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
Showing posts with label ELDR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ELDR. Show all posts
Friday, 25 November 2011
Friday, 17 April 2009
European elections: And the ELDR candidate is…?
The European liberal democrats (ELDR) launched their campaign for the June 2009 European elections and held their Council meeting yesterday. Here is the information they offer on the Council page:
“The ELDR Council Meeting will take place on the 16 April 2009 in Brussels, Belgium (from 11h00 to 14h00 followed by a lunch)
More info will follow in due course.”
The home page tells us that the Irish Fianna Fail has joined the liberals and that the ELDR has replied to the open letter by the Party of European Socialists (PES).
***
Commission President
But the most important question for EU citizens is the name of the liberal candidate to head the European Commission for the next five years.
On this, nothing.
Richard Laming of Federal Union fared no better in his search. In his blog post Silence speaks louder than words Laming concludes that the ELDR are not alone in European politics in ducking this issue, but that was not his understanding of what liberal politics was meant to mean.
***
Quisling Prime Ministers
They have all politically agreed on the Treaty of Lisbon, but they feel no obligation to act in the spirit of the two miserly concessions they made directly to the citizens of the European Union: To take account of the EP election results when appointing the candidate to become the President of the Commission and to put into practice the limited citizens’ initiative.
Long before the elections, the PES has been undermined, most notably by prime ministers Socrates, Zapatero and Brown.
The ELDR affiliated members of the European Council come from smaller countries such as Finland and Estonia, so their defection from the cause of European level democracy has gone largely unnoticed.
But the Quisling mechanism is the same: Overt or covert support for a second term for José Manuel Barroso (EPP), without interference from voters.
They did not even have the guts to support Barroso, if that is their intention.
Their subliminal message is: The European Union is their project, not ours. Solidarity between heads of state or government, but not towards the citizens of the European Union. The European elections do not matter.
A docile and less legitimate Commission strengthens the hand of national leaders in their ineffective and increasingly intergovernmental dealings at EU level, at a time when the world cries out for effective European solutions.
***
Results of deception
Catastrophic numbers of voters look set to abstain from voting in June, despite umpteen million euros plowed into awareness campaigns.
Paper or web pages – it doesn’t really matter: You cannot campaign on election manifestos or open letters, without flesh and blood candidates competing for at least one top spot.
The political parties at European level are abject failures, and I am still eagerly waiting for the first noteworthy contribution from their foundations (think-tanks), despite massive funding.
***
Alternatives?
It is extremely sad that Libertas is the only political party with pan-European ambitions, which has been able to attract attention even in media specialised on European affairs. Libertas has made a hash out of its launch.
If successful, a campaign against the Lisbon Treaty boils down to an expensive manoeuvre to retain the failed Treaty of Nice. It like opting for quicksand instead of progress.
There is no political programme for the coming five years, just strings of complaints and vague statements of pro-Europeanism contradicted by the recruited anti-European nationalists (and worse).
***
The state of this Union is bleak.
Ralf Grahn
“The ELDR Council Meeting will take place on the 16 April 2009 in Brussels, Belgium (from 11h00 to 14h00 followed by a lunch)
More info will follow in due course.”
The home page tells us that the Irish Fianna Fail has joined the liberals and that the ELDR has replied to the open letter by the Party of European Socialists (PES).
***
Commission President
But the most important question for EU citizens is the name of the liberal candidate to head the European Commission for the next five years.
On this, nothing.
Richard Laming of Federal Union fared no better in his search. In his blog post Silence speaks louder than words Laming concludes that the ELDR are not alone in European politics in ducking this issue, but that was not his understanding of what liberal politics was meant to mean.
***
Quisling Prime Ministers
They have all politically agreed on the Treaty of Lisbon, but they feel no obligation to act in the spirit of the two miserly concessions they made directly to the citizens of the European Union: To take account of the EP election results when appointing the candidate to become the President of the Commission and to put into practice the limited citizens’ initiative.
