ALDE Party: just who exactly am I accountable to?

I appear to have upset most of the Liberal Democrat European Parliamentary Party, at least, if a recent e-mail is to be believed. Given that I haven't spoken to any of them for more than a month, and don't come into contact with them much, this may come as a bit of a surprise - it certainly did to me.

The details aren't terribly important - they seldom are - but I was reminded of a dilemma which has troubled me for some time, i.e. who, or what, am I accountable to, and for what? The nub of the matter was that I was accused of having made a decision which was potentially damaging without consulting on the matter - a quite serious assertion, at least to my mind.

There was a catch, however. The committee I serve on, and which was indirectly accused of making said decision, has no decision-making powers, and is only advisory in nature. So, effectively, I was being accused of something that I couldn't have done, in a capacity where I might have opposed the decision but been in a minority on. You might understand why I was less than entirely pleased.

So, for the benefit of Fiona Hall, and in the hope that she might tell her friends, perhaps an explanation of what I do, whose interests I am responsible for safeguarding, and what principles I intend to uphold in my capacity as a member of the ALDE Party's Financial Advisory Committee is in order.

My job is to advise the Treasurer, the Secretariat and, indirectly, the Bureau on issues relating to the finances of the ALDE Party, accounting, fundraising and any related ethical and moral questions, and I do so as one of a group of six - currently, I serve with a Croat, an Italian from Catalonia, a German, a Swedish-speaking Finn and the Dutch Treasurer of LYMEC (Liberal Youth's European umbrella group).

So, who do I serve? Not the Liberal Democrats, at least, not just the Liberal Democrats - I am just as responsible for protecting the interests of the United Democrats of Cyprus, the Alandsk Center and Fianna Fail, and I do so by seeking to ensure that, as far as possible, Belgian law, which applies to the ALDE Party, is adhered to, and that, when giving advice on potential sponsors, ALDE Party policy is respected.

Quite simple, really...