In 2001, Van der Bellen said that he turned from an "arrogant anti-capitalist" into a "broad-minded left-liberal" over the course of his political career.[10] In his 2015 autobiography, Van der Bellen described himself as a liberal positioned in the political centre while downplaying his earlier description as left-liberal,[11] and said he was inspired by the Anglo-Saxon liberal tradition, particularly John Stuart Mill.[10] He is strongly supportive of the European Union, and advocates European federalism.[11][12] During the 2016 presidential election, he appealed to the political centre and used "Unser Präsident der Mitte" (Our President of the Centre) for his campaign slogan.[20]