Long before the elections, the PES has been undermined, most notably by prime ministers Socrates, Zapatero and Brown.
The ELDR affiliated members of the European Council come from smaller countries such as Finland and Estonia, so their defection from the cause of European level democracy has gone largely unnoticed.
But the Quisling mechanism is the same: Overt or covert support for a second term for José Manuel Barroso (EPP), without interference from voters.
They did not even have the guts to support Barroso, if that is their intention.
Their subliminal message is: The European Union is their project, not ours. Solidarity between heads of state or government, but not towards the citizens of the European Union. The European elections do not matter.
A docile and less legitimate Commission strengthens the hand of national leaders in their ineffective and increasingly intergovernmental dealings at EU level, at a time when the world cries out for effective European solutions.
***
Results of deception
Catastrophic numbers of voters look set to abstain from voting in June, despite umpteen million euros plowed into awareness campaigns.
Paper or web pages – it doesn’t really matter: You cannot campaign on election manifestos or open letters, without flesh and blood candidates competing for at least one top spot.
The political parties at European level are abject failures, and I am still eagerly waiting for the first noteworthy contribution from their foundations (think-tanks), despite massive funding.
***
Alternatives?
It is extremely sad that Libertas is the only political party with pan-European ambitions, which has been able to attract attention even in media specialised on European affairs. Libertas has made a hash out of its launch.
If successful, a campaign against the Lisbon Treaty boils down to an expensive manoeuvre to retain the failed Treaty of Nice. It like opting for quicksand instead of progress.
There is no political programme for the coming five years, just strings of complaints and vague statements of pro-Europeanism contradicted by the recruited anti-European nationalists (and worse).
***
The state of this Union is bleak.
Ralf Grahn
Friday, 20 March 2009
When in Europe or North Korea
When in Europe, do as the North Koreans do. Or so it seems.
The heads of state or government affiliated to the European People’s Party (EPP) have unsurprisingly backed José Manuel Barroso for a second term as President of the Commission:
http://www.epp.eu/newsdetail.php?newsID=487&hoofdmenuID=5&submenuID=49&subsubmenuID=147
In the Treaty of Lisbon the leaders of the EU member states have signed up to the principle to take the results of the European elections into account when appointing the Commission President. If the EPP emerges as the largest group after the elections, we now know who the EPP affiliated heads of state or government are going to back. Fair enough.
Not everyone would agree with the reasons given by EPP President Wilfried Martens:
“Jose Manuel Barroso has a broad appeal in all the main political families and is by far the best candidate for this position taking into account his successful term as Commission President and his wide political experience at the national level.”
Is the ‘best candidate for this position’ based on Barroso being the sole candidate?
Does support among heads of state or government ─ an electoral college of 27 ─ really equal broad appeal in all the main European political families?
How successful has the first Barroso term been?
The EPP leaders in the European Council have exercised their judgment, which many see as conducive to the pre-eminence of the European Council.
***
Now it should be up to the voters to respond to the choice of candidate, but here we run into the North Korean dilemma.
With the British Tories defecting from the EPP-ED group, the Socialists and Social Democrats have a fighting chance of becoming the largest group in the European Parliament, if they launch a credible candidate with pan-European appeal.
The leaders affiliated to the Party of European Socialists (PES) met ahead of the spring European Council, but again failed to endorse a PES candidate.
The European Liberal Democrats (ELDR) have also failed to launch their own candidate to head the Commission.
***
375 million EU citizens eligible to vote are offered the choice of one candidate for the top spot: Nobody but Barroso.
Could there be a more damning self-indictment by the political parties at European level?
North Korea, here we come ...
Ralf Grahn
The heads of state or government affiliated to the European People’s Party (EPP) have unsurprisingly backed José Manuel Barroso for a second term as President of the Commission:
http://www.epp.eu/newsdetail.php?newsID=487&hoofdmenuID=5&submenuID=49&subsubmenuID=147
In the Treaty of Lisbon the leaders of the EU member states have signed up to the principle to take the results of the European elections into account when appointing the Commission President. If the EPP emerges as the largest group after the elections, we now know who the EPP affiliated heads of state or government are going to back. Fair enough.
