latvia

Guntars Krasts, former Prime Minister of Latvia will lead the Libertas campaign in the country in the forthcoming European Parliament elections, it has been announced today. Mr. Krasts will lead a list of eight Latvian Libertas candidates into the election campaign, in which a total of 9 Latvian seats in the European Parliament will be contested.

Mr. Krasts has held various positions in the Latvian Government, and served as the country’s Prime Minister between 1997 and 1998. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1998 to 1999, and was the country’s minister for the economy from 1995 to 1997.

He has served as a member of the European Parliament since 1994.

Speaking before a crowd of several hundred supporters at today’s launch of Libertas Latvia, Mr Krasts focused heavily on the need for an “economic and political renaissance” in Europe. He said that the current approach in Brussels was not sufficient to make the EU sustainable, and that they must be reformed for the sake of all of those who want to see Europe succeed in the future:

“We need a Europe that is democratic, accountable, and responsive to citizens. We in Libertas Latvia are convinced that the EU can become a force for economic growth and personal freedom, but for this to happen, the EU must not be the toy of Brussels elites.

In Europe, we need to unbind human initiative, and to recognise that economic recovery and dynamism will come by creating conditions that allow small and medium-sized businesses to grow and thrive. In Europe, we need a European Charter for small business that reduces the regulations and encourages, not inhibits the potential for job creation, recognising that it is real people, not government officials, who drive demand and production in our economies”.

Welcoming the former Prime Minister to the Libertas campaign, Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley said:

“Leaders of the calibre of Guntars Krasts should be an inspiration to us all. He is a great Latvian, and a great European. He grew up in a country where his parents were forced to live under the oppression of a Soviet system that denied them a say in the running of their own country, and in many cases their own lives. He is one of the great generation of Europeans who stood up and helped rebuild their countries after the downfall of that oppressive system of Government.

Libertas is building a team of leaders across Europe who when elected will be able to address the common concerns of EU citizens in a way never before seen in European History. For the first time, we will have a party in the EU Parliament which gives voice to the common concerns of European citizens about the progressive erosion of democracy in Brussels and their homelands, while at the same time offering a positive and ambitious new vision for Europe.

We need a Union which is open and transparent, so our citizens can have confidence that their money is being put to good use, and not being wasted on vanity projects, like the €2.4billion is spent this year on the Union’s public relations. We need politicians who engage directly with voters, not big PR projects.

Like Ireland, the vast majority of Latvian law now come from Brussels, and Latvian citizens have no mechanism to hold those initiating those laws to account. Libertas is a political party and movement which allows Latvian, Irish, French, German, Polish and every other European citizen to do just that, and I am pleased that the former Prime Minister has joined this historic effort. Europe is something we must all be part of and it is not something we can leave to national political parties who have failed miserably to engage with the spirit of the Union they claim to be so committed to, while at the same time failing to deliver at home for people all across Europe facing an economic crisis overseen by a management team of unequivocally proven failures.

Libertas will be the force for positive change in Europe that will put economic leadership, job creation, and the reinvigoration of the European idea at the heart of the political agenda”.

Taken from a Libertas Press Release.

Belgian Commissioner thinks he’s worth €1.1 million pension plan

Belgian EU Commissioner Louis Michel, who stands to receive a “transition allowance” of €1.1 million over a period of three years after he leaves office initially stated ‘If that were true, I would retire immediately”. Unfortunately for Commissioner Michel it WAS true, and after consulting one of his employees he was forced to admit that the figures from the Open Europe research were actually correct.

Forced to defend his position, Michel then went on to try and justify his generous pension by saying that “We are well paid, though. But every morning at five o’clock I have to wake up, I have to make countless tours, endure heavy traffic jams ... This compensation is a parachute, okay, but certainly not a golden one.”

After admitting to mishandling the economic crisis, Commissioners still feel that they deserve a generous payoff while they change their jobs. What about the millions of people affected by their incompetence? Where is their support for finding new jobs?

Please Commissioners, let’s have some consistency... Libertas opposes the generous treatment of unelected Brussels elites at the expense of the European citizen. The EU should work FOR the people of Europe, not AGAINST them.

