Libertas refuses to go public on party funding despite claims to be the party of transparency

Despite their claim to be the party of transparency Libertas have again failed to make public the sources of their funding and details of defence contractor Rivada Networks early funding. Rivada Networks offices, phones and paid employees David Cochrane and Naoise Nunn were all utilised to set up Libertas.

The story in the Irish Independent today is highly topical given the funding scandal that is taking place over Libertas in Poland

Libertas founder to fund Polish party through the back door?

30th March 2009


Irish millionaire businessman Declan Ganley plans to take advantage of a loophole in Polish law that would allow him to fund the Polish branch of euroskeptic political party Libertas.

Polish law bans foreign financial funding in domestic politics, but Ganley appears to have found a way to bypass current legislation. The founder of Libertas and ardent euroskeptic proposes to act as a guarantor if Libertas Poland are unable to repay the bank loans issued to run the party.

The story broke in Saturday's edition of Dziennik and provoked outrage amongst politicians, who described the news as “scandalous.”

Zbigniew Chlebowski, PO's parliamentary club leader, called the news “unsettling” as, “a bank guarantee that gives a party money for elections can be given by a person that is prohibited by law to do so. This means to circumvent the existing rules,” he said.

Mr Chlebowski called for fast and decisive action in dealing with Mr Ganley's proposed funding, and expects advice from specialist lawyers to be available in the coming days.

From Warsaw Business Journal by Robert Szmigielski

Libertas refuses to go public on party funding
By Aine Kerr Political Correspondent

Tuesday March 31 2009

LIBERTAS last night supplied the State's ethics watchdog with a series of financial documents in a bid to provide "detailed answers" about its funding.

But the anti-Lisbon Treaty organisation will not be making public any copies of the bank statements or loan agreements, despite its own calls for greater political transparency.

Two weeks ago, the organisation failed to provide adequate information to the Standards in Public Office (Sipo) commission on where it got the money to fund its expensive campaign for a 'No' vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum. It has since been accused of "not being willing to operate under the Law" by Fianna Fail.

Libertas last night submitted documents in relation to three key issues queried. Copies of a €200,000 loan agreement between Libertas chief Declan Ganley and the organisation were provided, after Sipo first wrote to it last June seeking details of any loans provided to the organisation for the referendum campaign.

Details of the thousands of books on the Lisbon Treaty supplied by the Foundation for European Democracy and distributed by Mr Ganley were also submitted.

Sipo had raised questions about whether these constituted a donation because the material could be deemed to be influencing the vote's outcome.

However, legal advisers for Libertas are said to have argued that the books do not constitute a donation because the material was neutral and simply relayed the contents of the Lisbon Treaty.

The third aspect of the submission covers the employees of Mr Ganley's Rivada company, who worked for Libertas in their spare time and on a voluntary basis. Sipo again questioned if the use of these employees constituted a donation. Documents provided seek to outline when staff worked for Rivada, then moved to Libertas.

Asked why the organisation had decided against making the documents public, a spokesman said: "Why would we make them public, spend weeks explaining the details and have the Opposition attacking the contents when they won't do the same thing. There's a need for fairness."

- Aine Kerr Political Correspondent
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Earlier Liberats Nein Danke reports here

Libertas Election Financing ? How Libertas circumvent election laws to receive Ganley's money revealed by Polish Libertas VP

Libertas deny that Ganley is funding Polish campaign. Polish daily Dziennik says story is true and confirmed by mulitple Libertas Poland sources

Libertas Election Financing ? How Libertas circumvent election laws to receive Ganley's money revealed by Polish Libertas VP

Vice President of Libertas Poland, Artur Zawisza, confirms funding circumvention.

In order circumvent the law regarding election financing Declan Ganley and his Libertas are reported to be using a clever ruse. Individual national branches are reported to be taking out bank loans which are secured by Declan Ganley according to one report.
These loan allow the national branch of Libertas to fund itself with money that originates in their own countries. However, it is reported that after the elections the national branches of Libertas will default on the loan allowing the banks to seek their repayment from the guarantor.

By using this facility the national branches of Libertas can flout their country's laws and receive as much cash as Ganley is prepared to give them.