Not everyone would agree with the reasons given by EPP President Wilfried Martens:
“Jose Manuel Barroso has a broad appeal in all the main political families and is by far the best candidate for this position taking into account his successful term as Commission President and his wide political experience at the national level.”
Is the ‘best candidate for this position’ based on Barroso being the sole candidate?
Does support among heads of state or government ─ an electoral college of 27 ─ really equal broad appeal in all the main European political families?
How successful has the first Barroso term been?
The EPP leaders in the European Council have exercised their judgment, which many see as conducive to the pre-eminence of the European Council.
***
Now it should be up to the voters to respond to the choice of candidate, but here we run into the North Korean dilemma.
With the British Tories defecting from the EPP-ED group, the Socialists and Social Democrats have a fighting chance of becoming the largest group in the European Parliament, if they launch a credible candidate with pan-European appeal.
The leaders affiliated to the Party of European Socialists (PES) met ahead of the spring European Council, but again failed to endorse a PES candidate.
The European Liberal Democrats (ELDR) have also failed to launch their own candidate to head the Commission.
***
375 million EU citizens eligible to vote are offered the choice of one candidate for the top spot: Nobody but Barroso.
Could there be a more damning self-indictment by the political parties at European level?
North Korea, here we come ...
Ralf Grahn
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
European Union: Nobody but Barroso?
Even if José Manuel Barroso happened to be the best Commission President ever, the European political families should be hard at work competing for the next five year stint at the helm of the Commission. If political parties at European level, representing 500 million EU citizens, are unable to find one qualified candidate each, they betray both their calling and the voters.
However, progress has been slow and the preliminary discussions mainly confined to intergovernmental discussions brought to light by snippets of information to the public.
Consequently, blogger friend Jon Worth launched the campaign Anyone But Barroso on his Euroblog, in order to kick-start the democratic impulses among the European parties:
http://www.jonworth.eu/do-you-think-barroso-is-rubbish-if-so-then-help-us/
The aim is commendable, but the results are dismal.
***
European People’s Party
One of the few things we EU citizens have seen, is that José Manuel Barroso seems keen to take on another five years as Commission President.
But the latest news item from the European People’s Party is EPP President Wilfried Martens commending the Commission’s economic stimulus package under Barroso’s leadership (26 November 2008). But this still falls short of a public nomination or even an endorsement of Barroso’s candidacy:
http://www.epp.eu
In other words, even Barroso has not been nominated as yet, although a number of members of the nominating European Council from different political families have spoken out in favour of him.
***
Party of European Socialists
Yesterday the Party of European Socialists (PES) published its manifesto for the June 2009 European elections ‘People first. A new direction for Europe’. The election manifesto was adopted by the PES Council in Madrid (1 December 2008):
http://www.pes.org/content/view/1457/72
Martin Schulz, the leader of the Socialist group in the European Parliament, is positively brimming with confidence in an EurActiv interview today:
http://www.euractiv.com/en/eu-elections/interview-socialists-confident-leading-parliament/article-177676
Schulz argues that the socialists are going to become bigger than the conservatives and the liberals combined after the June 2009 elections. He seems oblivious of the current predilection for centre-right parties in EU member states and of internecine warfare among French socialists, split three ways. But most of all, he fails to address how his boundless optimism is going to be transmitted to European electors by a faceless campaign without a top-drawer candidate for the Commission Presidency.
