Socialist group to change name after EU elections [fr] [de]
The Socialist group in the European Parliament is planning to re-brand itself after June's European elections in order to absorb other groups, notably the liberal component of Italy's main opposition party, the Partito Democratico (PD).
Background
Since its creation almost two years ago, Italy's Partito Democratico (PD) has been split between two groups in the European Parliament due to internal rows between its Socialist-Leftist and Christian-Liberal components.
The two factions of the PD, a total of 17 MEPs, are currently split between the Socialist (eight MEPs) and ALDE (Alliance of European Liberals and Democrats for Europe; nine MEPs) groups.
While these internal controversies persist, the PD's leaders now appear to have reached an agreement to unify their delegation and join the Socialist group in the EU assembly, provided that its name is changed to represent different sensibilities.
According to several Socialist sources, the new name of the group could be the 'Alliance of Socialists and Democrats', although the definitive decision will be made only after the elections, in line with the outcome of the vote.
The main reason for the name change is to absorb the PD, thus resolving the long-standing problem of its European positioning.
Changing their name would not be an easy decision for the Socialists, but given the fact that current polls show them trailing the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) in the upcoming June vote and following a series of bad results for the centre-left in recent national elections, the re-branding exercise might seem a reasonable price to pay for the additional number of MEPs that the group would gain.
Moreover, it is possible that the name change, which effectively widens the political scope of the Party of European Socialists (PES) - could attract other political factions from different EU countries.
The move would be a serious setback for the ALDE group, which would lose in one fell swoop its second biggest delegation after the UK Liberals. A Liberal source told EurActiv that there was "absolutely no way" to get an agreement between ALDE and the PD.
However, the source added that despite the potential loss of these MEPs from their group, ALDE expects to maintain its current number of approximately 100 MEPs, comfortably retaining its position as the third-largest group in parliament.
A Red-Green Alliance?
Meanwhile, the European Greens issued a statement yesterday afternoon (12 May) claiming that PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen wanted to "abandon the informal alliance with the Christian Democrats in favour of a Red-Green alliance during the upcoming European Parliament mandate".
Such a move would be a significant departure from the current arrangement between the EPP and PES, which provides the 'big two' with an equal share of the five-year European Parliament presidency.
However, a Socialist spokesperson contacted by EurActiv denied that any deal had been made, saying only that Rasmussen had been contacted by the Greens. Despite acknowledging that "on numerous issues such as environmental protection and workers' rights, the Socialists and Greens have similar positions," the spokesperson said "it's too early to speculate about the composition of new majorities in the Parliament".
The PES also confirmed that they would not name a candidate for European Commission president before the elections. "What is clear is that if a new majority is possible then Barroso, who is not the candidate of the PES, would not become Commission President," Rasmussen said.
With the elections less than a month away, the PES have been on the offensive against the EPP this week, publishing 'The 15 Most Misleading Statements of the EPP Manifesto'.