As the "loans" from the banks are just that, loans, the upper limits on donations will also not apply. The fact that Declan Ganley will later repay the loans means that he technically is NOT funding the elections, they are bank loans are, he will be technically financially covering defaulted loans not the elections themselves directly.

Therefore when Ganley says that he will not be funding the European election he is technically correct. What he omitted to say was that he had worked out a cleaver scam that allows him to pay for the elections later while being able to deny that he is paying for the elections now. Ganley will be merely paying back loans that other people took out and he guaranteed.


This story is breaking in from Poland today with reports confirming that Libertas is availing of this loop hole in Polish electoral law which strictly outlaws Polish parties from taking money from foreign political parties and individuals.
According to one report
"Our electoral system, however, prohibits the financing of party committees and candidates from abroad. To circumvent this prohibition , Polish Libertas take out loans on which the security//property will be provided by an Irish multimillionaire. After the Polish campaign Libertas will not pay its debts, the guarantor will do so, that is, Ganley"'Dziennik': Start w wyborach? Ganley nam zap?aci

Thomas Butkiewicz writing for Dziennik says that one of the Polish Vice Presidents of Libertas, the League of Polish Families Daniel PAWŁOWIEC, said that Libertas would fully comply with funding laws.
However his co Vice President Artur Zawisza let the cat out of the bag by going further confirming both this source of funding and Declan Ganley's personal involvement in the ruse. ""The most important thing for banks is to assess the creditworthiness and the collateral. I know they consulted with Mr. Declan Ganleyem" - when asked about the source of funding election campaigns.
Original report

Google translate version

Official" - How to cheat the electoral commission
Google translate version


So far Libertas Poland is reported to have received 250,000 euro, Libertas Slovenia 250,000. euro and Libertas Lithuania has so far received 100,00 using this ruse.

According to a source are using this device throughout Europe to "circumvent the electoral law".


In Ireland in 2008 Ganley said his anti-Lisbon campaign was funded by many legal small donations but Ganley later admitted "loaning" Libertas 200, 000k. The source of the estimated 1.5 million euro that Libertas spent has never been disclosed.
This figure was more than twice what Ireland's senior government partner Fianna Fail spent.


How does a party that says it will bring democracy and transparency while fighting elites maintain credibility when they use such a ruse to deliberately circumvent national laws, while at the same time taking money
This lack of clarity and transparency and the deliberate searching out and use of loopholes is quite the opposite of what Declan Ganley is saying his party stands for.

Mr transparency Declan Ganley is leading this subterfuge.



Libertas Nein Danke note please repost this blog
Send updates to peoplekorps@gamil.com

Polish TV presenters get "Irish Disease" as 3 top presenters get "ill", "in disgust" at Libertas coverage on TVP

Hanna Lis Polish TV News presenter out sick in disgust
at Libertas and Ganley's promotion by her far right boss LPF's Piotra Farfała.

Kraški Peter joined Hanna Lis and Jaroslaw Kulczycki to stay home in what one news sources calls an attack of an "Irish disease". TVP boss, Piotra Farfała, is in hot water over his corrupt promotion of Declan Ganley on Polish TV. According to unofficial sources at headquarters of TVP "News" after the interview with Ganleyem among the lead "Theme of the day" remained "strong disgust".
Mutinous News Crew

A mysterious epidemic attacked the stars of TV. "Irish Disease" hits News staff

Support TVP staff in their stand against their far right boss.

Piotra Farfała is a member of the League of Polish Families and has been associated with their youth wing of the far right Polish Youth League

The modern incarnation of the All-Polish Youth was founded in Poznań in 1989, on the initiative of Roman Giertych, the former leader of the League of Polish Families (LPR). Continuing the tradition of its precursors, the organisation maintains its aim of raising youth with their ideology, and operates across all of Poland, working with high-school and university students. The membership of the organisation is approximately 3,000 people.

In 2006 the office of the Polish public prosecutor has launched an investigation after video recording from a private party in which All-Polish Youth members including Leokadia Wiącek, a personal assistant of Maciej Giertych (member of the European Parliament), were seen fraternizing with Neo-Nazi skinheads, listening to Neo-Nazi bands and saluting the swastika, was leaked to Polish press^[6][7][8].

