Good morning, and welcome to Liberal Democrat Voice’s coverage of the 70th Anniversary Congress of Liberal International from sunny Andorra.
Liberals from around the world have gathered in the Co-Principality to talk about human rights, debate the big global issues of the day, elect a new Bureau and, most importantly, formally adopt a newly-updated “Liberal Manifesto” which aims to express how liberal values and ideas are relevant in a rapidly changing world. For, whilst policies are forever evolving in the face of events, values offer insight into the types of solutions on offer.
The Liberal Democrat delegation is a small one, due to the General Election, and in the absence of the Party President, I’m technically leading the delegation. So, what is there to look forward to today?
The session on opposing populist autocrats might prove to have more salience than one might have hoped, with liberals from South Africa, the Philippines, Hungary and Venezuela discussing their experiences, whilst the International Federation of Liberal and Radical Youth (IFLRY) are hosting a workshop on the future of employment.
In the afternoon, featured events include a session on spreading the liberal message online, and a debate on individual rights versus group rights.
So, stay tuned to Liberal Democrat Voice as the Congress unfolds.
* Mark Valladares is an elected member of the Party’s Federal International Relations Committee.
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2 Comments
> I’m technically leading the delegation.
It is in good hands, then.
It is worth pointing out that in the past couple of years the media had decided that there was going to be an AltRight spring.
Instead, first the Canadian Liberals came from third to win an overall majority, a Green beat the AltRight to win the Austrian Presidency, the altright were soundly beaten in the Netherlands with two Liberal Parties dominating the coalition and the Centrist Macron came from nowhere to win the French Presidency, beating the AltRight by an unexpected 2-1.
South Korea also say their Liberal Party leapfrog socialists to take power from Conservatives.
Germany is still to play for, but the fight is very much between liberal Centre Right and Centre Left, with the Liberal FTP coming back from near oblivion and the AltRight down to single figures.
Liberals should be proud that the broader trends are very strongly in their direction and hopefully some of this fairy dust will fall on the LibDems on the day.