Awful to forget Liberal struggle (3)
I believe the answer is:
vie
'struggle' is the definition.
(to vie is to struggle or contend with)
I can't explain the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for vie that I've seen before include "Strive in French way?" , "Try to do better than" , "I've got to contend" , "Engage in rivalry" , "contest" .)