These are the people that Declan Ganley recruits in Poland.

see below article in which Marek Edelman, the last living commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising speaks about the Polish Youth League,

‘All-Polish Youth’ Nazi movie generates controversy

Updated: 25/Dec/2006 19:53

Marek Edelman, the last living commander of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising told the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper: “All-Polish Youth should have been delegalized years ago. The Prime Minister said that this is a scandal, but he invited Roman Giertych to his government and because of this he doesn’t have clean hands in this case”.

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WARSAW (EJP)--- The office of the Polish public prosecutor has launched an investigation after a movie clip featuring a group of youngsters gathering around a burning swastika and chanting “Sieg Heil” was sent to one of the country’s daily newspapers.

The editors of Dziennik reported on 28 November that they were sent the 60-second-long film portraying the activities of the All-Polish Youth (APY), creating massive controversy around Poland over the group.

All-Polish Youth is a radically nationalist and anti-Semitic organization associated with the League of Polish Families – a right-wing party that is currently in the government coalition.

Polish deputy primer minister and minister of education Roman Giertych is a creator and honorary president of the APY.

Journalists, when watching the movie clip, have recognized Leokadia Wiacek and Pawel Schmidt. Wiącek is currently a personal assistant of MEP Maciej Giertych, father of Polish deputy prime minister and gained notoriety recently for his call to remove evolution theory from Polish schools.

Schmidt was a candidate from the list of Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński’s Low and Justice Party in the municipal elections that took place a month ago. However he was not elected to the Council of the City of Zabrze is southern Poland.

Prison possibility

The public prosecutor general office already started an investigation. According to the Polish Criminal Code propagation and publish showing of Nazi symbols is prohibited and punished even by imprisonment. Prosecutors are now trying to identify as many people from the movie as possible to indict them.

“Stand up and beat this canting Jewish mug / And proudly fight and proudly shout: / For the white race, for the Polish blood! / Without mercy kill it, without scruples beat the evil” – these are words of the song that was played during the “swastika party”.

This is not the first time when Polish media reveal this kind of materials about the All-Polish Youth. It the past all Poles could watch some other short movies or photos depicting similar behavior of this youth.

In October 2005 Polish newspapers have published a photo showing APY members with gestures of “Sieg Heil”. They explained afterwards that they have been calling a waiter in a restaurant.

The Polish Left Alliance, the biggest left-wing party in Poland, announced already that is going to apply to the Supreme Court to delegalize the All-Polish Youth as a fascist organization.

Marek Edelman, the last living commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, who lives in Polish city of Lodz, told the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper: “All-Polish Youth should have been delegalized years ago. The Prime Minister said that this is a scandal, but he invited Roman Giertych to his government and because of this he doesn’t have clean hands in this case”.

Libertas implode in Poland

Following this weeks split between the League of Polish families, Libertas have been abandoned by another Polish Polish League of families MEP Sylwester Chruszcz. This is a serious blow to ganley as only a few weeks back they boosted high polls in Poland. All that lies in the ashes now. Chruszcz formally annnouced leaving Libertas on his web page Friady 20 March.

this just published by Dominika Pszczółkowska
Brussels correspondent of Gazeta Wyborcza, the largest Polish quality daily.

piątek, 20 marca 2009

Libertas off to a sorry start in Poland

The anti-Lisbon Treaty group Libertas seems to be falling apart in Poland before it even really began.

Not only did it choose some sorry people for its allies. Now one of them, the Polish member of the European Parliament Sylwester Chruszcz has announced he is quitting.

Libertas, ran by the Irish businessman Declan Ganley ran an extremely effective campaign in Ireland before the June 2008 referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and largely contributed to the Irish ”no”. Now Mr. Ganley wants to field candidates for the June 4-7 European Parliament elections in all EU countries.

