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1 Liberal practices  





2 Ideology  



2.1  European Union  





2.2  Social issues  







3 Parties  



3.1  Government  







4 See also  





5 Notes  














Liberalism in Europe






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A general overview and comprehensive discussion of this topic may be found in the article Liberalism.

In general, liberalism in Europe is a political movement that supports a broad tradition of individual liberties and constitutionally-limited and democratically accountable government. These European derivatives of classical liberalism are found in centrist movements and parties as well as some parties on the centre-left and the centre-right.

Liberalism in Europe is broadly divided into two groups, "social" and "conservative".[1] This differs from the American method of dividing liberalism into "modern" (simply liberal) and "classical" (orlibertarian[citation needed]), although the two groups are very similar to their European counterparts.

Most liberalism in Europe is conservative or classical, whilst European social liberalism and progressivism is rooted in radicalism, a left-wing classical liberal idea.)

Liberal practices[edit]

Emmanuel Macron, President of France, is often described as the strongest advocate for liberalism in Europe.[2]

Liberal political parties have specific policies, which the social scientist can either read from party manifestos, or infer from actual actions and laws passed by ostensibly liberal parties. The sources listed below serve to illustrate some of the current liberal attitudes in Europe.

Additionally, liberal value preferences can be inferred from the liberalisation programmes and policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The liberalism visible in these sources emphasizes in comparison with other ideologies more belief in individual development as a motor for society and the state providing a social safety net. The liberal policies differ from country to country and from party to party.

Ideology[edit]

European liberalism is largely divided into classical (in practical terms, liberalism as it is applied to the economy), social, and conservativeliberalism.[9]

Liberalism in the European context is distinct from what liberalism denotes in contemporary US politics.[10] In the US, people who are called "liberals" generally advocate for a larger government, some forms of protectionism, and more economic interventionism,[11][12][13][14] and are sometimes also called social democrats, or even leftists. In contrast, European liberals usually favor limited government, free trade and adhere to economic liberalism.[10]

In the context of European politics, a liberal (i.e., when the word is used without a modifier) is generally understood to refer to a classical liberal, who may be either centre-left or centre-right. As a result, a European classical liberal usually refers to a centre-right person with prominent economically liberal tendencies. (Germany's Free Democratic Party, for example, follows classical liberalism in this sense.) Under one interpretation, a European mainstream conservative liberal (e.g., a proponent of ordoliberalismorChristian democracy) usually has weaker economically liberal tendencies than a social liberal.[9] However, some consider classical liberals (= economic liberals) to be conservative liberals as well.[15][16]

European Union[edit]

European liberalists tend to support the European Union.[17][18][19][20][21][22] One example is Emmanuel Macron, the current President of France, who campaigned against Marine Le Pen, a candidate from the far-right, nationalist, anti-EU party known as the National Rally.[23][24][25] Some prominent European liberalists, such as Guy Verhofstadt (former Prime Minister of Belgium),[26][27] Viviane Reading (current Vice-President of the European Commission),[28] and Matteo Renzi (former Prime Minister of Italy),[29] are proponents of a future federalisation of the European Union.

Social issues[edit]

Among European liberals, "classical liberals" and "social liberals" support cultural liberalism (ex. LGBT rights issues including same-sex marriage, legalization of some drugs, opening immigration, etc.), but most "conservative liberals", including ordoliberals, Christian democrats and some agrarians, take a moderate-to-conservative stance on cultural issues. (For example, Finland's Keskusta, or "Centre Party", a Nordic agrarian party, follows conservative liberalism in this sense.)[30][31]

Parties[edit]

Government[edit]

Country Symbol Parties Head of state
Head of government
Upper/ Lower house Founded Leader/Founder Former party European/ International affliction Ideology/ Political position
 Belgium

Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats

Flemish

Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten

Prime Minister

Alexander De Croo

Chamber of Representatives (Lower House)
12 / 87

Senate (Upper House)
5 / 60

Coalition

  • MR
  • sp.a
  • PS
  • CD&V
  • Ecolo
  • Groen
  • 1992 (VLD)

