PES candidate for EU Commission president through ”consultation”

The Party of European Socialists (PES) has taken a step forward with regard to the next elections to the European Parliament, by adopting a resolution on the selection of the PES candidate for president of the European Commission:

PES Resolution: Selecting our common candidate in 2014; Adopted by the PES Council on 24 November 2011

The procedure set out from the second page of the resolution is described as open and transparent, and the process is divided into nomination, verification and decision-making.

The PES member parties can consult their members either directly or indirectly, which means that regular primaries won't necessarily be arranged in every country.


Comments

The PES actually fields a candidate for the Commission top job in 2014 and the selection process becomes more open.

The woolly consultation alternatives hardly promise the propaganda victory the Campaign for a PES Primary was aiming for. In the end, much will depend on the national parties.

Even if the PES advances somewhat cautiously, it is enough to challenge the other constructive Europarties: the European People's Party EPP, the European Liberal and Reform Party ELDR and the European Green Party. How are they going to respond?



Ralf Grahn