UK general election endorsement

                                               

On Thursday, Britain will go to the polls to choose a new Parliament and – perhaps – Prime Minister and government. After the disastrous vote to exit the European Union last year – which, in my view, infused life into the populist campaign of Donald Trump in America and to nationalist populism across the West –, Britons find themselves having to choose among two prime ministerial candidates and parties who...

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My endorsement for the U.S. presidential election

 

After almost two years of one of the most vicious and policy-absent campaigns in American history, Election Day is finally – almost – here. Americans will have the final say over who they believe should be their next commander-in-chief and head of the Executive branch: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump. While in the past, American presidential elections have usually been contests ...

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Our endorsement for the Australian general election

 

Australians go to the polls on Saturday to choose a new Parliament and to decide whether Liberal Malcolm Turnbull remains Primer Minister or Labor’s Bill Shorten moves into The Lodge. Even though Australia is a parliamentary democracy and voters choose Members of Parliament and Senators rather than a Prime Minister directly, our endorsement decision on which party or parties to support is based on who will end up being Prime Minister. ...

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Spaniards will choose a new Parliament tomorrow after months of gridlock resulting in no government. After the decision of a majority of British voters to become the first country to exit the European Union, the worst thing that could happen to Europe and the Western liberal order is another win for anti-globalization forces, this time in Spain. There is no doubt that the hard-left alliance Podemos is an enemy of the values we believe in: individual fr...
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Our endorsement for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominations

 

Americans begin the process to choose their new president on Monday with the much-publicized Iowa caucuses. It’s hard not to feel disheartened and anxious when we observe that the two candidates garnering the most traction and enthusiasm in rallies are a narcissistic megalomaniac whose entire campaign is built on xenophobia and chauvinism, and a self-described socialist who is campaigning on a message of class ...

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Our endorsement for Spain’s general election

Spanish citizens go to the polls on Sunday to choose a new Parliament in a much better economic environment than when they last voted four years ago. The economy is growing at 3% and unemployment is falling, although slowly. Yet no one expects any party to win an overall majority. Most polls show the governing conservative Popular Party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy slightly ahead, while the race for the second place is unclear.

While we bel...

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But will voters seize the opportunity?

Our endorsement for Argentina’s presidential election   

On Sunday, October 25^th, Argentines go to the polls to choose the successor of Cristina Kirchner –the current president– as well as members of the lower and upper houses of Congress. Twelve years have passed since Nestor Kirchner –the current president’s husband– came to power inaugurating an era of populist, authoritarian government. While the Kirchners benefited tremendously from the ...

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More than an endorsement, our view on the Canadian election

 

After almost a decade at the helm of Canada’s federal government, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper is fighting to remain in power in one of the closest electoral races in many years. On Monday, October 19^th, Canadians will finally decide if they want a fourth consecutive Conservative administration or a new government. We have been struggling with our choice for this election for many weeks and are still not very sure...

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Our endorsement for the UK general election

After five years of a coalition government that many thought was not going to last much in office, Britain is going to the polls on Thursday to decide whether Prime Minister David Cameron will get a chance to continue in power –either alone or in a continued coalition– or not. It seems all but certain that the country will have its second hung parliament in a row, an astonishing sea change in British politics, which used to be dominated by a Co...

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Swedes go to the polls tomorrow to choose a new Parliament. After eight years in power, the liberal center-right Alliance (Alliansen) is in danger of being thrown out of power by the Social Democrats and their leftist allies. This would be a regrettable outcome for one of the world's success stories of the last decade.   

Looking at Sweden's record during the last eight years, one could argue --especially from a liberal perspective-- that that i...
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Euro citizens should vote to defend what has made Europe prosperous

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Our endorsement for Norway’s general election

Norwegians go to the polls on Monday to choose a new Parliament and all polls are predicting defeat for the current centre-left coalition of Labour, the Socialist Left and the Centre Party. The Conservative Party leader, Erna Solberg, looks all but certain to become Norway’s next prime minister in a non-socialist government. We welcome this change.

Ms Solberg leads a pragmatic, centre-right Conservative Party (Høyre) with a liberal programm...

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Our endorsement for the Italian general election

Italians go to the polls on Sunday and Monday amidst a difficult economic scenario at home and in the Eurozone. While the reforms taken by current Prime Minister Mario Monti to sort out the country’s fiscal crisis have had a positive effect –although much remains to be done on that front–, he has failed to put together a broad coalition to win the election and has decided to pander to socially conservative segments of Italian society.

Mr...

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Ecuadorians go to the polls today to choose a president and members of the National Assembly. As is widely expected, President Rafael Correa appears all but certain to secure another term in office due to the opposition’s atomization and inability to coalesce around a single challenger. In spite of this fact, we urge those Ecuadorians who believe in freedom to reject Mr. Correa and vote for an opposition party.

During his 6 years in power, Mr. Correa has been able to re...

