Liberalism in Europe explained

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" (or libertarian), 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

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.

• the policies of liberal parties in government, including those in coalition arrangements (taking into mind that coalition partners make compromises), since they show what liberals are prepared to accept as well as the policies of liberal parties in opposition
• the positions of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe faction in the European Parliament^[2] and the Electoral Manifestos of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.^[3]
• the forum of the German FDP,^[4] which is relatively unmoderated, and illustrates grassroots liberal concerns. Sites of other Liberal parties, e.g. the British Liberal Democrats^[5] and the Netherlands' Democrats 66,^[6] are more heavily moderated and therefore more representative for the policy of liberal parties.
• the Belgian website / think tank Liberales.be^[7] which has longer essays on new liberal policies
• the views and policies of the Open Society Institute, since they explicitly claim to derive from the principles of a major liberal philosopher, Karl Popper.
• the Lisbon Strategy of the European Union, since it is strongly supported by the liberal parties, and sets out a vision of a future 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

European liberalism is largely divided into classical (in practical terms, liberalism as it is applied to the economy), social, and conservative–liberalism.

Liberalism in the European context is distinct from what liberalism denotes in contemporary US politics.^[8] In the US, people who are called "liberals" generally advocate for a larger government, some forms of protectionism, and more economic interventionism,^{[9] [10] [11] [12]} 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.

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 ordoliberalism or Christian democracy) usually has weaker economically liberal tendencies than a social liberal. However, some consider classical liberals (= economic liberals) to be conservative liberals as well.^{[13] [14]}

European Union

European liberalists tend to support the European Union.^{[15] [16] [17] [18]} 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.^{[19] [20] [21]} Some prominent European liberalists, such as Guy Verhofstadt (former Prime Minister of Belgium),^{[22] [23]} Viviane Reading (current Vice-President of the European Commission),^[24] and Matteo Renzi (former Prime Minister of Italy),^[25] are proponents of a future federalisation of the European Union.

Social issues

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.)^{[26] [27]}

Parties

Government

Country	Symbol	Parties	Head of state Head of government	Upper/ Lower house	Founded	Leader/Founder	Former party	European/ International affliction	Ideology/ Political position
		Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats Flemish Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten	Prime Minister Alexander De Croo	Chamber of Representatives (Lower House) Senate (Upper House) Coalition Open Vld 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)^[28] ^[29] Conservative liberalism^[30] ^[31] Pro-Europeanism Political position Centre-right^[32]
		Reformist Movement French Mouvement Réformateur	N/A	Chamber of Representatives (Lower House) Senate (Upper House) Coalition Open Vld 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] Pro-Europeanism Political position Centre-right^[34] ^[35]
		Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS – LD) Croatian Hrvatska narodna stranka – Liberalni demokrati (HNS – LD)	N/A	Sabor 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^[36] Pro-Europeanism^[37] Political position
		Centre Party Finnish Suomen Keskusta, Kesk Swedish Centern i Finland	Deputy Prime Minister Annika Saarikko	ParliamentEuropean ParliamentCoalition 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 Political position Centre^[38] ^[39]
		Swedish People's Party of Finland Swedish Svenska folkpartiet i Finland Finnish Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue	N/A	ParliamentEuropean ParliamentCoalition 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^[40] Liberalism (Finland)^[41] ^[42] Pro-Europeanism^[43] Political position Centre^[44]
		La République En Marche!	President Emmanuel Macron Prime Minister Jean Castex	National Assembly (Lower House) Senate (Upper House) European Parliament 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) Senate (Upper House) European Parliament 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^[45] ^[46]
		Free Democratic Party	Secretary of the Treasury Christian Lindner	Bundestag State Parliaments European Parliament Coalition SPD Grüne FPD	6 April 2016	Chairman Christian Lindner General Secretary Volker Wissing		European Renew Europe	Ideology Liberalism (Germany) Classical liberalism Conservative liberalism^[47] Pro-Europeanism Political position Centre to centre-right
		Go ItalyItalian Forza Italia	N/A	Chamber of Deputies (Lower House) Senate of the Republic (Upper House) European Parliament	16 November 2013	Leader Silvio Berlusconi Founder Silvio Berlusconi		European European People's Party (EPP)	Ideology Liberalism (Italy) Liberal conservatism Conservative liberalism^[48] Berlusconism Political position Centre-right
		Liberal InitiativePortuguese Iniciativa Liberal	N/A	Parliament	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

