The Big Debate: Ganley vs Cohn-Bendit

[marmurr1916]

When have I ever attacked Ganley 'based on fantasy'?

Any criticisms I've made of Ganley or Libertas have been based on material with quotes from Libertas spokespeople or members, or on factual material such as the German electoral laws.

Perhaps you think that German electoral laws are mere 'fantasy' which shouldn't get in the way of Ganley's and Libertas' ambitions.

[ibis]

Some would say that observations on Libertas' very poor transparency record are unarguably relevant - and the possibility of Ganley being more concerned with US interests than European ones, whether one believes it or not, is equally relevant. The stuff Cohn-Bendit wrote a generation ago about children, on the other hand, is straight ad hominem smear - "don't listen to my opponent's politics, people, he's a kiddy-fiddler!".

And the nonsense about the League of Polish Families, which has no basis in fact. The nonsense about the Anglo Adriatic Investment fund being a pyramid scheme and so on... that was all relevant was it?

Er, did Cohn-Bendit bring those up? However, the question of who Libertas have recruited would rather seem relevant. I don't think I've ever commented on the Albanian thing, which I don't claim to even understand.

[zeleneye]

And the nonsense about the League of Polish Families, which has no basis in fact.

Cookie it is not nonsense. Some of your candidates in Poland have been members of LPF. They may not be now (how convenient) but a leopard doesn't change its xenophobic and homophobic spots.

[Verhofstadt]

More from the EUObserver



Attendance was high, the microphones worked and the bar was open afterwards. That was all good. The debate, alas, was not. In fact, to call the stilted, off-topic, everything-but-policy exchange between Libertas founder Declan Ganley and Greens leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit in Brussels yesterday evening a debate would be generous.

Ganley insisted on answering virtually every question – what ever it was - with a populist let-the-people decide tinge while Cohn-Bendit struggled to get his point across and through facial contortions and exasperated sighs (though I did have sympathy at times) looked more patronising than wise.

Cohn-Bendit started with the personal attacks by questioning Ganley’s links with US military giving the Irishman the opportunity to read a not very edifying passage from Cohn-Bendit’s book (Le grand bazar). If Cohn-Bendit had stuck to political issues, I feel he could have skewered Ganley on substance (or lack of).

As it was, I think I can say that most of the audience, apart from the Libertas clutch at the back, left after the two-hour debate absolutely none the wiser about Ganley’s or Libertas’ policies. This was partly due to poor moderation on the chairman’s part (Paul Adamson from the Centre thinktank) but also, it seemed, a deliberate tactic by Ganley to not commit himself to anything at all.

Ganley Behind the Scenes

[CookieMonster]

Er, did Cohn-Bendit bring those up?

Yes, he did.

[CookieMonster]

Cookie it is not nonsense. Some of your candidates in Poland have been members of LPF. They may not be now (how convenient) but a leopard doesn't change its xenophobic and homophobic spots.

Who? One person, who manages the Libertas office is Poland is a former member. That's it. There is no link or association between Libertas and the League of Polish Families. They're running their own candidates in the European Elections, they're running against Libertas in Poland. There is, was and never will be any alliance or association between Libertas and the Polish Families party. To suggest otherwise is bullsh*t.

[ibis]

Yes, he did.

Fair enough - I didn't bother to watch the debate, and hadn't seen it mentioned.

[Supermanpolitician]

Firstly it is not a big debate.

Anything with Libertas barely makes the raydar or mainstream media these days.

[CookieMonster]

Firstly it is not a big debate.

Anything with Libertas barely makes the raydar or mainstream media these days.

Somebody should tell the many media outlets which were in the audience last night.

[evercloserunion]

Somebody should tell the many media outlets which were in the audience last night.

Having media outlets in the audience does not mean you are big news for the mainstream media. Very little of what they attend actually gets aired or printed, or gets a token mention.