Mmmm, I dunno, I'm still not getting "liberal" out of any of that, even in an American context.  The word that keeps popping up is "centrist," which in the US is considerably right of center on the European scale.

Honestly, I haven't read Friedman (without being forced to) for years.  In this part of the world (supposedly the region he's the "expert on, right?) he's been long discredited, and is considered largely a bigot and a bully.

Even in the American context, none of the Democrats you identify describe themselves as "liberal," and they're called "liberal" only by Republicans.  I would myself put Friedman to the right of Lieberman... but like I said, I haven't been paying attention.  When I can help it.