• Liberalism by country for discussion of individual states of Europe
• Classical liberalism (mainly economic liberalism)
• Conservative liberalism (right-liberalism)
  • Liberal conservatism
• Social liberalism (left-liberalism)
  • Liberal socialism
• Libertarianism
• Ordoliberalism
• Radicalism (historical)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Content. 2020. Parties and Elections in Europe.
2. http://alde.europarl.eu.int/ ALDE Group in the European Parliament : Home
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20120915065658/http://www.eldr.eu/en/values/manifestos European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Manifestos
4. Web site: FDP :: FDP Bundesverband . Forum.fdp-bundesverband.de . 2012-04-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120426160730/http://forum.fdp-bundesverband.de/index.php?22 . 2012-04-26 .
5. Web site: Liberal Democrats : Home . Libdems.org.uk . 2012-04-20 . 2012-04-27.
6. Web site: democrats.nl . democrats.nl . 2012-04-27.
7. Web site: Liberales . Liberales.be . 2004-12-01 . 2012-04-27.
8. News: Goldfarb. Michael. 2010-07-20. Liberal? Are we talking about the same thing?. en-GB. BBC News. 2020-08-06.
9. News: Greenberg. David. September 12, 2019. The danger of confusing liberals and leftists. 2020-08-06. Washington Post. en.
10. News: N. Scott Arnold . Are Modern American Liberals Socialists or Social Democrate? . 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. . en . . 31 May 2011 . 15 January 2022.
11. News: A plea for liberalism: Lessons from the 20th century . Social democracy, which Tony Judt calls “the prose of European politics”, is what Americans call liberalism. . en . The Economist. 31 March 2010 . 15 January 2022.
12. News: Herb Jackson . How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won: Ultra-liberal pitch drew first-time voters in changing district . en . . 27 June 2018 . 15 January 2022.
13. https://books.google.com/books?id=1wiNKcJzwYQC&dq=Beyond%20Liberalism&pg=PA2 R.T. Allen, Beyond Liberalism, p. 2.
14. Book: Paul Kelly . Liberalism . Conservative liberal critics of social justice, such as Friedrich Hayek, have sought to reject precisely this distinction. . 2005 . 71 . Polity. 9780745632902 .
15. Book: Almeida, Dimitri. The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties. 2012-04-27. Routledge. 10.4324/9780203123621. 978-0-203-12362-1.
16. News: 10 January 2017. Emmanuel Macron a Berlin pour se donner une stature européenne. Le Monde. 2 June 2017.
17. News: Edwards. Maxim. 13 December 2018. Armenia's Revolution Will Not be Monopolized. Foreign Policy. Bright Armenia is an avowedly pro-EU and classical liberal political party....
18. Encyclopedia: Fayrer, Sir John (Lang Macpherson), (18 Oct. 1944–9 March 2017). 2007-12-01. Who's Who. Oxford University Press. 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u15557. 2020-10-15.
19. Macron . Emmanuel . 2018 . 17–24 . Discours du Président de la République, Emmanuel Macron, à l'occasion de la remise du Prix Charlemagne de la ville d'Aix-la-Chapelle le 10 mai 2018 . fr . Allemagne d'aujourd'hui . 224 . 2 . 10.3917/all.224.0017 . 0002-5712 .
20. Le Breton . Morgane . 2017 . 151–155 . Ce qui est bon pour Enron est bon pour le climat . fr . Entreprises et histoire . 86 . 1 . 10.3917/eh.086.0151 . 1161-2770 .
21. Graphique 4.2. Une consolidation budgétaire plus ambitieuse accroît la croissance potentielle . fr . XLS . Perspectives économiques de l'OCDE . 2012 Numéro 1 . 91 . 10.1787/888932612306 . 2020-10-15.
22. Web site: Bruno Waterfield. 18 February 2009. Blueprint for EU army to be agreed. 30 December 2014. The Telegraph.
23. Web site: International news – euronews, latest international news. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120206143409/http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=europa&article=457865&lng=1. 6 February 2012. 30 December 2014.
24. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-12-796_en.htm Europa – Press Release – Why we need a United States of Europe now
25. Web site: 22 June 2014. Italy to push for 'United States of Europe' when it holds the EU presidency. 30 December 2014. The Telegraph.