    2007 (Open VLD)

    Leader

    Egbert Lachaert

    Preceded by

    Party for Freedom and Progress

    European

    Renew Europe

    Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)

    International

    Liberal International (LI)

    Ideology

    Liberalism (Belgium)[32][33]

    Conservative liberalism[34][35]

    Pro-Europeanism[17]

    Political position

    Centre-right[36]

    Reformist Movement

    French

    Mouvement Réformateur

    N/A

    Chamber of Representatives (Lower House)

    14 / 87

    Senate (Upper House)
    8 / 60

    Coalition

  • MR
  • sp.a
  • PS
  • CD&V
  • Ecolo
  • Groen
  • 21 March 2002 Leader

    Georges-Louis Bouchez

    Preceded by

    Liberal Reformist Party

    Citizens' Movement for Change

    European

    Renew Europe

    Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)

    International

    Liberal International (LI)

    Ideology

    Liberalism (Belgium)[33][37]

    Pro-Europeanism

    Political position

    Centre-right[38][39]

     Croatia Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS – LD)

    Croatian

    Hrvatska narodna stranka – Liberalni demokrati (HNS – LD)

    N/A Sabor
    1 / 151

    Coalition

    Croatian Democratic Union

    Independent Democratic Serb Party

    with support from HSLS, HDS, HDSSB, HNS, Reformists, Democratic Union of Hungarians, Kali Sara, Union of Albanians and Independents

    13 October 1990 Leader

    Predrag Štromar

    Founder

    Savka Dabčević-Kučar

    Preceded by

    Coalition of People's Accord

    Regional

    Liberal South East European Network

    European

    Renew Europe

    Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)

    Ideology

    Social liberalism[40]

    Pro-Europeanism[18]

    Political position

    Centre[41]tocentre-left[42]

     Finland Centre Party

    Finnish

    Suomen Keskusta, Kesk

    Swedish

    Centern i Finland

    Deputy Prime Minister

    Annika Saarikko

    Parliament
    31 / 200

    European Parliament
    2 / 14

    Coalition

    Social Democratic Party

    Centre Party

    Green League

    Left Alliance

    Swedish People's Party

    1906 Leader

    Annika Saarikko

    Preceded by

    Annika Saarikko

    European

    Renew Europe

    International

    Liberal International (LI)

    Ideology

    Agrarianism[43]

    Economic interventionism[44]

    Conservative liberalism[9]

    Political position

    Centre[43][45][46]

    Swedish People's Party of Finland

    Swedish

    Svenska folkpartiet i Finland

    Finnish

    Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue

    N/A Parliament
    10 / 200

    European Parliament
    1 / 14

    Coalition

    Social Democratic Party

    Centre Party

    Green League

    Left Alliance

    Swedish People's Party

    1906 Leader

    Anna-Maja Henriksson

    Founder

    Axel Lille

    Axel Olof Freudenthal

    Preceded by

    Svecoman movement

    European

    Renew Europe

    Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)

    International

    Liberal International (LI)

    Ideology

    Swedish-speaking minority interests[47]

    Liberalism (Finland)[48][49]

    Pro-Europeanism[19]

    Political position

    Centre[50]

     France La République En Marche! President

    Emmanuel Macron

    Prime Minister

    Jean Castex

    National Assembly (Lower House)
    280 / 577

    Senate (Upper House)

    23 / 348

    European Parliament
    11 / 79

    Coalition

    LREM

    MoDem

    MR

    Agir

    TDP

    6 April 2016 Leader

    Stanislas Guerini

    Founder

    Emmanuel Macron

    European

    Renew Europe

    Ideology

    Liberalism (France)

    Classical liberalism

    Pro-Europeanism

    Political position

    Centre

    Agir Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs

    Franck Riester

    National Assembly (Lower House)
    11 / 577

    Senate (Upper House)

