Tag Archives: Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

The runners for the next President of the PES

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen has today announced he is standing down as President of the PES. Over a period that has been one of relative decline for the left across Europe, Poul has been a voice of determination and reason; I’m sad to see him go, especially as he’s miles better than his counterpart at the S&D Group.

So then, who are the possible replacements?

I write this on the basis of no inside information whatsoever. I have just tried to compile a list on the basis of the names and characters who would be eligible. These would have to be former prime ministers, high ranking ministers or Commissioners. Feel free to add more suggestions or comments!

Alfred Gusenbauer (Former Chancellor of Austria)

Since being replace as Chancellor in Vienna, Gusenbauer has been a regular visitor to Brussels, often popping up at events run by FEPS and the Renner Institut. He’s well known in the Brussels circles, although lacks any star quality. He would be a safe but uninspiring option.
Chances: good

Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Former German Foreign Minister)

A big beast without a role since the end of the grand coalition in Germany in 2009, Steinmeier’s political future has been an open question. He would bring gravitas to the role, but does he still harbour a further shot at Germany’s top job in 2013?
Chances: unknown. Would he want it?

Mona Sahlin (Former leader of the Swedish Social Democrats, former government minister in Sweden)

It didn’t work out for Sahlin as leader of the Social Democrats, but she has respect within her party and the Swedish Social Democrats are well connected and trusted within the PES. The PES also has never had a female President.
Chances: medium

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (Outgoing Spanish Prime Minister)

He probably retains more respect at EU level than nationally within Spain. The most recent Social Democratic Prime Minister of a large EU country. However he backed Barroso for Commission President in 2009 – has everyone forgotten that?
Chances: low. Probably too soon for him.

David Miliband (Former Foreign Secretary in the UK)

Whenever there’s a top EU job available, David Miliband’s name always crops up. Probably the only Brit with the skills, respect and experience to take the job. But would he want it? What are his plans? No-one really seems to know except the man himself.
Chances: if he wants it then the job could well be his

Other possible names: Anna Diamantopoulou, Josep Borrell, José Sócrates?

(All images CC License from Wikipedia: Gusenbauer | Steinmeier | Sahlin | Zapatero | Miliband)

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Liveblogging Bruegel “Memos to the new Commission- Europe’s economic priorities 2010-2015″

bruegel-cover*** HIT REFRESH IN YOUR BROWSER TO SEE THE LATEST UPDATES ***

Panel Ratings:
-> Andre Sapir 7/10 – clearly sharp, spoke well, wish he had critiqued the politicians too
-> Elmar Brok 5/10 – sometimes clear, other times clearly torn inside, cantakerous
-> Poul Nyrup Rasmussen 8/10 – on good form today, clear, coherent and optimistic
-> Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck 4/10 – no clue what her message was really, incoherent
-> Danny Cohn Bendit 6/10 – wins on humour, political ideas OK, but he’s a maverick

That’s all for now folks. Have a read of the paper here.

1158 – Poul saying that the US is working on a transaction tax, this is not just a EU discussion. We have transaction taxes all over the place in different countries of the EU already.

1155 – ELDR parties do not agree on taxation. Some want EU tax, others don’t want it mentioned. So ELDR is neatly on the fence. Neyts-Uyttebroeck calls the position “clear”. Now speaking of free movement of knowledge.

1150 – We need to protect the single market from mad speculation. Scrapping cars was one of the worst decisions ever made. We need a new balance between market and regulation. If we don’t get that we don’t get the rest.

1145 – Brok: have to keep standards on European law. Should not set new standards, new legislation, before implementation is complete and this is a value too. Seldom is taxation the way out of a crisis, look at how private money can be used for investment again. We should not be forcing industry?

1141 – Pisani-Ferry: No doubt Jacques Delors would appreciate the comparion!

1140 – Roland Freudenstein: People seem to want to ask what would Delors do? Is it like American evangelicals asking what would jesus do?

1137 – There should be a rule in Q&A – that you actually ask a question. Rather than stating a long and incomprehensible ramble. Get to the point people!

1132 – Now we’re on to Q&A. A chap from BEPA is saying they are thinking a lot the same way as Bruegel. Will Barroso listen?

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Schizophrenic socialists and poker playing conservatives

pse-blurChange or die is the message to the PES from Poul Nyrup Rasmussen on Labourlist today, and he has this to say about the EP:

We now face the least progressive European Parliament in its history, with a far more eurosceptic and nationalist right-wing than ever before. Moreover, we also risk seeing a more assertive right-wing European Commission

But the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (PASD) is already up against it – stick to the old ways of playing the game, or stick their necks on the line?

One particular problem is neatly summarised by the Eurosocialist blog, namely the game being played between the left and right in the EP regarding the allocation of the top positions in the EP. Joesph Daul of the EPP Group is openly playing a game against the PASD, stating that the left must back Barroso as Commission President before any deal could be struck to ensure that the EPP backs a leftist candidate for the Presidency of the European Parliament for the second half of the parliamentary term.

Daul it seems is playing a good game, he’s putting the left in a corner, making it look like they lose either way – back Barroso and the Portuguese is strengthened, or not get the Presidency of the Parliament and the old two-parties-control-the-game in the EP is broken, at the expense of the left. You can just imagine Schulz scratching his belly and wondering what to make of this, even with a few extra Italian MEPs in his camp. Does the left stick to its ideology and lose out on all of the top positions, or does Schulz lose the position as EP President that he allegedly craves?

If I were in the shoes of a leftist MEP I would refuse to play the game with the EPP, and aim to develop a clear and coherent opposition to the right in the EP throughout the next 5 years. That doesn’t need a socialist as the President of the EP to be achieved, and might help the left determine what it stands for before the 2014 elections. I somehow suspect that won’t be the way many MEPs in the PASD will see it. Contrast that to Poul’s statement and the position of the left looks rather schizophrenic.

