Whilst most of you will either be at your count (and good luck to you all!) or sitting in front of a television set or a computer watching the results come in, your correspondent will be in a hotel room in Oslo. Yes, it’s time once again for liberals from across Europe to gather and tell the British how sorry they are for the result/share the love and tell us things will get better/express surprise at how well we did (delete as appropriate). And despite exhaustion and uncertainty, a small, depleted and wholly male delegation will be there to fly the Liberal Democrat flag.
So, what are we there for, apart from the joy of discovering that a second mortgage is required to buy a beer?
Council will be opened with a speech from the Prime Minister of Norway… who isn’t a member of our host party, Venstre, but is leader of the Conservative Party. That said, the ruling minority coalition of the Conservatives and the Progress Party has a confidence and supply arrangement with Venstre and the Christian Democrats in the Storting to ensure its survival (and you thought that British politics was complex?).
The agenda for Council itself is unlikely to generate much excitement, although the membership application from the Liberal Party of Gibraltar is a welcome one, especially given their performance in the European Parliamentary election last year (the Liberal Democrat list – Gibraltar is part of the South West England region – gained 66% of the vote). There will also be a rationalisation of the Slovenes, as three of the five member parties there are expected to disaffiliate (they have, effectively, ceased to exist).
ALDE has, increasingly, begun to seek ways of adding extra value in terms of party building and campaign assistance, acting as a conduit for experience sharing between the various sister parties, and Council will be discussing ways of increasing efforts in this field, given the success of similar efforts last year. I suspect that Liberal Democrat fundraising techniques will be the subject of much interest.
And, on the subject of finance, ALDE will be considering the redrafted code of conduct for sponsorship and donations, with a member of the Financial Advisory Committee readied for sacrifice to appease some of the Northern European liberals. There are only two of the appointed members scheduled to be present in Oslo…
The Council fringe looks to be an interesting one, with opportunities to discuss the crisis in the Mediterranean Sea, agriculture and energy policy and how a Liberal Europe might be built. For me, the most interesting event is the Ralf Dahrendorf Roundtable Discussion entitled, “You can’t change the heart without telling a story – Liberals and the far right”.
Afterwards, delegates will celebrate Europe Day with a buffet dinner sponsored by the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association and the Norwegian Seafood Federation. Apparently, there will be drinks provided. I might need one by then…
Mark Valladares is one of the Party’s elected delegates to the ALDE Party Council and a member of its Financial Advisory Committee.