    6 / 348

    European Parliament
    1 / 79

    Coalition

    LREM

    MoDem

    MR

    Agir

    TDP

    6 April 2016 Leader

    Franck Riester

    European

    Renew Europe

    Ideology

    Conservative liberalism

    Christian democracy

    Pro-Europeanism

    Political position

    Centre-right[51][52]

     Germany Free Democratic Party Secretary of the Treasury

    Christian Lindner

    Bundestag
    92 / 736

    State Parliaments

    134 / 1,884

    European Parliament

    5 / 95

    Coalition

    SPD

    Grüne

    FPD

    6 April 2016 Chairman

    Christian Lindner

    General Secretary

    Volker Wissing

    European

    Renew Europe

    Ideology

    Liberalism (Germany)

    Classical liberalism

    Conservative liberalism[53]

    Pro-Europeanism

    Political position

    Centretocentre-right

     Italy Go Italy

    Italian
    Forza Italia

    N/A Chamber of Deputies (Lower House)
    79 / 630

    Senate of the Republic (Upper House)

    50 / 315

    European Parliament

    9 / 76

    16 November 2013 Leader

    Silvio Berlusconi

    Founder

    Silvio Berlusconi

    European

    European People's Party (EPP)

    Ideology

    Liberalism (Italy)

    Liberal conservatism

    Conservative liberalism[54]

    Berlusconism

    Political position

    Centre-right

     Portugal Liberal Initiative

    Portuguese
    Iniciativa Liberal

    N/A Parliament
    8 / 230

    13 December 2017 Leader

    João Cotrim de Figueiredo

    Founder

    Alexandre Krauss
    Bruno Horta Soares
    Rodrigo Dias Saraiva (and others)

    European

    Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE)

    Ideology

    Liberalism (Portugal)

    Classical liberalism

    Right-libertarianism

    Pro-Europeanism

    Political position

    Centre-right

    See also[edit]

    Notes[edit]

