Welcome address at a presentation of LFM’s “Handbook for 2004-2008 parliament members and voters”
By Manfred Wichman, The Friedrich Naumann Foundation, sponsor of LFMI’s handbook
Vilnius, September 2, 2004
Dear friends from the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, dear guests,
It is the pleasure for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and for me personally to help with the publishing of this important handbook on the economic and social challenges for Lithuania in the forthcoming four years. I hope it comes in time to influence if not electoral programmes, so at least and more important so, the policies of the new government and the minds of a lot of other present and future Lithuanian decision makers.
I have been a committed observer of Lithuanian politics for more than four years and I would like to tell you a story from my home country, from Germany. As you know, we have a social-democratic government that is in huge difficulties. The Social-Democratic Party told German voters before the last elections the following message: We will protect you against liberal reforms, we will maintain our welfare state, we will keep health care, unemployment benefits, old-age pensions at high levels and we will create a lot of jobs.
Nowadays, faced with huge economic and financial problems, this same government preaches for-going liberal reforms, interestingly with a liberal language. They don’t say anymore: The state will protect you, they speak about personal responsibility, about a favourable business environment and they use other formulas that we normally hear from liberals. But the Social Democratic Party has lost its credibility; it has lost the trust of a huge part of its electorate and also of its own party members. The opinion polls show an all-time law, and the party is at the brink of splitting. In the next elections, disaster is guaranteed.
Social democrats have different names in different countries. In Britain they are called Labour Party. I was told that the Lithuanian translation for Labour would be Darbo.
Now this important handbook published by the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, was written by Liberals, but it is mainly targeted, at least that is my idea, at Social Democrats in whatever political party or public institution they might be active. One could also say: it is targeted at the Social Democrats in ourselves, the one that looks for easy, comfortable and well-sounding solutions, instead of solid and responsible ones.
With easy, comfortable and well-sounding solutions you might be able to win an election, but only one. Because in government you either face disaster or complete loss of credibility, most probably both. And even if your party survives, it will never win an election again. So far the German experience.
I don’t know if this book arrived in time to prevent such a development in Lithuania. I can only hope that the Lithuanian public listens to the voice of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute when it comes to shaping the future of a prosperous Lithuania.
This book, as all honestly written liberal analyses and programmes, has a miraculous quality: you can read the future in it. Not only the future as it should be, but also the future as it will be, because the only consistent answer. That is why we, as Friedrich Naumann Foundation, are very happy to sponsor this handbook. We hope that it will receive the positive response that it certainly deserves.
Thank you very much!
