The French Socialist Benoît Hamon and the co-chair of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, Germany’s Ska Keller, discussed the possibility of creating transnational and cross-party list for the forthcoming European elections in 2019, at a conference on an alternative Europe held in Brussels on the evening of Wednesday 21 June.
The event was organised by the ‘Progressive Caucus’, a dialogue space created in 2016 by members of the European Parliament, the aim of which is to bring together the various left-wing and Green political families in Parliament.
As well as Hamon and Keller, the event was attended by the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, the chair of the GUE/NGL, Gabi Zimmer, and John Crombez, leader of the Flemish Belgian Socialist party Sp.a, who was standing in for Paul Magnette. The conference aimed to offer an alternative to the five scenarios on the future of the EU presented by the European Commission earlier this year (see EUROPE 11736).
The discussions did not go into specifics. All of those who took the floor appear to agree on the diagnosis: the EU has been in the grips of neoliberalism for more than three decades. When added to its institutional democratic deficit, this neoliberalism is, in their analysis, the cause of the disenchantment of the European citizens and the rise in anti-European national forces. At this point, Tsipras predicted the implosion of the EU if nothing changes, particularly in terms of solidarity between the member states of the North and the South. Few differences came to light during the debate and all called for a third way between neoliberal Europe and increased nationalistic tendencies: that of a social, democratic and Green Europe.
This raised the question of how to reverse the power dynamics. Hamon mooted the possibility of drawing up cross-party and transnational lists for the next European elections. For her part, the Green co-chair proposed the possibility of recycling the vacant British seats for the next legislative period, in order to create a European constituency.
Hamon and Keller seemed to disagree over the potential form of this alliance, between a United Green Left and a United Left. Keller spoke in favour of maintaining the diversity of progressive forces, whilst Hamon preferred the option of a single force, pointing out that the Conservatives and Liberals have arranged themselves into a homogenous bloc.
Hamon told EUROPE that the traditional differences between the Radical Left, Social Democracy and Green politics had been overcome and that the Left should be reinvented on the basis of Green considerations. He added that in his view, the next red-letter day will be the forthcoming European elections of 2019.
A further high-level conference will be held in the autumn, in either September or October.
Certain radical left-wing forces led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon (GUE/NGL, France), are also considering ways of reforming Europe, but by bringing in power dynamics of a different kind – not built on toppling the political balance of power in Europe, but on the threat of leaving the EU (see EUROPE 11744). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)