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  Our endorsement for U.S. president 

Four years ago, America made history –once again– by electing its first African American president in the midst of a deep financial and confidence crisis. Four years later, an America still worried about its future and its pocket –although no longer in a deep crisis– goes to the polls to choose between two men with two very different visions for the country. We believe President Obama’s vision is far superior to that of his Republican challeng...

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Our endorsement for the Venezuelan presidential election

 

Venezuelans go to the polls on Sunday to choose between six more years of ‘chavismo’ or a new beginning. After years of non-competitive presidential elections since Hugo Chávez came to power, this is the first time an opposition candidate has a real chance to defeat the South American autocrat and his authoritarian regime. Chávez’s challenger, Henrique Capriles Radonski, was selected as the presidential candidate of the Demo...

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Our endorsement for Mexico’s presidential election

 

Mexico goes to the polls tomorrow to choose a new president. While none of the main candidates can be described as “liberal,” we believe that there is one option that, at least, would respect Mexico’s free democratic institutions. That option is Josefina Vázquez Mota, from the conservative National Action Party (PAN), which currently governs Mexico under President Felipe Calderón. Ms. Vázquez Mota is far from ideal and we disag...

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Our endorsements for Thursday’s London mayor and local elections in Britain

 

On Thursday, Londoners will go to the polls to choose a new mayor (or to re-elect the current occupant of City Hall). Judging by his record during the last four years –and taking into account that, in reality, this is a two-way contest–, we believe the Conservative Boris Johnson deserves another term as Mayor of London. Despite his sometimes mercurial personality, Mr Johnson has proved to be a good mayor. We...

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Our endorsement for the Republican presidential nomination

 

The 2012 American election season has begun. Whereas President Barack Obama has no serious contender for the Democratic nomination, the Republican Party has a field of six contenders (after Michelle Bachmann and Herman Cain dropped out of the race) who are fighting to carry the torch of America’s “conservative” party. While the policies of today’s Republican Party are usually at odds with the liberal philosophy (liberal,...

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Our endorsement for today's Danish general election

Danes go to the polls today to choose a new Parliament and a new government.  While the current Liberal-Conservative administration has some good results to show on the economy, its policies on immigration and other social issues –highly influenced by the far-right Danish People’s Party, on which support the current government depends– have been disappointing to say the least.

We strongly believe in the importance of a balanced rep...

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Our endorsement for the AV referendum in the United Kingdom

On Thursday, Britain will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum to replace the “First-past-the-post” electoral system for the so-called “Alternative Vote” system. Much has been said about both systems and their positive and negative aspects. We believe FPTP is a relic of the past, an unfair system that punishes smaller parties –including the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and UKIP– and gives disproportionate ...

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Our endorsement for the Canadian federal election.  

Canadians will go to the polls on May 2^nd to choose a new Parliament.  If we have to choose one word to describe the nature of this election campaign, that word would be disappointing. It was a campaign plagued with negative attacks coming from all sides and all parties, except the Greens, who were undemocratically excluded from the televised leaders’ debates. Crucial issues like climate change were totally avoided by the big parties, wh...

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Our endorsement for Tuesday’s midterm elections

Americans will go to the polls on Tuesday, November 2^nd, to choose a new Congress. As liberals –in the real, classical meaning of the term–, we find it difficult to select one party over the other. On issue after issue, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party contain numerous illiberal and even authoritarian elements that we find quite unpalatable. Moreover, over the last decade, both parties have proven to be incapable of d...

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RealLibs endorses Andrew Cuomo for New York Governor

New Yorkers choose a new Governor on November 2^nd and the choice could not be clearer. This race is between an experienced, inclusive and pro-business Democrat like Andrew Cuomo and a divisive Republican figure like Carl Paladino. While Mr. Paladino offers extremist right-wing rhetoric with no real substance, Mr. Cuomo has put forward a sensible plan to balance the state budget (putting the main focus on cutting wasteful spending and unn...

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RealLibs endorses Alex Sink for Florida Governor

As America’s fourth largest state –and one of the most important points of entrance to the U.S.–, Florida matters to the world. During the last years, Republican-turned-independent Governor Charlie Crist has adopted a pragmatic agenda focusing on solving Florida’s problems instead of pushing for divisive and ideology-driven policies his former party is so used to pursue.

Florida is a microcosm of America: Diverse, multicultural, an...

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RealLibs endorses Charlie Crist for U.S. Senator

 

Floridians will choose a new Senator on November 2^nd and their decision could shift the balance of power in Washington. There is one fact Floridians (especially Democrats and center-left voters) should keep in mind: This is not a three-way race. Democrat Kendrick Meek has no real chance of getting elected. This race is between Independent candidate Charlie Crist and Republican candidate Marco Rubio.

During his time as Governor of the Su...

