It is noticeable that Venezuela is prominent in the British media at the moment. To be honest, the chaos of a typical Latin American banana republic seldom causes such interest, but given the links between the Venezuelan Government and Jeremy Corbyn, its failure is a convenient stick to beat him with.
And let’s be honest, things are bad there. I had the opportunity to go to Caracas in December 2015, when things were already falling apart, inflation was spiralling and the bolivar was on its way to toilet paper status. At that point, the government had stopped publishing most economic data – it was pretty meaningless anyway – and had acknowledged its exchange rate difficulties by offering an alternative exchange rate for tourists.
The official rate was six bolivars to the dollar. As a tourist, you could legally get two hundred bolivars to the dollar. The black market, usually a fair judge of reality, was offering eight hundred bolivars to the dollar. And, as the largest bank note in circulation was a one hundred bolivar note, you can easily imagine what that meant in terms of carrying money.
So, why are things so bad in Venezuela? Firstly, the economy is almost entirely underpinned by oil exports (which represented 96% of total exports) and when the price of crude fell, GDP fell catastrophically. A market economy can adjust to that, albeit painfully. Sadly for the Venezuelan people, they have a government which not only doesn’t believe in markets, it doesn’t appear to understand them either.
Welcome once again to our regular preview of events in the Upper Chamber, and it’s another low-key week for the denizens of the red benches.
Sometimes, opportunities come along unexpectedly, and when, two weeks ago, the opportunity to go to Timişoara came along, I grabbed at the chance, without really stopping to consider what I might find when I got there. And Eastern Europe does, beyond the classic cities such as Budapest and Prague, have a bit of an image problem given the effects of war and communism on the architectural heritage.
There is a certain irony that, after a week which saw controversy over the question of UK eligibility for the award of the 2023 European Capital of Culture, that Liberal Democrat Voice is brought to you today from Timişoara, România’s third city. I’m here having taken part in a conference on Europe organised by a new political party here in Romania, the Uniunea Salvați România (Save România Union), and I’ll be offering my impressions of the event, and reporting on the speech given there by Ros Scott.
A rather more sombre opening to this Monday, in deference to the day being marked today. To be honest, I’m not proposing to add much to that introduction, as I suspect that I wouldn’t have much of value to add.
Two years ago, in Budapest, saw the election of six ALDE Party Vice Presidents and, after a tough nine-way contest, Baroness Ros Scott was safely elected. And, after a successful first term, she is seeking re-election.
Week 3 of my return to the frontline, and it seems to be getting a bit easier, somewhat like riding a bike. Admittedly, I haven’t ridden once of those for at least three decades, but nonetheless…
In yesterday’s Independent, 
It’s time, once again, for another 
Today sees the 200th anniversary of the declaration of independent Venezuela by Simón Bolívar. Frankly, there isn’t much to celebrate there at the moment, the pile of notes pictured being what $100 looked like in bolivars two years ago (and it’s much worse now), and perhaps the Danes might not be celebrating the 153rd anniversary of the end of the 
On Saturday, the European liberal family gathered in the Slovene capital, Ljubljana, to compare notes and to start the process of preparation for the 2019 European Parliamentary elections. It offers your correspondent an opportunity for reflection and, if you’ll excuse me, more than a hint of regret.
Good morning, and welcome to Liberal Democrat Voice’s coverage of the 70th Anniversary Congress of Liberal International from sunny Andorra.
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