26. Web site: Väyrynen ryöpyttää keskustan liberaaleja. Kaleva.fi. 24 February 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20111001101301/http://www.kaleva.fi/uutiset/vayrynen-ryopyttaa-keskustan-liberaaleja/548907. 1 October 2011. dmy-all.
27. http://yle.fi/uutiset/cracking_open_the_numbers_in_the_same-sex_marriage_vote/7659314 Cracking open the numbers in the same-sex marriage vote
28. Book: Bartley, Robert L. . Liberalism 1976: A Conservative Critique . 2019-06-10 . http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780429304316-3 . The Relevance of Liberalism . 61–96 . Routledge . 10.4324/9780429304316-3 . 978-0-429-30431-6 . 199340153 . 2020-10-13.
29. Book: Close . Caroline . Delwit . Pascal . Liberal parties and elections . Liberal Parties in Europe . 281–309 . Abingdon, Oxon ; New York . Routledge . 2019 . Party families in Europe . 978-1-351-24550-0 . 2020-10-13. 10.4324/9781351245500-15. 158839366 .
30. Book: Slomp, Hans . Europe, a political profile : an American companion to European politics. Volume 1. 2011. ABC-CLIO. Slomp, Hans, 1945-. 978-0-313-39182-8. Santa Barbara, Calif.. 759986337.
31. Book: Starke, Peter . The welfare state as crisis manager : explaining the diversity of policy responses to economic crisis. 2013. Palgrave Macmillan. Kaasch, Alexandra; Hooren, Franca van . 978-1-137-31484-0. Basingstoke, Hampshire. 844063308.
32. Book: Josep Colomer. Josep M. Colomer. Comparative European Politics. 2008. Taylor & Francis. 978-0-203-12362-1. 220.
33. Book: European politics. 2007. Oxford University Press. Hay . Colin . Menon . Anand . 978-0-19-928428-3. Oxford. 71541592.
34. Book: Comparative European politics. 2008. Routledge. Colomer . Josep Maria . 978-0-415-43755-4. 3rd. London. 182716576.
35. Book: Neo-nationalism in Europe and beyond : perspectives from social anthropology. 2006. Berghahn Books. Gingrich . André . Banks . Marcus . 978-1-78238-611-7. New York. 607904369.
36. Book: Close, Caroline. https://books.google.com/books?id=RceHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT431. Liberal Parties in Europe. 12 February 2019. Routledge. 9781351245487. Close. Caroline. 339. The liberal party family ideology: Distinct, but diverse. van Haute. Emilie.
37. Web site: Gladoic. Andrea. Croatia's Largest Political Parties. 12 October 2018. Expat in Croatia. 14 June 2018.
38. Book: Josep M. Colomer. Political Institutions in Europe. Routledge. 2008. 978-1-134-07354-2. 260. Josep Colomer.
39. Book: Andrews Nordlund. Normative Foundations of the Welfare State: The Nordic Experience. Routledge. 2007. 978-1-134-27283-9. Nanna Kildal. 74. Nordic social politics in the late twentieth century: An analysis of the political reform agenda. Stein Kuhnle. https://books.google.com/books?id=HFEX-6VzpGEC&pg=PA74.
40. Web site: Nordsieck. Wolfram. 2019. Finland. 15 April 2019. Parties and Elections in Europe.
41. Book: Bergqvist, Christina. Equal Democracies?: Gender and Politics in the Nordic Countries . 1999 . Nordic Council of Ministers . 978-82-00-12799-4 . 319.
42. 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. 10.7227/R.19.1.4. 2308-0914. free.
43. Web site: RKP. SFP. 2019. SFP:s Riksdag ValsProgram 2019. 18 April 2019. SFP.
44. Book: Lane . Jan-Erik . Jan-Erik Lane . Ersson . Svante . 2008 . 260 . The Nordic Countries: Compromise and Corporatism in the Welfare State . Josep M. Colomer . Josep Colomer . Political Institutions in Europe . Routledge . 978-1-134-07354-2 . https://books.google.com/books?id=TZF8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA260.
45. News: fr. La droite pro-européenne fait officiellement sécession avec Agir. EURACTIV. The pro-European right officially breaks away with Agir. Barbière. Cécile. 17 September 2018.
46. News: The Daily Telegraph. New centre-right party launches in France. 26 November 2017. Chazan. David.
47. Book: Slomp, Hans. Europe, a Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. 2011. ABC-CLIO. 978-0-313-39181-1. 377.
48. Book: Agnes Blome. The Politics of Work-Family Policy Reforms in Germany and Italy. 2016. Taylor & Francis. 978-1-317-55436-3. 142.