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RealLibs endorses Lincoln Chafee for Rhode Island Governor

Rhode Island chooses a new governor on November 2nd. Based on the latest polls, this contest has turned into a two-horse race between Democrat Frank Caprio and Independent Lincoln Chafee. We are proud to announce our support for former U.S. Senator and Independent candidate Lincoln Chafee.

During his years in the Senate, Mr. Chafee demonstrated what being an independent is all about. Probably the last representative of the once...

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We choose the best option for Australia. We choose the Greens.

For many years, Australia has caught the imagination of the entire world in different ways. Whether for its amazing natural beauty, the kindness of its multicultural society or its highly developed economy, Australia is one of those hard-to-forget places in the world.  Now, what does this have to do with politics and, particularly, liberalism? In many ways, Australia is an example of liberalism. The country’s econo...

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On Wednesday, June 9^th, Dutch voters will go the polls to choose a new Parliament. As one of the most progressive and liberal societies in the world, the decision the Netherlands makes today is very important for those of us who care about liberty, openness and human rights. While we believe Dutch voters will, in the end, make a wise choice, there are threats to the values liberals so deeply care about. In this occasion, the major threat comes from the extremist and xenophobic PVV –also (...

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Our endorsement for the UK general election 2010

We are in the final days of what has –unexpectedly but fortunately- become the most unpredictable and exciting election campaign in the United Kingdom in decades. Among the most important features of this campaign season is the excitement that the election has produced on British voters. According to different sources, turnout in this election could be as high as it was in 1997, when more than seventy per cent of voters went to the polls to ...

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German voters are set to choose a new Parliament and, with it, a new governing coalition for the next four years. When analyzing our political endorsement –and due to the nature of the German political system-, RealLibs.com decided to make two endorsements: the first one, to choose our preferred political party and leader; the second one, to choose which kind of governing coalition we’d like to see. ?

 

The first endorsement shouldn’t be too difficult to guess. As our name indicates, am...

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By Alejandro Honeker

Germany prepares to choose a new Parliament on Sunday and, according to the latest polls, anything could happen. First of all, let’s mention this (believe me, it’s going to be easier later on): Black = Christian Democrats (CDU) --or, more exactly, CDU+CSU--, red = Social Democrats (SPD), yellow = liberals (FDP), and green equals, well, green. Since no party is considering a coalition with the far-left Left Party, we’ll leave it out of the equation. In order to form g...

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The Free Democratic Party (FDP), Germany's liberal political party, has launched its latest internet ad highligthing the party's central motto for the upcoming federal election: "Strengthening the middle." . The FDP has seen its poll numbers go up in the last months due to the public's dissatisfaction with the two major parties, the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, which have been governing Germany in an odd 'grand coalition' since 2005. According to the latest polls, The FDP -wh...

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 UK  The Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, affirmed on Friday that the Labour government is no longer able to govern and that it's "finished." Clegg echoed David Cameron's call for a general election. Regarding the Lib Dems' take over of the Bristol City Council, Clegg said now the Lib Dems have majorities in almost every big city in the country and that this is "a sign of things to come."


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Tomorrow, the future of Europe is at stake. As liberals, we support the efforts to make Europe an open area, where goods, services, capitals and people can move freely and safely. We believe that Europe and the United States are the guardians of liberty in the world. To keep it that way, it is essential to advance liberalism in the European Parliament. For this reason, we endorse the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) and its respective member political parties. 

To find out whi...
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Our endorsement for the UK Local and European elections

On Thursday, June 4^th, Britons will go to the polls to choose their representatives for the European Parliament as well as local councilors. In deciding our endorsement, we asked ourselves two main questions: Which party has shown a pragmatic and solutions-oriented approach to governing? And finally, which party has consistently stood up for the principles and values of liberalism? Our answer to both questions was very easy: only the Lib...

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Watch the first TV broadcasts from the UK Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives for the upcoming June elections:
  First 2 Lib Dem broadcasts:

www.libdems.org.uk

First Conservative broadcast:

www.conservatives.com
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UK Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg launched today the campaign for the upcoming European elections under the slogan "Stronger together, poorer apart," signaling the party's strong commitment to a strong and united European Union. Clegg affirmed that Labour is finished and that a vote for the Conservatives is a vote for a less safe Britain and Europe. 

Visit the Lib Dem campaign website for the Euro elections @  http://europe.libdems.org.uk/ 

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The Liberal Convention in Vancouver, Canada,  chose yesterday the Liberal party's new leader, Michael Ignatieff, who will carry the party's banner in the next election. Here comes Ignatieff's introductory video and his speech before the Convention:

[realLibs.com considers the Liberal Party as the true voice of Liberalism in Canada | For more information visit www.Liberal.ca] 

Michael's Convention Speech from Liberal on Vimeo.

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The UK Lib Dems announced today that, if elected, they will cut the amount of income tax paid by lower and middle-income individuals by £700 a year. Overall, the plan does not represent a net tax cut but a 'tax switch', being funded by closing loopholes for companies and slightly increasing taxes on wealthier individuals.

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