On Friday 14 October in Berlin, at the annual congress of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Europe’s social democratic family entrusted former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven with the responsibility of leading it in the upcoming elections in Europe, starting with the European elections in May 2024. It believes that it is in a position to become the leading political force in the European Parliament.
Promising “open and transparent” leadership, Mr Löfven spoke of his personal story of growing up in a foster home, which made him aware of the meaning of community, solidarity and fairness, and which forged his conviction as a social democrat.
In his view, there is currently “a demand for the PES”. That is why, he said, socialists and social democrats must be able to best respond to citizens’ expectations regarding the cost of living, security, social justice, the fight against climate change, gender equality, the defence of democracy and the unity of Europe in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“We must rise to the occasion” and show our citizens that we are capable of building “a society where no one is left behind”, Mr Löfven said. “We have the vision, the determination, the experience” to become “the leading political force” in Europe, he said. “We are the political family of those who struggle to pay for their food and bills!”, said Iratxe García Pérez, Chair of the S&D group in the European Parliament.
In a resolution adopted unanimously on Friday, the PES called for the SURE instrument, which supported national short-time work schemes at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, to be made “permanent”. It calls for “a permanent long-term investment capacity” inspired by the European investment plan NextGenerationEU. Furthermore, “we need to recover energy companies’ windfall profits to ensure fair effort sharing in our societies”, the PES stresses.
The outgoing president, Sergei Stanichev from Bulgaria, praised Mr Löfven’s initiative which was launched when he was head of the Swedish government and led to the proclamation of the European pillar of social rights at the Gothenburg summit in November 2017 (see EUROPE B11907, B11906). “This winter and the year 2023 will be difficult. We need to provide solutions that protect. If we don’t, we will pay the price”, he warned.
In a perilous economic and geopolitical context, the socialists and social democrats have made the Christian democrats their target. This group are weakened and no longer hesitate to align themselves with the extreme right in order to continue governing, as in Sweden and Italy (see EUROPE 13021/25).
Lars Klingbeil, co-Chair of the German SPD, berated the Chair of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber from Germany, for promoting such a political strategy. “We need very strong positions against the right-wing populists. (...) We are the bulwark against these extremes!”, he said. Mr Löfven has refused to cooperate with any political party that does not recognise the equality of individuals.
On Friday, Mr Löfven, the only candidate for the PES presidency, was elected by an overwhelming majority (255 votes in favour, 0 against, 7 abstentions).
See the PES resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/3ml (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)