Taken from the Libertas Daily Update

€5,000 coffee machines in EU... wasted.

The European Commission spent €100,000 on 20 luxury coffee machines to equip the Berlaymont building in Brussels.

The machines have now been switched off, following a complaint from an employee. A spokesperson attempted to justify the expense by saying that they didn’t want the Commisioners to waste time waiting for coffee.

Taken from the Libertas Daily Update

My comment: 

€5,000 for a coffee machine seems a little steep. How about we give them a £20 kettle and a value box of Nescafe like I have to use in the office? If they can finally admit that the Lisbon Treaty is the same as the Constitution, we can upgrade them to Gold Blend.

Commissioner admits incompetence

Unelected EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has admitted to the Dutch press that she “underestimated” the extent of the global credit crisis, and that her decision to give priority to other matters was “bad”.

In a world where European citizens are feeling the economic pinch and unemployment figures are steadily rising across the continent, the direct impact of Kroes’ gross mismanagement is plain to see.

The fact that this unelected official has such job secuirty despite her obvious incompetence is a prime example of the lack of accountability in the EU as it stands today. Libertas is committed to increasing accountability and ensuring that the EU works for the benefit of its citizens, as opposed to costing them their jobs.

The European Commission has also announced the cancellation of a Jobs Summit that was due to be held in May with a view to tackling the rising unemployment across Europe.

Libertas chairman Declan Ganley said “Let’s hear Mr. Barroso’s explanation of how cancelling this meeting is beneficial to those who have lost their jobs. This Commission is astonishingly out of touch with the people of Europe”.

This is taken from the Libertas Daily Update - not my work!

Robin Matthews is blogging

Robin Matthews, leader of Libertas in the UK, has today launched his personal campaign blog:

http://robin-matthews.blogspot.com/

MEPs vote to keep expenses secret

What is it about MEPs and their expenses? Why is it so hard for them to trust the public to see what they spend our money on?

The Telegraph reported on Wednesday that both our Tory and Labour MEPs voted to keep their expenses secret, nobbling the legislation that would have forced the information into the open.

I think that criticism in relation to expenses is often misdirected. Expenses themselves form only a tiny fraction of the total spend of our governments (both British and EU), and are essential to good governance. As long as politicians use the money to improve their ability to do their job properly, I am happy.

The real issue with expenses, often overlooked, is what they represent. Expenses provide a window into the mind of a politician. They tell us what their priorities are, how concerned they are with value for money, how active they are at travelling, where they go, who they see and so on. Most importantly they tell us how seriously politicians take our money that they are spending. If we can't trust them to spend their expenses wisely and frugally, then we simply can't trust them to spend public money in other areas either.

When we see Conservative and Labour MEPs voting to hide this information from us entirely, the alarm bells should be ringing across the country. 

When asked at the UK launch whether Libertas MEPs would publish their expenses, Party Leader Robin Matthews categorically stated:

"As a former British soldier, my salary has been in the public domain for over 21 years and I think, given the amount of money that the EU wastes and spends on our behalf, I think it’s the least that the 500million citizens across Europe should expect."

If you want a new style of MEP representing you in Brussels, please support Libertas.

Thanks to a reader for pointing this story out.

Tories out of the EPP, but now where?

Conservative Home revealed a couple of days ago that the Tories have officially handed in notice to leave the EPP-ED, the largest grouping in the European Parliament. This was a promise made by Cameron during his leadership election campaign back in 2005 and it has taken nearly four years to implement. 

The big problem for the Conservatives is that it leaves potential voters wondering what it is they are really voting for. Not only is the Tory party completely divided on the Lisbon Treaty, it now doesn't have a home in the European Parliament.

As this blog has discussed before, one of the main problems in voting for domestic parties is that they form such a tiny fraction of the overall number of MEPs in Brussels. The Tories, even though they won the last EU elections with 27 MEPs, still only represent 4% of the European parliament. At least while they were in the EPP they had a voice and people knew where they stood. Now that they are on the outside, they have absolutely no influence in the Parliament.

