Statement 35th Anniversary International Democrat Union by Stephen Harper, IDU Chairman
35 years ago, on 24 June 1983, a group of world leaders met in London to form the International Democrat Union. By signing the London Declaration, George H. W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, Jacques Chirac and others created a worldwide association of conservative, Christian-democratic and centre-right political parties. Rooted in the ideals of political democracy and economic freedom, their generation would bring down the Iron Curtain and usher in the era of globalization. The years that followed witnessed the greatest growth in political freedom and economic wealth in human history.
Today, however, new threats have appeared. In emerging economies, models of authoritarianism and state capitalism are attempting to separate the growth of the economy from the development of democratic rights. In developed countries, corporatist distortions of market economics have led to the global financial crisis, rising income inequality and non-inclusive growth, while international elites have mutated globalization into an attack on the nation-state and national communities. New socialist movements and populist uprisings are the result.
Our global alliance is committed to addressing these challenges by bringing conservatives together to share experiences and best practices. We support the spread of democratic governance and inclusive markets as the only basis over time for the development of personal freedom and economic opportunity. As newly elected IDU Chairman, I take pride in the work of my predecessors – from Alois Mock to Kåre Willoch, Andrew Peacock, William Hague, Carl Bildt, John Howard and John Key – to advance these goals through our network. As our founding Chairman rightfully said: “political ideas have no national frontiers and we will not be slow to export ours.” That remains our mission today.