Le manifeste des socialistes renforce leur espoir de grandeur européenne[en] 

The Party of European Socialists (PES) manifesto for the 2009 European elections was formally unveiled at the PES Council in Madrid on 1 December following a lengthy consultative process (EurActiv 29/10/08). 

The document, which was comprehensively revised to incorporate a succinct Socialist response to the global financial and economic crisis, highlights six key areas for reform:

• Relaunching the economy and preventing new financial crises;
• Giving people a fairer deal in a new Social Europe;
• Transforming Europe into the leading global force against climate change;
• Championing gender equality in Europe;
• Developing an effective migration policy for Europe, and; 
• Enhancing Europe's role as a partner for peace, security and development.

The document was produced under the direction of PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, following a lengthy consultative process involving both socialist leaders and grass-roots activists across Europe (see EurActiv 29/10/08 ). This was proof, claimed Rasmussen, that "our policies are more inclusive than [European] conservatives, and we do our politics in a more inclusive way too". 

Among its more noteworthy elements, the manifesto calls for "a European strategy for smart green growth to create 10 million new jobs by 2020" and a "new European progressive reform agenda" to modernise the European welfare state model for the 21st century. 

It's official: The election season has begun 

Though the PES is not the first party to unveil its campaign for the 2009 elections (the European liberals, for example, launched their campaign in November; EurActiv 05/11/08), there was a strong sense that the Madrid Council heralded the beginning of the left-right battle that is sure to dominate the 2009 elections. 

The PES Council featured repeated and consistent attacks on the European centre-right, who many socialists hold responsible for the "neo-liberal" economic strategies they claim are behind the current financial crisis. 

In response, the centre-right EPP - which currently holds a majority in the Parliament (284 seats compared to the PES's 214) - immediately issued a press release deriding the Socialist manifesto as "a dream with no plan". 

EPP-ED Group Chairman Joseph Daul MEP said the manifesto's "ideas are neither new nor original. The few good ideas they have are taken right off the work agenda centre-right forces in Europe have been committed to for years". 

"The issues the PES flags in its manifesto are consensual among European leaders. They are not a left monopoly. In times of crisis, it is a dangerous temptation to pretend to solely own the truth and have the perfect solutions," said Daul. 

Meanwhile, the party's failure to nominate a socialist candidate for the position of European Commission President led to widespread speculation in Brussels that the PES may accept the renomination of current EPP President Barroso (EurActiv 03/12/08). 

However, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen hinted that the PES may address this issue at the party's next high-level meeting in February 2009. 

Responding to the financial crisis 

There was not a single speech at the PES Council that did not mention the global economic crisis. It permeated every debate, address and declaration. 

Privately, a number of PES delegates to the Madrid Council told EurActiv that the financial crisis had given European socialists a new wind in their sails. A strong sense of "we told you so" permeated the Council in the wake of the crisis and this more than anything increased confidence that the PES can become the largest group in the European Parliament at next year's European elections. 

Martin Schulz MEP, the leader of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, acknowledged as much as he told EurActiv that voters would recognise the Socialists' credentials for dealing with the crisis (see EurActiv 02/12/08). Schulz attacked European conservatives and liberals who, he claimed, "are now speaking like socialists," adding that if voters "want a real response to the financial crisis, real social democracy and genuine social justice, they should vote for the original and not the copy". 

Specifically, the PES claimed the Socialist response would provide "better regulation of all financial actors," including limits on excessive borrowing, bad loans and top executive pay and bonuses, new rules to prevent conflicts of interest and new stringent rules for hedge funds and private equity.

PES President and former Danish PM Poul Nyrup Rasmussen told EurActiv that despite the party's confidence ahead of next year's elections, "we will not be the biggest group automatically". "We have a fair chance. The door is open, but getting through it depends on us. We have to show people what we stand for. What we do with financial markets, combined with what we do in the real economy – promoting employment, in particular – will be decisive to obtain voters' confidence. Ordinary people across Europe are realising that with neoliberal models, the actual system is not functioning. We need something new, we need something else, we need security, and we can deliver that." 

Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a packed PES Council audience in his keynote speech that "we have managed to reinforce the idea that we have common social democratic projects". Repeating the mantras of the PES manifesto, he argued that "we are strong in Europe if we put an emphasis on jobs, education and the welfare state". Indeed, he went a step further in arguing that the "EU should renew its commitment to the welfare state" in this era of financial crisis. 

Swedish opposition leader Mona Sahlin emphasised the PES's green credentials by saying that "we love the car, but not the petrol; we love energy, but only renewable; and we love change, but only if it puts people first". She went on to claim that "when we combine the fight for jobs and the fight against climate change, then we are unbeatable".