***
European Liberal Democrats Party
The great annual event for the European Liberal Democrats Party (ELDR) was the party congress on 30 and 31 October 2008 in Stockholm. The congress adopted resolutions with a view to the European elections, but not a word was communicated on the party’s candidate to take over the post as President of the European Commission:
http://www.eldr.eu/index.php?newlang=english
***
European Green Party
I tried to find a press release on the leading Green candidate on the web site of the European Green Party:
http://www.europeangreens.org/cms/default/rubrik/9/9034.htm
Hardly surprising by now, but I found nothing (nobody).
***
Election results
The Treaty of Lisbon is not going to be in force in time for the European Parliament elections in June, but Article 214(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community requires the approval of the European Parliament for the President of the Commission:
Article 214(2) TEC
2. The Council, meeting in the composition of Heads of State or Government and acting by a qualified majority, shall nominate the person it intends to appoint as President of the Commission; the nomination shall be approved by the European Parliament.
***
Even under the current rules, a European Parliament with backbone could ensure open nominations in advance, public campaigns interacting with the citizens of the EU and respect for the outcome of the EP elections.
Nothing prevents the heads of state or government (European Council) to proclaim that they are going to take into account the elections to the European Parliament, because they already committed themselves politically when they signed the Constitutional Treaty in 2004.
***
Political parties
Still under the existing rules, Article 191 TEC sets out the important task for the European political parties, the one for which they and their foundations can draw funds from EU taxpayers:
Article 191 TEC
Political parties at European level are important as a factor for integration within the Union. They contribute to forming a European awareness and to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union.
-----
How can the political parties at European level even pretend to fulfil their basic tasks, if they fail to field candidates for the Commission Presidency?
***
Libertas
After this depressing perusal of the state of the union, I have to return to the Anyone But Barroso slogan.
Instead of ruminating about my preferred candidate, I don the cap of an independent political tactician.
If I happened to be in Declan Ganley’s shoes, I wouldn’t hesitate a moment before becoming or launching the Libertas candidate for President of the Commission.
The European level parties have, as it seems, rejected the voters and created a vacuum waiting to be filled. In the case of Libertas this gift from heaven would give them at least three aces on a silver tray: one positive campaign message instead of only negative ones, a face to project to millions of television and PC screens all over Europe and the potential for a real break-through in the EP elections.
If this happens, the established European political parties have brought it upon themselves.
Ralf Grahn
However, progress has been slow and the preliminary discussions mainly confined to intergovernmental discussions brought to light by snippets of information to the public.
Consequently, blogger friend Jon Worth launched the campaign Anyone But Barroso on his Euroblog, in order to kick-start the democratic impulses among the European parties:
http://www.jonworth.eu/do-you-think-barroso-is-rubbish-if-so-then-help-us/
The aim is commendable, but the results are dismal.
***
European People’s Party
One of the few things we EU citizens have seen, is that José Manuel Barroso seems keen to take on another five years as Commission President.
But the latest news item from the European People’s Party is EPP President Wilfried Martens commending the Commission’s economic stimulus package under Barroso’s leadership (26 November 2008). But this still falls short of a public nomination or even an endorsement of Barroso’s candidacy:
http://www.epp.eu
In other words, even Barroso has not been nominated as yet, although a number of members of the nominating European Council from different political families have spoken out in favour of him.
***
Party of European Socialists
Yesterday the Party of European Socialists (PES) published its manifesto for the June 2009 European elections ‘People first. A new direction for Europe’. The election manifesto was adopted by the PES Council in Madrid (1 December 2008):
http://www.pes.org/content/view/1457/72
Martin Schulz, the leader of the Socialist group in the European Parliament, is positively brimming with confidence in an EurActiv interview today:
http://www.euractiv.com/en/eu-elections/interview-socialists-confident-leading-parliament/article-177676
Schulz argues that the socialists are going to become bigger than the conservatives and the liberals combined after the June 2009 elections. He seems oblivious of the current predilection for centre-right parties in EU member states and of internecine warfare among French socialists, split three ways. But most of all, he fails to address how his boundless optimism is going to be transmitted to European electors by a faceless campaign without a top-drawer candidate for the Commission Presidency.