Cameron announced in 2006 that he would try to form a new grouping with a Czech party, but so far there has been little evidence of that going ahead. Even if they manage to meet the minimum requirements of having MEPs from seven different countries in their new group, all indications are that it will remain a fringe group like the Independence and Democracy Group (UKIP's group).

So what will be the point of British voters supporting a marginalised Tory party with no influence in the Parliament?

Perhaps Cameron is anticipating joining the Libertas group after June...?

Libertas on the News at Ten

In case you missed it, here is the News at Ten report covering the launch in the UK on Tuesday:

Libertas still scaring politicians

Politicians from around the country are lining up to attack Libertas following the launch on Tuesday. While we find this mightily encouraging, it's always interesting to look at how the domestic parties are trying to misrepresent us. One thing is clear; they still don't really know what to make of us. Libertas is the first pan-European party, standing on a pro-European reform ticket; clearly this is a concept beyond some of the intellectual giants masquerading as politicians in Britain.

First up we have Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, who was at pains to point out that "Libertas is not a Eurosceptic party". I am not sure how that constitutes a criticism, but it has the advantage of being accurate, unlike many of his other claims. For example he also stated:

There's a rather bewildering assumption that because Declan campaigned so successfully for a No vote in the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty that he's therefore against further integration, ever closer union and the rest of the federalist claptrap.... It's really just the Lisbon Treaty he doesn't like.

It seems that UKIP is deliberately trying to present Libertas as being in favour of a superstate, even though it is our stated aim to avoid this (as I have said many times on this blog). But the truth is irrelevant when you are as scared as Farage is. The problem for UKIP is that their dream of leaving the European Union isn't supported by the vast majority of the public. Libertas is offering a positive, realistic solution to the anti-democratic EU superstate in a way that UKIP never can, and it's going to appeal to many disillusioned UKIP voters. 

Next into the ring was Liberal Democrat MEP, Andrew Duff. It is a little known fact that Tuesday was also National Cattle Excrement Day, and Duff, who is a keen supporter of excreta, claimed that "anti-European voters in Britain are being spoiled for choice". Is it too much to ask our politicians to engage in discourse within the realms of realism? This isn't  just a lie, it's an anti-truth. It's a mystery why Duff is allowed out of the house unaccompanied, let alone allowed a public platform.

But this appears to be the official Liberal Democrat line on Libertas. Our good friend, Lib Dem MEP, Graham 'President' Watson has also accused Libertas of being 'anti-European' even though the party is entirely about creating a new democratic European Union.

Not content with that lame and transparent anti-truth, Duff blundered on:

"Ganley wants the EU to stick with the present, clumsy and inefficient Nice treaty but voters want a stronger and reformed EU," said Duff.

I can't even bring myself to comment on that. 

Finally, the publicity shy Labour MEP, Richard Corbett, was wheeled out with plenty to say:

UK Socialist deputy Richard Corbett branded the group's plans a "farce", saying it was "a personal vanity project" for Ganley.

It might seem like a fair criticism at first; Declan Ganley is certainly a central identifiable figure for Libertas, but he is a roaming Chairman representing 27 countries. Although he was at the UK launch, his input  into the UK arm of Libertas has been minimal; we are a home grown party. On top of that, Declan has publicly stated that he will not be putting any money into Libertas and that we will be funded entirely from donations (which is a legal requirement for parties anyway!).

The fact that their 'party leader' has been personally appointed by Ganley demonstrates that Libertas is nothing more than a personal vanity project – a pressure group masquering as a party."

Indeed, Robin Matthews was appointed to set up the party in the UK, but there is simply no other way for this to work; he was the person who brought the rest of us in and actually made it happen. The organisation required to establish a serious political party in time for the June elections doesn't allow for three months of leadership elections. 

Someone had to pick up the baton and start running. Robin Matthews is the person who has made all of this possible in the UK, and he has done a phenomenal job of it so far. One only has to look at the media coverage of the launch, and the panic amongst politicians like Corbett to see evidence of this.

What Corbett also conveniently forgot to mention is that the Libertas UK party constitution requires a leadership election within six months of the June elections. Democracy is at the core of Libertas.

