Taking liberties

20 March 2009

Mystery piles on enigma when it comes to Libertas, the anti-Lisbon Treaty political party set up by Irish businessman Declan Ganley. First, there is the question of what Libertas actually stands for. Ganley says he is pro-EU (though anti-Lisbon), but on a recent recruiting drive to Poland was happy to line up alongside the anti-EU League of Polish Families, and indeed has appointed a former League politician to head the Libertas office in Warsaw. Then, there is the murky business of Libertas's bid to be recognised as a European political party, and thus to secure European funding. This had to be supported by political signatories from a quarter of the EU member states, but apparent Libertas backers from Bulgaria and Estonia u-turned at the eleventh hour, saying they had been misrepresented. Libertas accused "Europe's detached elite" of "disgusting and cowardly tactics" in quashing their application, but has since played down the affair, claiming to have been not that bothered about European funding anyway. But the biggest enigma of all is why Ganley is making promises he has no chance of delivering. Libertas wants the Lisbon Treaty consigned to history and says it will give all Europeans "the referendum on the anti-democratic Lisbon Treaty that the Brussels elites have conspired to deny you." But, even if Libertas scores a stunning success in the forthcoming European elections, the European Parliament has no power to enforce this. The real decisions in Brussels are taken by EU national governments meeting in the EU Council, who pay lip service to anything the Parliament says. Ganley looks likely to end up with a very sore head -- from banging it against the brick wall. By Stephen Gardner.

 

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