On the same day that Libertas registered for the European elections in Sweden breaking news revealed Declan Ganley's Libertas offering cash to a political group in Sweden. The offer was rejected by the party, June List
Declan Ganley's Libertas is trying to buy political parties across Europe. This blog has previously suggested that Ganley was offering cash to established parties to help brand Libertas as a genuine political party with real supporters. Libertas is in fact a highly funded private entity owned by Declan Ganley. Ganley neo con links are well known. The party is a a shell company awaiting like may of Ganley's other business enterprise. Libertas are a business that's goal is to purchase political power.
Breaking from Sweden..................... Libertas offer Swedish Party June List
10,000,000.00 SEK | = | 876,461.93 EUR |
However a further twist to this story June List are a eurosceptic party and Libertas are insisting that despite getting support from eurosceptics and the extreme right wing across Europe they claim to be pro Europe and NOT right wing.
Ganley's business plan is a threat to our freedom and democracy.
It is now time to now actively resist Libertas.
editors note Since this posting The Irish Times has come out on line I am inserting here original post continues after Irish Time article
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Libertas in fresh controversy over bid to recruit Swedish group
MARY FITZGERALD, Foreign Affairs CorrespondentLIBERTAS BECAME embroiled in fresh controversy yesterday following its attempts to persuade a Swedish Eurosceptic party to merge with the organisation in Sweden.
Sören Wibe, leader of Junilistan (The June List), claims that representatives from anti-Lisbon Treaty party Libertas offered considerable sums of money, including almost €1 million on one occasion, if his party agreed to change its name to Junilistan-Libertas.
After the story appeared in the Swedish media earlier this week, Anita Kelly, a spokeswoman for Libertas, told Sweden’s state-funded radio station P1 that no such offer had been made. “We did not make any offer to any party to run with Libertas or anything like that. We have discussed budgets as we would with anyone, but money was not offered,” she said.
Libertas was registered as a political party by the Swedish Election Authority on Tuesday after the organisation gathered the 1,500 signatures required for registration.
Mr Wibe, whose party was formed the year after Swedish voters rejected the adoption of the euro in a 2003 referendum, told The Irish Times he had met with Libertas founder Declan Ganley in Sweden in January. The offers of financial assistance had come from Libertas representatives of Scandinavian origin on other occasions, and not from Mr Ganley, he added.
“One of my colleagues was offered 10 million kronor [about €900,000] for the party and, in other discussions, it was clear that sums of that size were available,” Mr Wibe said.
“I have at least a dozen witnesses who can verify that these approaches were made.”
Junilistan garnered 14 per cent of the vote in Sweden’s 2004 European elections and won three seats in the European Parliament out of the country’s allocation of 19. The party is a member of the Independence and Democracy grouping in Brussels.
Libertas intends to run candidates in all 27 member states in the European Parliament elections in June in an attempt to transform the ballot into a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Mr Wibe said he was shocked by the nature of Libertas’s overtures to his party. “I believe [Libertas’s] behaviour was extremely unethical,” he said yesterday. “I was insulted. It would be extremely unethical for our party to be funded by a millionaire from another country. It goes against everything we stand for.”
Of Mr Ganley, he said: “I do believe that he means well, but I also believe he is not a politician. He doesn’t understand that doing politics is not the same as doing business.”
In a statement posted on its website, Junilistan said: “Politics is not money. Politics is credibility and being true to the message you deliver to your voters.”
Libertas did not return calls yesterday for comment.
Junilistan offered millions for cooperation
Irish Party Libertas, who was behind that Ireland voted against the EU's new treaty, set up in the Swedish EU elections. Founder Declan Ganley offered Swedish Junilistan 10 million SEK to become a partner.
They gave us assurances of quite substantial financial assistance, if we would agree to change our name to Junilistan - Libertas. We rejected the course immediately, "says Sören Wibe.
Varför? Why?
– Vi är inte till salu. - We are not for sale. This is contrary to everything we believe in, to be financed by a foreign billionaire in a political party, I think this course is an offer that is a direct rudeness, says Wibe.
