Watson, a prominent British MEP who was knighted in June, was elected leader of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party at a congress in Palermo on 25 November. He succeeds Belgian MEP Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck.
"My three main goals will be to expand our party, to update its campaign techniques and to build it into a party which is truly pan-European in its thinking," Watson said after his election.
Watson was the first British Liberal Democrat ever to be declared elected to the European Parliament, in 1994. Serving for a third term after the 2004 elections, as head of the liberal ALDE group in the European Parliament, he is credited with building a strong political group, increasing substantially the number of ALDE-affiliated MEPs.
Failed bid for presidency
In January 2009, Watson announced that he would run for president of the European Parliament after the June 2009 European elections. However, he was unsuccessful in breaking the traditional deal between the centre-right EPP-ED group and the Socialists, the two largest political families in the Parliament, which alternate presidencies of the assembly.
Watson was also unsuccessful in pushing for an "ideological coalition" between ALDE and EPP. Benefiting from the world financial crisis, his successor as ALDE leader, Guy Verhofstadt, managed to put in place a pro-European coalition, comprising also the centre-left S&D group and the Greens.
In May 2010, following the closest British election in three decades, new Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives and the smaller Liberal Democrat party led by Nick Clegg struck an agreement to form Britain's first coalition government since 1945. The arrival of the LibDems in government somewhat diluted the traditional euroscepticism of the UK conservatives.
Speaking to EurActiv Italy, Watson said he would strive to build ELDR as a European supra-national party. He said the liberals had an advantage over the two bigger political families.
The "demo-Christians", he said, had a tendency in front of difficulty to fall back on their ideological or religious certainties. In the same way, the socialists had their own "compass", while the liberals were open to dialogue with others, to trade and exchange ideas.
Watson also said that his political group would endeavour to motivate voters to be more active in the next European elections. He said the liberal candidates would get a "tool kit" to communicate more directly with their electorate, using technology and especially Internet.
Asked to comment on the inherent euroscepticism of his fellow Britons, Watson said: "Europe has brought peace, prosperity and incredible opportunities. We should be proud being European".
COMMENTS
Republican traitor! Everybody hate's this guys guts! I don't see Farage ever get a mention here, what a mad, mad system. What of the Liberals in the polls, soon to be taken over by UKIP at the national level here in the UK, UKIP already polls second highest behind the Conservatives in Europe - the LDs are politically dead!
This guy saw in the introduction of the European Arrest Warrant, he's scum, he'll get his!
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