At first glance, Poland might have seemed to him like a good hunting ground. But Mr. Ganley has chosen some strange bedfellows. They are politicians who originated from the now largely defunct League of Polish Families. I don't know if Mr. Ganley noticed, but their views are quite distant from his. They are not only against the Lisbon Treaty, but against the EU in general. The League was the only party clearly against Poland's entry into the EU. It seems history has proved them wrong and in the polls they are now within the margin of error of non-existance. They had a charismatic leader, Mr. Roman Giertych, but he has since left politics. I will not go on about the extreme right wing views of some of them on religion, abortion, Jews, immigrants etc.

Anyway Mr. Ganley has been coming to Poland (at least 3 trips, but I might have missed some) to consult with these characters. Recently he registered the Polish Libertas.

Now one of the people he has been talking to, the MEP Sylwester Chruszcz, published a statement on his web page saying he is resigning from Libertas. Why? ”The decision I have made is linked to the lack of a clear political vision of Libertas, as well as divergencies concerning its program”.

Until last year Mr. Chruszcz was the head of the League, but then went on to form another party.

Mr. Chruszcz has a point. One of the weakest sides of Libertas is that it is in fact a single issue group. It has views about what the structures of the EU should look like (or rather, shouldn't look like), but apart from that has no political program. And I am afraid the voters would like to know if the person they are choosing is left or right, green or red, or whatever, and so how they are likely to vote on real issues, as opposed to institutional issues, which have only a very indirect effect on our lives.

I read in the ”Irish Times” that Mr. Ganley is also now trying to distance himself from his unsavoury Polish allies. I'm afraid it's too late, because nobody serious will want to be seen as taking their place now.

The trouble all over Europe is that Mr. Ganley is not succeeding in finding people like himself: anti-Lisbon, but proeuropean, pro-business and with moderate views (or no views) on sticky subjects like abortion, the place of religion etc. Poland seems to be lost to his cause.

See also
http://chruszcz.pl/?sr=!czytaj&id=2272&dz=fakty&x=0&pocz=0

Europe wide Libertas in last ditch effort to get candidates

Its seems a pan Eurpoean call for candidates was put out today by Libertas. Despite the fact that they said they would announce candidates and present them at their rally in Rome on March 25. They are still desperately seeking candidates Polish Polish journalist Dominika Pszczolkowska, the Brussels correspondent for Gazeta Wyborcza, has also blogged about her receipt of an offer to be a Libertas candidate. She was as bemused as this blogger was. I have still heard nothing from Libertas and several hours have passed since I sent them an email to say I would run fro them. With only a few days to go I before the Rome meeting I will be hard pressed to make it unless they decide pronto!

sobota, 21 marca 2009 Libertas asked me to be a candidate! Well, not exactly me. They have just sent an e-mail to people who registered on their web page to propose themselves or others as candidates. Here is part of their message: Libertas invite Libertas Nein Danke author People Korps to apply to run for Europe

Libertas page on Polish launch from website

Daniel Pawlowiec leader of Libertas Poland and former MP for
Liga Polskich Rodzin who lost his seat in the 2008 general election

The rightist politician from League of Polish Families like Daniel Pawlowiec was president of Libertas Poland. what will happen now? Is he going to step down or are they going to cut Ganley out and keep Libertas Poland going themselves. Though it is great to see the far right in fighting, it shows the false promise that is Libertas and demonstrates that they will associated with anti gay, anti Jewish and neo nazis in order to gain power in Europe.
http://www.libertas.eu/en/news/news-poland

Declan Ganley is keynote speaker at the launch of Poland’s referendum committee

Close to 500 people took part in an open meeting with Declan Ganley as keynote speaker in Warsaw on the 1st of February. Declan Ganley’s trip to Poland (his second this year) was welcomed with a standing ovation as he was announced by Daniel Pawlowiec as ‘the man who stopped the process of collapsing states’ sovereignties in Europe’.

‘This meeting is a very good message for Poland and for whole Europe. It is the only one way to secure our freedom and democracy in Europe. Our aim is: to reject the Treaty of Lisbon. Poland could be again, like many times in the history, the source of inspiration for other European countries’ – said Ganley to huge applause.

According to Ganley, voting for Libertas in the forthcoming European Parliament elections across Europe would be a strong European voice of opposition against establishment,
bureaucracy and the anti- democratic way of current governance of the EU.