***
European Liberal Democrats Party
The great annual event for the European Liberal Democrats Party (ELDR) was the party congress on 30 and 31 October 2008 in Stockholm. The congress adopted resolutions with a view to the European elections, but not a word was communicated on the party’s candidate to take over the post as President of the European Commission:
http://www.eldr.eu/index.php?newlang=english
***
European Green Party
I tried to find a press release on the leading Green candidate on the web site of the European Green Party:
http://www.europeangreens.org/cms/default/rubrik/9/9034.htm
Hardly surprising by now, but I found nothing (nobody).
***
Election results
The Treaty of Lisbon is not going to be in force in time for the European Parliament elections in June, but Article 214(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community requires the approval of the European Parliament for the President of the Commission:
Article 214(2) TEC
2. The Council, meeting in the composition of Heads of State or Government and acting by a qualified majority, shall nominate the person it intends to appoint as President of the Commission; the nomination shall be approved by the European Parliament.
***
Even under the current rules, a European Parliament with backbone could ensure open nominations in advance, public campaigns interacting with the citizens of the EU and respect for the outcome of the EP elections.
Nothing prevents the heads of state or government (European Council) to proclaim that they are going to take into account the elections to the European Parliament, because they already committed themselves politically when they signed the Constitutional Treaty in 2004.
***
Political parties
Still under the existing rules, Article 191 TEC sets out the important task for the European political parties, the one for which they and their foundations can draw funds from EU taxpayers:
Article 191 TEC
Political parties at European level are important as a factor for integration within the Union. They contribute to forming a European awareness and to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union.
-----
How can the political parties at European level even pretend to fulfil their basic tasks, if they fail to field candidates for the Commission Presidency?
***
Libertas
After this depressing perusal of the state of the union, I have to return to the Anyone But Barroso slogan.
Instead of ruminating about my preferred candidate, I don the cap of an independent political tactician.
If I happened to be in Declan Ganley’s shoes, I wouldn’t hesitate a moment before becoming or launching the Libertas candidate for President of the Commission.
The European level parties have, as it seems, rejected the voters and created a vacuum waiting to be filled. In the case of Libertas this gift from heaven would give them at least three aces on a silver tray: one positive campaign message instead of only negative ones, a face to project to millions of television and PC screens all over Europe and the potential for a real break-through in the EP elections.
If this happens, the established European political parties have brought it upon themselves.
Ralf Grahn
Monday, 6 October 2008
Finnish PM backs Barroso
The international edition of Helsingin Sanomat, the largest Finnish daily, quotes Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen backing a second term for José Manuel Barroso as President of the European Commission:
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/-/1135239997589
Vanhanen leads the Finnish Centre Party, a member of ELDR (European Liberal and Reform Party) and its members of the European Parliament sit in the ALDE group (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe), the third largest group.
Vanhanen’s statement raises a few questions:
Has the ELDR decided to abstain from campaigning for the next Commission President in the June 2009 European elections, when the spirit of the Lisbon Treaty has raised hopes for increased input by citizens?
Or, is Vanhanen’s ‘personal’ initiative an indication of a split within the ELDR?
***
By the way, the Swedish Green Party has decided to refrain from demanding secession from the European Union, less than 14 years since accession. Swift action …
Ralf Grahn
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/-/1135239997589
Vanhanen leads the Finnish Centre Party, a member of ELDR (European Liberal and Reform Party) and its members of the European Parliament sit in the ALDE group (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe), the third largest group.
Vanhanen’s statement raises a few questions:
Has the ELDR decided to abstain from campaigning for the next Commission President in the June 2009 European elections, when the spirit of the Lisbon Treaty has raised hopes for increased input by citizens?
Or, is Vanhanen’s ‘personal’ initiative an indication of a split within the ELDR?
***
By the way, the Swedish Green Party has decided to refrain from demanding secession from the European Union, less than 14 years since accession. Swift action …
Ralf Grahn
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