ALDE is our home, and we will work hard and with dedication for it, ALDE co-chair and MEP from the MRF/"Renew Europe" Ilhan Kucuk announced at the start of a debate on the election of a new leadership of the European liberal party formation.
Members of liberal political forces from all over Europe gathered for the ALDE Party congress 2022 in Dublin. Bulgaria is represented at the top forum by a delegation of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), led by its leader Mustafa Karadayi and comprising MRF deputy chairman Stanislav Anastasov, MRF/Renew Europe MEPs Iskra Mihailova and Atidje Veli, MRF Central Operative Bureau (COB) member and former MEP Filiz Hyusmenova, MRF parliamentary group deputy chairman Hamid Hamid and assistant professor Dzhevdet Chakarov – MP and member of the COB.
ALDE’s presiding council decided yesterday that the Party will continue to be headed by two co-chairs. Former co-chairs Ilhan Kucuk from Bulgaria and Timmy Dooley from Ireland are running for the top positions once more. The vote is expected tomorrow.
As we face unprecedented challenges, we would like to focus on three objectives for our future mandate, Ilhan Kucuk stated in his speech. He listed the priorities as follows:
• First, we must reform ALDE to make it the most modern and effective European political party. We are to be taught by our recognised, long-standing members, who have the tradition of winning elections and governing, Kucuk said. However, I believe that we should also learn from our younger member parties, which operate more like successful start-ups, the Bulgarian candidate for ALDE co-chair said.
• Second, we need to boost the support for our parties at national levels in all kinds of elections, not just for the European Parliament, Kucuk said. "We need to provide extraordinary support to our non-EU party members and those in countries aspiring to join the EU. We ought to offer our friends the opportunity to share experiences, while supplying our members with the skills and technology to compete and win", he added.
• Third, we need to prepare for the European elections in 2024 and agree on a political framework that we can offer to parties sharing our views. We must fight as liberals. And we need not just maintain our position as the third major political force, but also to run the proper campaign to defeat both the conservatives and the socialists, Ilhan Kucuk pointed out while setting one of the goals of ALDE. "Fighting like liberals means not to be satisfied with third place," he stated vigorously.
We cannot make any difference without winning elections, Kucuk said.
As your current co-chairs, it has been an honour and a privilege for us to serve you, our liberal family, for the last two years, Ilhan Kucuk said. "We are impatient to discuss all your ambitions and concepts for the party. We are working for you - ALDE is your party, our home," he declared.
We are very impressed by the diversity and skills of the candidates running for the position of vice chair. It is always the case with ALDE, but it is also important to acknowledge it, Kucuk said.
It will be a great honour to carry on together with all of you over the next two years. We will work hard and with devotion, Ilhan Kucuk said.
