BRUSSELS

A high level conference joining liberals from both parts of the Atlantic was held at Palais des Academies last friday.

The belgian party OpenVLD, the Friedrich Neumann Stiftung and the Liberal Forum invited Michael Ignatieff, former president of the liberal party of Canada.

Michael Ignatieff is a university lecturer, columnist and former politician and member of the federal parliament of Canada. In the 2006 federal election, Ignatieff was elected to the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Etobicoke—Lakeshore. That same year, he ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party, ultimately losing to Stéphane Dion. He served as the party’s deputy leader under Dion. After Dion’s resignation in the wake of the 2008 election, Ignatieff served as interim leader from December 2008 until he was elected leader at the party’s May 2009 convention. In the 2011 federal election, Ignatieff lost his own seat in the Liberal Party’s worst showing in its history. Winning only 34 seats, the party placed a distant third behind theConservatives and NDP, and thus lost its position as the Official Opposition. On May 3, 2011, Ignatieff announced that he would resign as leader of the Liberal Party.

The topic of the lecture he gave was freedom vs security where he examined how the measures taken after the waves of islamic assaults in Europe endangered the civil liberties and freedoms of the citizens.

The ditch MEP Sophie In ‘t Veld from left-liberal party D66 had to be the counterpart and answer to his positions. She was also brilliant and the high-level audience could see how she emphasized some nuances in her answer.

A passionating debate anyway in presence of the crème de la crème of the belgian liberal party VLD with chairwoman Gwendloynn Rutten, Minister of State Herman De Croo, Ministers Bart Tommelein, Sven Gatz and Annemie Turtelboom, MEP’s Sophie In ‘t Veld, Phiilippe De Backer and former MEP Annemie Neyts. Bart Somers and Willem-Frederik Schiltz, members of the federal parliament was also present.

 

 

MDD