June List chairman Sören Wibe, who as recently as about a month ago in Stockholm, then reached Libertas founder Declan Ganley.
According Wibe has Junilistan by one of Libertas representatives offered ten million to become political partners with Libertas.
Two of the June List politician, the former Christian Democrats, Bjorn von der Esch and Leif
The nilistans former medarbertare Jesper Katz has today registered Libertas as a party in the Swedish European Parliament elections.
Katz wants to play down the information on financial assistance to Junilistan.
There have been various speculations about what it would cost to run a campaign. However, it is not the same as an offer.
It was in December last year as Libertas decided to try and stand in European Parliament elections in the EU's twenty-seven countries. The goal is to stop the EU's Lisbon Treaty by Ireland in a referendum said no to.
A new referendum is expected in the autumn - a referendum Libertas want to occur through a strong performance in this year's European Parliament elections.
Herman Melzer Herman Melzer
herman.melzer@sr.se herman.melzer @ sr.sehttp://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/ekot/artikel.asp?artikel=2674010
also today on French TV Phillipe de Villiers claimed that his MPF are running for Libertas because they have the potential of taking control of the European parliament since they are running all countries. he was very vauge about his platform and could not directly answer questions about Ganley and Ganley's schemes.16:42 | tisdag 3 mars 2009Junilistan erbjöds miljoner för samarbete
Irländska partiet Libertas, som låg bakom att Irland röstade nej till EU:s nya fördrag, ställer upp också i det svenska EU-valet. Grundaren Declan Ganley erbjöd svenska Junilistan 10 miljoner kronor för att bli kompanjon.
– I princip lade man ett bud på oss. Man gav oss försäkringar om ganska omfattande ekonomiskt stöd, om vi skulle gå med på att förändra vårt namn till Junilistan - Libertas. Vi avvisade naturligtvis det omedelbart, säger Sören Wibe.
Varför?
– Vi är inte till salu. Det här strider mot allt vad vi tror på, att låta sig finansieras av en utländsk miljardär i ett politiskt parti, det tycker jag ju är ett erbjudande som är en direkt oförskämdhet, säger Wibe.
Junilistans ordförande Sören Wibe, som så sent som för någon månad sedan i Stockholm sedan träffade Libertas grundare Declan Ganley.
Enligt Wibe har Junilistan via en av Libertas representanter erbjudits tio miljoner kronor för att bli politiska kompanjoner med Libertas.
Två av Junilistans politiker, de före detta kristdemokraterna Björn von der Esch och Leif Danielsson, har dessutom tillfrågats om de vill ställa upp för Libertas.
Junilistans före detta medarbertare Jesper Katz är den som i dag hos valmyndigheten registrerat Libertas som parti i det svenska Europaparlamentsvalet.
Katz vill tona ner uppgifterna om ekonomiskt stöd till Junilistan.
– Det har funnits olika spekulationer om vad det skulle kosta att driva en kampanj. Det är dock inte samma sak som ett erbjudande.
Det var i december förra året som Libertas bestämde sig för att försöka ställa upp i Europaparlamentsvalet i EU:s samtliga tjugosju länder. Målet är att stoppa EU:s Lissabonfördrag som Irland i en folkomröstning sagt nej till.
En ny folkomröstning väntas i höst - en folkomröstning Libertas vill förekomma genom ett starkt resultat i årets Europaparlamentsval.
Herman Melzer
Convienently you neglected to reference where Mr Katz said "There was various speculation over what it would cost to run a campaign. However, it is not the same as an offer".
ReplyDeleteYou also neglected to mention Junilistan will be running candidates in the upcoming European Parliament elections. A bit of perspective wouldn't go a miss here.
One of the main problems with attacking Libertas in this way is that it mixes fact with fiction/opinion and invective and looks like an apologia for a traditional political class which itself is bankrupt and has sold us all down the river. With all the undoubted minuses of any new political grouping, those who attack them also need to say how we can handle the existing political class and get it to respond to what the people want. You can probably buy many existing politicians in the major parties far more cheaply than this...
ReplyDeleteany suggestions?
ReplyDelete