Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit - How do liberal parties function in Europe?

Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit - How do liberal parties function in Europe? [Druckversion]

How do liberal parties function in Europe?

This was the general theme of an information programme in Brussels and Berlin organized by the Delhi Office of FNF for six representatives of Lok Satta Party in May, accompanied by the Regional Director, Dr. René Klaff. After an introductory one-day seminar with Prof. Dr. Michael Dreyer, Director of the Institute of Political Science at the University of Jena, on political institutions and party systems in the EU and Germany, the group met a wide range of counterparts, mainly from the liberal political family, who informed about different aspects of politics, policies and institutional set-ups of liberal parties.

In Brussels, the European and wider multilateral frameworks were discussed, such as ELDR and ALDE, the liberal party on the European level and the liberal parliamentary fraction in the European Parliament, respectively. Mr Jochem de Groot rom Liberal International's Secretariat in London had bought a return train ticket for the day-quite possible with the existing traffic infrastructure in Europe! - and talked about the principal international platform of organised liberalism.

The visitors from India took also a lot of interest in the cleavages of Belgium's plural society which, among other things, has led to the formations of different parties from the same political families representing the major language groups. Politicians from the French- and the Flemish-speaking Liberals in Belgium shed light on their commonalities and divergences. A tour of the European Parliament sensitized the visitors for the architectural challenges to provide "a home" for the legislators from currently 27 member countries of the European Union.

Youth wings, party finances, and the relationship between party and parliamentary fraction were among the topics of the second leg of the trip in Berlin. The visitors met the top-leadership of the FDP in the state legislative chamber of Berlin (Abgeordnetenhaus). The floor leader, Dr. Martin Lindner, his deputy and several aides explained how opposition politics works on the State level in Germany, and what topics are high on the liberal agenda. Incidentally, the visitors from India also ran into the floor leaders of the two other opposition parties in Berlin, the CDU and the Greens. On the day of the visit, all three opposition floor leaders hoisted the Tibetan flag in front of the legislative chamber to protest the state government's refusal to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama upon his recent stay in the Capital.

The group also met with two FDP Parliamentarians of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag), Hellmut Königshaus and Jörg van Essen, the Chief Whip of the FDP. Both have quite good knowledge about Indian politics. Mr. van Essen concentrated on the structure and work processes of the liberal parliamentary group, which presented many insights about the day-to-day challenges of party politics. In the Party Headquarters of the FDP, the Chief Strategist of the party, Helmut Metzner, and its Principal Spokesman, Robert von Rimscha, updated about national politics in Germany as well as about the challenges and opportunities for the FDP and liberal politics in the unfolding election campaign of 2009. Sessions on the youth organization of the party, on party finances and a tour of the city and especially the building that hosts the federal parliament – the Reichstag – rounded off the information programme. The participants consented that the comparative analysis of structures and processes of liberal party politics did not only serve a better mutual understanding, but was also relevant for the development of political and organizational solutions in the Indian context.