Libertas founder sees electoral niche in Germany [fr] [de]
"Germany has enormous potential" for anti-Lisbon Treaty party Libertas in this June's European elections, its controversial chairman Declan Ganley told EurActiv in an interview.
Ganley's gift for spotting a gap in the market is well-known in business circles, and he believes he has spotted a similar gap in Germany's political landscape. "Here is a place which doesn't have one single party that raises serious questions about the anti-democratic disposition of the current EU institutions," he claimed.
Just a week after Libertas's status as a pan-European party was suspended pending a European Parliament investigation (EurActiv 05/02/09), a bullish Ganley said he doesn't care whether he receives the Parliament's approval, claiming that "it won't change a single thing. We are coming to Brussels, whether they like it or not".
While he believes Libertas has found capable candidates in "all" EU member states, Ganley would not yet reveal names, nor confirm whether he himself would run in the elections. "I'd like to, but I'm not ready to make that decision yet," he said, before adding: "I don't need this job, and I'll only do it if I can be effective".
A recent poll conducted by Irish party Fine Gael showed that if Ganley were to run in June, he would finish last in a group of eight Irish candidates, winning less than 5% of the vote.
The Libertas chairman, who previously claimed the party would need to raise €75 million to run a successful pan-European campaign, said that he would seek to emulate US President Barack Obama's campaign fundraising tactic, with large numbers of small donations.
This would also increase voter turnout, a key objective for Libertas to succeed, Ganley said. "We will fail if turnout remains as low as it has been," he argued, adding that "we would still win some seats, but not large enough numbers to be highly effective".
He believes that if average turnout is above 50% in the elections, Libertas may win a "significant number" of seats.
Regarding the party's electoral programme, Ganley claimed Libertas is not a one-issue movement. The party will publish a policy manifesto in March that will focus not only on the "pivotal" issue of Lisbon, but also the "economic hurricane" facing Europe. The party's economic platform will call for an environment where small and medium-sized businesses are encouraged to take risks and become the engine of job creation and growth in the EU. "That's where Europe's economic recovery is going to come from," he said.
While Ganley believes a second Irish Lisbon Treaty referendum would again result in a "no" vote, he said he had not been following the treaty's fate in the Czech Republic very closely, arguing that it is a question for the Czech people.
Finally, Ganley insists that Libertas "isn't only about me," and that once the party unveils its list of candidates for the elections, "a Libertas grass roots will come". "We are massively encouraged, and I personally am just shocked, at the positive reaction we are getting. The question that keeps coming to my mind is: why did no-one else do this?"
Asked whether he would put his name forward for president of the European Parliament in the event that he is elected to the EU assembly, Ganley replied: "I can understand that that's something people would like, and I have to make sure it's something I think about. Talk to me in a few weeks time."