"That is what he is about - slick propaganda, myth-making and playing on people's fears. If he doesn't spend his own money, then he will be using someone else's."

Phone the police! Libertas might be using someone else's money to fund itself. We sometimes call this dubious source of funding 'donations'. 

In conclusion, the sum total of attacks on us is a steaming pile of gibberish.

Tories and Lib Dems divided over the EU

Liberal Democrat peers have stated that they will vote against a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in the UK, effectively ending all hope of forcing one in the UK before Ireland is forced to vote again in October.

In a grand example of why domestic parties are wholly unsuitable to stand in European Parliamentary elections, the Tories immediately sought to gain political capital:

But Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Lib Dems' position on Europe was "now in total chaos".

"They now have a three-way split between rebel MPs who want a referendum, Lords officially voting against a referendum and a leadership lamely abstaining.

"Nick Clegg's authority over his party now looks very weak indeed."

Allowing himself to get sidetracked from the real issue, Hague has unfortunately opted in favour of political points scoring. Isn't this precisely the kind of issue where party politics is completely inappropriate? Hague isn't criticising their decision on the referendum, he is just attacking Nick Clegg for political gain.  It's just not helpful to the debate.

 However Hague's statement was not only unhelpfully partisan, it was also shockingly hypocritical:

But a number of senior Tories spoke out against their party's policy.

Ex-Chancellor Lord Howe said he did not have "huge affection" for the "complex" treaty but failure to ratify it would be a "serious blow to the credibility and effectiveness of the United Kingdom".

Ex-EU commissioner and former home secretary Lord Brittan said he was "strongly opposed" to a referendum.

So what exactly will potential Tory and Lib Dem supporters be voting for in the coming EU elections given that both parties  are divided from top to bottom on the single most important EU issue at the moment?  

In contrast, Libertas is offering a single platform for reform of the EU. All of our candidates agree that the Lisbon Treaty is effectively the same as the Constitution, that the EU needs root and branch reform, and that we don't want a federal superstate run by unelected bureaucrats. It's a clear and solid message that voters can trust in.

Robin Matthews is the UK Libertas Party Leader

Robin Matthews was announced as the Libertas Party Leader in the UK today.  

There are more videos from the event on our YouTube page:

http://www.youtube.com/libertasuk

Robin Matthews was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army. In 2005 he commanded the Light Dragoons in Iraq and has also served in Cyprus, Bosnia and Sierra Leone.

After 2005, he worked as a Director in the Army’s Department of Corporate Communications, responsible for preserving and promoting the Army’s reputation during a period of intense operational activity and media interest. Just prior to leaving the Army, he was seconded as the Strategic Communications Advisor to 16 (Air Assault) Brigade, Helmand Province, Afghanistan and also acted as the spokesman for all British Forces there.

He is married with three children.

Declan on the Politics Show today

Declan Ganley, Chairman of Libertas.eu, will be appearing on the Politics Show today at midday on BBC1.

Democracy, but not as we know it.

Ireland will be thrown out of the EU if it votes 'No' to the Lisbon Treaty again, according to EU fanboy Graham Watson. Not satisfied with ignoring the first vote, and forcing the Irish to vote again, Watson is now using fear tactics to bully Irish voters into supporting the reanimated corpse of the EU Constitution.

Talking to the ever neutral Irish Times, Watson stated:

“It is very difficult to see any country being able to stay in if they have had two Nos from the people”

But not content with that threat alone, Watson went on to add:

"It would be very difficult to get large companies to invest in a country that looked as if it might be leaving the EU. I think it would have a social impact as well and, of course, it would call into question the future of the EU agency that is based in Ireland,” 

In other words, the Irish will be forced to vote once more because they voted the wrong way, but with the additional threat of being booted out if they dare to defy their new masters again. They also will lose their EU funding, lose international business investment and it will have a 'social impact' whatever that means. It's probably Liberal Democrat code for total panic in the tea rooms.

The more Watson opens his mouth the more he exposes the sham that is 'democracy' in the EU. He and the other Brussels elites simply don't care whether the Irish (or the French, or the Dutch,  or the British) want an anti-democratic superstate for Europe or not. We are going to get it regardless, and if the Irish get in the way they will just be ignored and kicked out. 

