Press Room

• The meeting was closed by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Miguel Ángel Moratinos; the Italian Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs, Vincenzo Scotty and Ricardo Lagos, who has finished his term as President of the Club de Madrid and has been replaced by Wim Kok.

Combating the Crisis, Improving and Increasing Democracy. This is the main recommendation given in the final declaration of the Annual Conference of Club de Madrid, which brought together more than 100 ex political leaders and experts from all over the world to search for solutions to the economic crisis.

The meeting was closed by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Miguel Ángel Moratinos; the Italian Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs, Vincenzo Scotti and the former President of Club de Madrid, Ricardo Lagos, whose position has now been assumed by Wim Kok, from the Netherlands.

All participants commented on the final recommendations of the meeting, in which they recognized that the financial and economic crisis, which began 2 years ago, has shown itself to be complex enough to require a solution in which all world actors move past antiquated dichotomies between the East and West, Developing Nations and Developed Nations, the Old World and the New World, in order to find new solutions.

Within the final declaration of the Annual Conference of the Club of Madrid, they noted that the crisis has accentuated the need for a more effective balance between the State and the market, and they celebrated the incipient recovery in various parts of the world, but also warned that this was no cause for complacency. Furthermore, some members of the organization, like Felipe González, predict that there could be a recovery, but that this won’t resolve the crisis and that the necessary reforms have still not been established. “One would have to pay attention to Don Quijote who, with the recommendations given by Sancho Panza to govern Ínsula Barataria, responded with a basic statement: there should be very few rules, and they should be followed.”

Soon after the subject of the application of strategies, the participants agreed that all countries must be a part of the solution. And above all, the time has come to begin this profound reform of the financial structure of the global economy and to face the crisis with public accountability, a system of democracy and functional checks and balances. The strengthening of democratic values requires multilateral participation from all countries in the decision making process and fair representation of developing countries in the system of international government.

Similarly, the leaders insist that in facing the social consequences of the crisis, there should be a key element of macroeconomic policies; this is the axis of recovery. The objective should be to construct “Democracies must deliver: Improve the well being of peoples, empower the capacities of everyone to participate in reconstructing the present and developing the future, avoid the nightmare of another global financial collapse,” concludes the declaration, signed by the attendees of the Conference.

More than 30 members of the Club of Madrid participated in the meeting, all of them Former Heads of State and Government, like Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil), Vicente Fox (Mexico), Felipe González (Spain), Alejandro Toledo (Peru), and Romano Prodi (Italy), and two of the members who have joined the organization this year: the Former President of Ghana, John Kufuor; and the Former President of Nigeria, Olesegun Obasanjo.

Previously at the Annual Conference, the Club of Madrid celebrated its General Assembly, in the year in which they renewed the positions of President and Vice President. As a result, the Chilean Ricardo Lagos has ceded his position to the Former  Prime Minister of the Netherlands Wim Kok; and they have instituted two Vice Presidents, a position until now filled by Irish President Mary Robinson and now filled by Colombian César Gaviria andJennifer Mary Shipley from New Zealand.

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ABOUT US

The Club of Madrid The Club of Madrid responds to the demand for leader-to-leader support to confront today’s global, regional and national democratic leadership challenges. It is an independent organization dedicated to strengthening democratic values and leadership around the world by drawing on the unique experience and resources of its Members –more than 70 democratic former Heads of State and Government from 50 countries who contribute their time, experience and knowledge to this mission. The Club of Madrid’s membership constitutes the world’s largest forum of ex-Presidents and ex-Prime Ministers and offers today’s leaders an unequalled body of knowledge and political leadership.

PRESS CONTACT

Silvia Pescador
Communications Coordinator
Tel: +34 911 548 230

E-Mail: spescador@clubmadrid.org