PES Manifesto

We are the people we've been waiting for

Published Monday, December 8, 2008 at 12:20
by noelhatch (2034 views and 0 comments)

"What is the difference between markets and people? When markets are free they destroy each other and they destroy people. When people are free, they thrive together."

That was just one of the calls for putting people first at the PES Congress in Madrid for the adoption of the PES Manifesto.

Being amongst activists from across Europe, we were experiencing a unique moment of international fraternity. Unique, because the PES Manifesto was shaped by all of us who took part in the debates that took place right across the continent and for the first time in England, a progressive cocktail featuring think tanks, campaigning groups, trade unions, MPs and MEPs and of course activists themselves. Unique, because PES Activists brought together people from every social democratic party in Europe, not only here for the launch, but where you are, in your local areas and online. Unique, because very few of our comrades and even less of our citizens get the opportunity to experience moments of solidarity, especially in our country where Europe has been seen at best as a whispered footnote and at worst as a dirty taboo.

We were reminded that everyone involved in politics doesn't share the same values of solidarity and equality, that every party doesn't want a more social Europe. So in a time where national interest is at its most vivid and intense, we have a shared responsibility across the social democratic movement to understand that not one of our countries can solve global problems on their own – we all depend on each other not only to tackle these challenges but to win together in June 2009 to deliver a fairer and more democratic Europe for all our citizens.

Take the representative from the American trade union federation AFL-CIO who not only criticised the low wage high consumption economy free from any social protection, but called for us in Europe to be "more agressive social democrats". As the leader of the Czech Social Democrats declared, "neo liberalismo no pasaran". We need to convince people who is really to blame and we also need to convince them who they can trust. As the leader of the Flemish Socialists argued, we want to fight for a race to the top.

Another world is possible, another way of doing politics is possible. We need to listen to each other, we can all change the way Europe is going, the way our society is going. We need to stop putting our countries first – however powerful they are - and continue putting our people first – wherever they are from.

Recalling Rasmussen's story when he met a mentally ill girl who had tried to take her life. When he asked her to help him clean the room, she replied that no-one had ever treated her as if she mattered. As Zapatero warned if don't act now in solidarity, we'll have lost a part of our socialist soul. We need to give people hope, we need to look in their eyes and rekindle that inner flame, that they trust us to put their story at the heart of our campaign – putting people first.

"Red and white, European dynamite"

With the support and challenge of the 13,000 strong PES Activists, what Zita Gurmai calls a "small army", we need to talk to our friends, our neighbours and our colleagues and tell them how we will put people first. The PES led in giving activists the power to genuinely shape together a manifesto which we can all feel is ours to campaign on with the heart and soul that drives us to be labour, socialist and social democrats. And the right haven't given their members any opportunity to make their voice heard in their programme. In fact, they don't even have a programme yet. The PES led in making proposals on the financial system before anyone understood the scale of the crisis and jumped on the credit crunch bandwagon. And PES Activists in London led to make sure that as many EU citizens as possible went out and voted in our last mayoral elections, as PES Activists did in other cities across Europe.

And so we will lead once again. Because if we can surprise and inspire people to help shape our manifesto, we can surprise and inspire them again to come and campaign and vote in the European elections. We can win the battle of ideas over the battle of cheap slogans. As someone said, together we are the force for change.

Tags: activists, campaign, candidates, citizens, citizens, expatriates, globalization