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Rebuilding the European left

Red Brick Wall - CC / Flickr

Red Brick Wall - CC / Flickr

The European Parliament Election results on Sunday were not good for social democratic and labour parties across Europe, polling 3% less than at the elections in 2004. PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, posting at Labourlist, states rather blandly that “We need more PES, not less PES” so as to do better next time. I’m afraid it’s not that simple Poul – so here are a few more ideas.

First of all, social democratic parties at national and EU level lack coherent and decent quality leadership. Brown is monumentally weak and cares little about the EU, Aubry has not been able to assert herself in France, the Italian Partito Democratico is tearing itself apart, the SPD seems determined to simply turn the clock back, the left has no coherent leadership in Poland… only Zapatero has been able to arrest the decline, and he has seldom been seen on the international stage. Things are not much better at EU level – I have respect for Rasmussen, but he has been unable to assert himself. Leader of the Socialist Group Martin Schulz, famous in large part thanks to his Berlusconi incident, does not have the optimism, nuance or communications skills to lead effectively. In short things at the top must change.

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PES is not backing Barroso, but is not backing anyone. Confused?

BarrosoI’ve been hammering on and on at the PES and the issue of why socialists have not been able to nominate a candidate for President of the Commission to follow Barroso when the Portuguese’s term of office ends 31st October this year. The story behind all of this gets immensely complex – I’m going to try to set the record straight as far as I see it.

Essentially there is a disagreement between the Party of European Socialists, headed up by party president Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, and 3 of the PES member parties. Those 3 parties, and their party leaders, namely Socrates in Portugal, Zapatero in Spain and Brown in the UK, are quite happy with Barroso being re-nominated as President of the Commission as this re-nomination suits their own petty national interests, and also – especially for the UK – the fact that Barroso is weak also helps his cause.

In the opposite camp are MEPs in the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, and leaders of some of Europe’s social democrat parties that are out of power nationally. For them they need a strong message for the election campaigns on why a social europe is possible and desirable, and accomplishing that with Barroso in place is not going to be easy. So hence we have Rasmussen in an interview in Le Monde stating “Si une autre majorité se dégage, M. Barroso ne pourra pas être reconduit“, and he also stated in Financial Times Deutschland “Wir wollen nach der Europaparlamentswahl zusammen mit anderen Parteien einen anderen Kommissionspräsidenten wählen“.

So essentially if you vote for a PES member party at the EP elections in June you’ll get MEPs that will not back Barroso (good) but do not know who they will back (bad) and say they will have to cooperate with other parties on that (confusing).

So why not put up a candidate anyway? Well, Rasmussen might want to be that person, but with his namesake now NATO General Secretary, and also with Denmark outside Schengen and the Euro is he appropriate? His left wing rival in Brussels, Martin Schulz, is a tub-thumping bully, not someone with the nous or ability to bring people together. The best social democrat – Pascal Lamy – hence seldom even features in the debate about the nomination of a candidate.

Then Europe’s politicians wonder why the population does not understand what’s going on in Brussels, and how the process of European ‘democracy’ seems opaque and confusing. I rest my case.

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PES challenges the Liberals – but what does the single market mean for public services?

UK Class 66, DB Schenker - CC / Flickr

UK Class 66, DB Schenker - CC / Flickr

The PES was kind enough to e-mail me a copy of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen’s open letter to the European Liberals (whose campaign launched today) where Rasmussen calls into question the Liberals’ statement that “The single market should be reinforced and extended in energy, postal services, railways and health care”. The full letter is available at the LME-LSE website here.

The letter goes on: “Our question is: how do you propose to use the single market to ensure these services remain high-quality, affordable and accessible to all?”

All very well – managing to guarantee high quality, affordable and accessible public services is exactly the sort of thing the PES should want. But there are two fundamental misconceptions here: firstly that public services are necessarily good at the moment, and secondly that market forces necessarily challenge the public service ethos. The letter is intentionally vague about private enterprise: liberalisation does not necessarily mean privatisation.

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Anti-Barroso forces becoming more vocal

Barroso Dominoes - J. Worth / CC License - source credits in blog entry

Barroso Dominoes - J. Worth / CC License - source credits in blog entry

It’s pleasing to see that there are finally some high level politicians voicing their critique of José Manuel Barroso with the determination that he should not get a second term of office as President of the European Commission. Anyone But Barroso lives!

First of all the European Greens at their congress this weekend in Brussels took a strong ‘Stop Barroso’ position. They realise they will not have a majority in the EP after the elections, but the comments of Pierre Jonckheer and others are welcome.

Secondly Jean Quatremer reports on comments by eminence sage of EU politics, Jacques Delors, that Barroso should not be granted a second term. His solutions are – rather surprisingly – François Fillon or Alain Juppé (!) His reasoning is that the left will not win the EP elections, so better propose at least someone half decent from the right. There are others who reckon Michel Barnier would be a better bet, but there is a definite trend developing that the future of Barroso to a large extent depends on how things play out in France.

Lastly it looks like the Party of European Socialists is finally getting its act together, at least via the European Parliament if not via Socrates – Zapatero – Brown. PES President Rasmussen has spoken out that the new Commission President should not be chosen rapidly after the EP elections, as the EP should have more time to debate the issue. The implication here is that in the unlikely circumstance that the PSE Group is the largest in the EP after the elections then they could oppose the nomination of Barroso. There’s more in French in an interview with Rasmussen in Le Monde.

Photo credits – all elements of the Photoshop mockup from CC / Flickr images: Dominoes | Flag | Barroso | Rasmussen | Delors | Jonckheer

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