After the speech several politicians from across the Polish political spectrum spoke of their support for future referenda. Speakers included including MEP Podkanski (leader of PSL Piast – Polish People's Party), Boleslaw Borysiuk, the leader of Regions Party, Miroslaw Orzechowski, former secretary of state, chairman of League of Polish Families, and Antoni Tyszka from Union for Realistic Politics (Unia Polityki Realnej).

All of the leaders signed the document of foundation the committee for a referendum on Lisbon Treaty.

The following day, Declan Ganley launched the Warsaw office of Libertas to the press. Daniel Pawlowiec, a former MP and Minister of EU affairs will head the office. Pawlowiec was one of the first people in Poland in public life who highlighted the threat of the Lisbon Treaty to Europe.


NB The site has been re deigned and the page link is above,

T-total Ganley splits with his Polish far right drunken skinhead allies

So Ganley has split from another ally. Poland was supposed to be one of their strong areas. Let these far right parties claw each other to pieces. Vote No to Libertas....Save Democracy from The New Hard Right!

Libertas to cut links with controversial Polish political party

DEREK SCALLY in Berlin

LIBERTAS IS reportedly distancing itself from the League of Polish Families (LPR), a key political ally in its European election campaign in Poland, after its leader was charged with drink driving.

The moved, confirmed by a Libertas official to Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, comes as the government in Warsaw announced a new Bill to reform Polish public television and remove its controversial director, an LPR member and former skinhead.

Libertas founder Declan Ganley appeared with members of the extreme-right, ultra-Catholic LPR at the launch of the Polish wing of the party to contest the June European elections. LPR politicians saw it as a chance to boost their dwindling political relevance two years after failing to make it into the Polish parliament.

But expectations of a revival in the fortunes of a party weakened by infighting and splits are dwindling further after its leader, Miroslaw Orzechowski, was charged with ramming two cars while drunk in Lodz earlier this month.

Police were called by the passengers of the other cars and Mr Orzechowski was found to be over the legal limit. “First he hit my car, then he also scratched the car that was standing near mine,” a witness told Polish television. “My wife hit her hand on the front of Mr Orzechowski’s car to make him stop.”

Mr Orzechowski admits drinking wine before the incident but denies he was driving his car. He later resigned as leader of LPR. He is a familiar face in the Polish media: as deputy education minister he questioned the theory of evolution and called for all homosexual teachers to be fired.

In a separate development, the centre-right government of Donald Tusk has moved to purge public broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) of political appointees made by the last government, of which LPR was a junior partner.

A key target is TVP director Piotr Farfal, an LPR member and former editor of the anti-Semitic youth magazine Front. “We do not accept cowards, collaborators or Jews. We are the future!” he wrote in a now notorious article for the magazine headlined “Why Be a Skinhead?” Mr Farfal portrays his remarks as youthful indiscretions.

Last week, French-German public broadcaster Arte announced that it was cancelling its 15-year co-operation with TVP because, it said, Mr Farfal’s views were incompatible with Arte’s “philosophy based on intercultural exchange”.

A spokesperson for Libertas declined to comment on whether Libertas still had contacts with LPR members, saying only that it “has never allied itself with political parties in Poland”.

Ganley supported by Polish anti-democracy royalist Polish party Unia Polityki Realnej

Polish support for Ganley comes from Janusz Korwin-Mikke http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janusz_Korwin-Mikke

Declan Ganley alleges that the EU lacks of democracy. The video ismade by and hosted by Korwin-Milke's monarchist, anti- democratic, anti-socialist, and Eurosceptic party Unia Polityki Realnej (Antydemokratyzm, Antysocjalizm, Eurosceptycyzm)

The below interview brought to you by Polish supporter of Ganley Janusz Korwin-Mikke's UPR have posted this video http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janusz_Korwin-Mikke.
http://www.uprtv.pl/uprtv/uprtv_index.php

Janusz Korwin-Mikke is an advocate of monarchy and a member of Klub Zachowawczo-Monarchistyczny (Conservative-Monarchist Club). He is known for his disdain towards democracy.
What strange bed fellows. Ganley looking for democracy being advertised by a man who disdains democracy.