by Kate Holman in Brussels
THE Party of European Socialists officially launched its campaign for the European Parliament elections in Brussels last week, unveiling the symbol that will act as its logo throughout the campaign: a red and white cube bearing the title of the PES manifesto, People First: A New Direction for Europe.
The PES believes it can win votes in the current financial crisis by offering Europeans a different economic scenario. PES president and MEP Poul Nyrup Rasmussen has been in the forefront of moves to reform and regulate markets in Europe and the manifesto prioritises plans to relaunch the EU economy and to require greater transparency from banks and financial institutions.
Campaign organisers say the PES – which includes the Labour Party – has come a long way since the last European elections in 2004 when it lost its majority in the European Parliament. They point to the year-long consultation process that went into drawing up the manifesto, with 300,000 hits on the website and 100 meetings with activists around Europe.
The PES hopes its “cool cube” will attract younger voters. And it is deliberately making a push to get more women to the polls in June. Zita Gurmai, leader of the party’s women’s organisation, emphasised that gender equality is one of the six key themes of the manifesto. “When you point out that women work 54 days more than men to get the same salary, it makes people think”, she said, referring to the 15 per cent gender pay gap that persists across Europe. “If you don’t have equal pay, you get poor children, and it’s time we put children first.”
Mr Rasmussen added: “Women risk being the biggest victims of the crisis. In precarious employment they are the most vulnerable and there are already reports of women shortening their maternity leave because they are afraid of losing their jobs.” One example of the impact was a suggestion from the current Czech presidency to ditch long-standing EU childcare targets in order to cut costs – a move furiously opposed by European socialists.
Mr Rasmussen ridiculed calls from European Commission president José Manuel Barroso for greater unity between left and right in tackling the recession. “We’re not jumping into that soup. We are standing for change and reform. Whether it’s hospitals, wages, social security or the Posted Workers Directive, we have to respect people’s needs – not the market.”
Despite a recent EU-wide poll indicating that 67 per cent of the population is unaware of the European elections, Ms Gurmai believes British voters can be persuaded to turn out. “When you talk about issues like climate change, you find people are more pro-Europe”, she argues.
The PES is planning an EU-wide campaign tour over the next three months. “This is the start of the most intensive campaign we have ever seen in Europe,” pledged Mr Rasmussen.
