Gathered in Palermo, Italy, the ELDR Party today elected Sir Graham Watson (Liberal Democrats, UK) to its new President for the coming two years! In his speech, drawing on great liberal thinkers from Adam Smith to Johan Norberg, Sir Graham made a strong case for the need of liberal thought in today’s Europe, and the central place for the ELDR Party in this process. He promised to make ELDR stronger, smarter and the supranational force in Europe.
The ELDR Party also elected five Vice Presidents. While Marc Guerrero (CDC, Catalonia), Lousewies van der Laan (D 66, The Netherlands) and Leoluca Orlando (IDV, Italy) were re-elected for another term; Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (FDP, Germany) and Astrid Thors (SFP, Finland) are new additions to the ELDR Party Bureau.
All candidates were warmly welcomed by some 500 European Liberals gathered in Palermo. The ELDR Party would like to extend its congratulations to all elected!