The veneer of democracy that the EU may have had before is rapidly peeling off, leaving a nasty stain.  

It's not Ireland that needs booting out of the EU, it people like Graham Watson.

It's time for some genuine democracy, and some genuine democrats. It's time for Libertas.

A special thanks goes out to my reader for flagging this one up.

Joe Trippi joins Libertas

It was announced yesterday in the Irish Times that Joe Trippi is now working with Libertas. Mr Trippi  has worked on several high profile American presidential election campaigns, including those for John Edwards and Howard Dean.

His inclusion in the Libertas team was announced by Declan Ganley at the launch of Libertas in Germany:

“We have brought on board one of the world’s leading internet fundraising strategists . . . Joe Trippi. He did Howard Dean’s campaign from which the Obama campaign learned very much,” 

His presence underlines the seriousness with which Libertas is taking this election. 

Graham Watson defects to the BNP?

It seems that I was a bit remiss in my posting yesterday. The big story of the day was not Lib Dem MEP Graham Watson's fight for life against rampaging killer adverts, it was the revelation of his true personality:

I am confident that the people of South West England and Gibraltar will not be fooled by a crass attack by a foreigner on a representative of our region

Yes, you read it correctly. Graham Watson is a xenophobe. He wants you to think less of someone else's opinion because they are foreign.

This bizarre dismissal of Declan Ganley on the basis of his nationality is hampered only by the fact that he has dual Anglo-Irish nationality; he was born and raised in London and has considerable British business interests.

But if Declan Ganley was French or Bulgarian, how would that make his opinion of Graham Watson any less valid? Surely this kind of antiquated attitude has no place in a modern Europe?

If Graham Watson is intending to become the BNP's first MEP, I thnk that we should be told!

Graham Watson. Again.

Graham Watson is again trying to use Libertas to position himself as a future President of the European Parliament. In an unusual article placed on his own website today, he claimed that he 'will not be cowed by Ganley threat'. But what is this serious threat and has he reported it to the police?

Apparently not. This most dangerous of threats that he won't be cowed by is that Libertas might run some adverts in his South West region during the EU elections... where Libertas will also be running candidates. His bravery in the face of danger is an inspiration to us all.

So what's this really about? Firstly, Mr Watson has identified that whereas Eurosceptics are easy to dismiss, criticism from the pro-European Libertas is much harder to 'stymie'. Our arguments can't simply be rubbished as coming from little Englanders because we want the EU to be a success more than he does. However, unlike Graham, we believe that this can be achieved without abolishing Britain, and without forming a bureaucratic superstate. We don't believe that supporting the corrupt anti-democratic EU in its current form is pro-European at all; in fact his stance is damaging to the future of Europe and the European Union.

Secondly, and this again demonstrates one of the biggest problems with the EU, Mr Watson seems to think that the best way to garner support for his Presidency campaign is to become the ultimate EU fanboy. He has taken it upon himself to become our Nemesis; he will stand against those most dangerous to the Brussels hegemony, and that now means Libertas. Because we are promoting an alternative style of European governance, we are his perfect enemy.

Striking fear into politicians everywhere

Libertas continues to strike fear into the hearts of politicians everywhere. Today's victim is Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who has actually gone so far as to change the political donation rules just to counter us!

Brian and other anti-democratic Irish politicians first got their knickers in a twist last year over how Libertas raised the money to fight the No campaign in Ireland. In a magnificent display of SLS (Sore Loser Syndrome) they threw a tantrum and accused Libertas of taking money from the CIA and US military. 

The alternative, that the Lisbon Treaty they all support was just very unpopular in Ireland and so people donated money to Libertas, didn't occur to them. It's clearly far more civilised to run a smear campaign complaining that the CIA is providing a slush fund. 

When will they realise that these dirty tricks only serve to reveal their true anti-democratic nature? It's a superb advertisement for why the public should disbelieve their propaganda and fear tactics over the Lisbon Treaty.

Anyway, must dash, I'm off to McDonald's in my brand new Hummer.