ALDE Party Co-President awarded prize in Rome

On 16 April, ALDE Party Co-President Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP received the Giovanni Malagodi International Prize from the liberal Luigi Einaudi Foundation at a ceremony in Rome.

Malagodi, former secretary of the Italian Liberal Party and President of the Italian Senate, was one of the major pioneers of liberalism in Italy and Europe and one of the co-founders of the European Liberals and Democrats (ELD), the predecessor of ALDE Party.

The ceremony was held in the Senate, the upper chamber of the Italian Parliament, to mark 120 years since the birth of Malagodi.

The Foundation’s Board of Directors awarded Co-President Kyuchyuk the first edition of the prize "for having spent his life spreading high principles of freedom and responsibility as a result of the teachings of Giovanni Malagodi".

“We are here to celebrate the work of a great liberal, Giovanni Malagodi, a visionary that believed in the value of the defence of freedom and individual rights,” said Co-President Kyuchyuk.

“Today, we need a change in mentality. Liberals and democrats need to stay united and focus on what brings us together. Unity is a luxury that we cannot do without – it is the only way that Europe can go forward: we cannot be victims of partisan politics.

“As liberals, we need to reform Europe to have more modern ideals, a more united, legitimate and responsible EU. We cannot be afraid in a moment of crisis, because it’s the only moment where we can really change our mentality and win our battles.”

Other liberal leaders gave interventions ahead of the ceremony, including former ALDE Party President Graham Watson and former FDP leader Philipp Rösler.

The Luigi Einaudi Foundation, which bears the name of the Italian President of the same name and was founded by Malagodi, is a cultural research centre for liberal politics and economics.

You can rewatch the ceremony (in Italian) below.