    1. ^ "Content". Parties and Elections in Europe. 2020.
  • ^ "Emmanuel Macron, the resolutely modern philosopher king". The Economist. 2018-06-13. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  • ^ ALDE Group in the European Parliament : Home[permanent dead link]
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  • ^ "FDP :: FDP Bundesverband". Forum.fdp-bundesverband.de. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  • ^ "Liberal Democrats : Home". Libdems.org.uk. 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  • ^ "democrats.nl". democrats.nl. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
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  • ^ a b c Caroline Close (2019). "The liberal party family ideology: Distinct, but diverse". In Close, Caroline; van Haute, Emilie (eds.). Liberal Parties in Europe. Routledge. pp. 338–339. ISBN 9781351245487.
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  • ^ Greenberg, David (September 12, 2019). "The danger of confusing liberals and leftists". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  • ^ N. Scott Arnold, ed. (31 May 2011). "Are Modern American Liberals Socialists or Social Democrate?". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 15 January 2022. This paper answers the title question, "Yes," on both counts. The first part of the paper argues that modern liberals are socialists, and the second part argues that they are also social democrats.
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  • ^ Paul Kelly, ed. (2005). Liberalism. Polity. p. 71. ISBN 9780745632902. Conservative liberal critics of social justice, such as Friedrich Hayek, have sought to reject precisely this distinction.
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  • ^ Le Breton, Morgane (2017). "Ce qui est bon pour Enron est bon pour le climat". Entreprises et histoire (in French). 86 (1): 151–155. doi:10.3917/eh.086.0151. ISSN 1161-2770.
  • ^ "Graphique 4.2. Une consolidation budgétaire plus ambitieuse accroît la croissance potentielle" (XLS). Perspectives économiques de l'OCDE (in French). 2012 Numéro 1 (91). doi:10.1787/888932612306. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  • ^ Bruno Waterfield (18 February 2009). "Blueprint for EU army to be agreed". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  • ^ "International news – euronews, latest international news". Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  • ^ Europa – Press Release – Why we need a United States of Europe now
  • ^ "Italy to push for 'United States of Europe' when it holds the EU presidency". The Telegraph. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  • ^ "Väyrynen ryöpyttää keskustan liberaaleja". Kaleva.fi. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  • ^ Cracking open the numbers in the same-sex marriage vote Archived 3 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, YLE 28 November 2014, accessed 5 November 2014.
  • ^ Bartley, Robert L. (2019-06-10). "Liberalism 1976: A Conservative Critique". The Relevance of Liberalism. Routledge. pp. 61–96. doi:10.4324/9780429304316-3. ISBN 978-0-429-30431-6. S2CID 199340153. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  • ^ a b Close, Caroline; Delwit, Pascal (2019). "Liberal parties and elections". Liberal Parties in Europe. Party families in Europe. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge. pp. 281–309. doi:10.4324/9781351245500-15. ISBN 978-1-351-24550-0. S2CID 158839366. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  • ^ Slomp, Hans (2011). Europe, a political profile : an American companion to European politics. Volume 1. Slomp, Hans, 1945-. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8. OCLC 759986337.
  • ^ Starke, Peter (2013). The welfare state as crisis manager : explaining the diversity of policy responses to economic crisis. Kaasch, Alexandra; Hooren, Franca van. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-31484-0. OCLC 844063308.
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  • ^ Gingrich, André; Banks, Marcus, eds. (2006). Neo-nationalism in Europe and beyond : perspectives from social anthropology. New York: Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-78238-611-7. OCLC 607904369.
  • ^ Close, Caroline (12 February 2019). "The liberal party family ideology: Distinct, but diverse". In Close, Caroline; van Haute, Emilie (eds.). Liberal Parties in Europe. Routledge. p. 339. ISBN 9781351245487.
  • ^ Gladoic, Andrea (14 June 2018). "Croatia's Largest Political Parties". Expat in Croatia. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  • ^ "Key Political Parties in Croatia". Balkan Insight. 27 September 2010.
  • ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2015). "Finland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.
  • ^ "Väyrynen ryöpyttää keskustan liberaaleja". Kaleva.fi. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  • ^ Josep M. Colomer (2008). Political Institutions in Europe. Routledge. p. 260. ISBN 978-1-134-07354-2.
  • ^ Andrews Nordlund (2007). "Nordic social politics in the late twentieth century: An analysis of the political reform agenda". In Nanna Kildal; Stein Kuhnle (eds.). Normative Foundations of the Welfare State: The Nordic Experience. Routledge. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-134-27283-9.
  • ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Finland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  • ^ Bergqvist, Christina (1999). Equal Democracies?: Gender and Politics in the Nordic Countries. Nordic Council of Ministers. p. 319. ISBN 978-82-00-12799-4.
  • ^ Juvonen, Tuula (2016-05-01). "Out and Elected: Political Careers of Openly Gay and Lesbian Politicians in Germany and Finland". Redescriptions: Political Thought, Conceptual History and Feminist Theory. 19 (1): 49. doi:10.7227/R.19.1.4. ISSN 2308-0914.
  • ^ Lane, Jan-Erik; Ersson, Svante (2008). "The Nordic Countries: Compromise and Corporatism in the Welfare State". In Josep M. Colomer (ed.). Political Institutions in Europe. Routledge. p. 260. ISBN 978-1-134-07354-2.
  • ^ Barbière, Cécile (17 September 2018). "La droite pro-européenne fait officiellement sécession avec Agir" [The pro-European right officially breaks away with Agir]. EURACTIV (in French).
  • ^ Chazan, David (26 November 2017). "New centre-right party launches in France". The Daily Telegraph.
  • ^ Slomp, Hans (2011). Europe, a Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 377. ISBN 978-0-313-39181-1.
  • ^ Agnes Blome (2016). The Politics of Work-Family Policy Reforms in Germany and Italy. Taylor & Francis. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-317-55436-3.

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