European elections: Socialists launch their campaign to fight against the far right
The elite of European socialism met in Rome on Saturday March 2 to launch their campaign for the European elections on June 9, under the theme of “
a democratic, united and sustainable Europe
”.
Luxembourg's Nicolas Schmit, current EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, was officially designated as the socialist candidate for the Commission, in the framework of elections considered to be "
the most important
" in decades "
to save democracy in Europe
.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shakes hands with Nicolas Schmit, next to Democratic Party Secretary Elly Schlein, after Nicolas Schmit was elected joint candidate of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in the European Parliament elections in June 2024, on the day of the PES electoral congress in Rome, March 2, 2024. © Remo Casilli / Reuters
By: RFI with AFP
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MEPs, deputies,
party bosses
, European commissioners and heads of government, all considered that these
elections were "
the most important
"
in decades, more than two years after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and in the face of hypothesis of an “
illiberal
” wave in the polls.
Luxembourger Nicolas Schmit, 70, has been named the candidate of the Party of European Socialists (PES) for the European Commission.
He will face Ursula von der Leyen, member of the European People's Party (EPP), given as a favorite for his own succession for the June elections and whose candidacy for the conservatives should be ratified during the congress of his party on March 6 and 7 in Bucharest.
Approved, Nicolas Schmit recalled the courage of the Ukrainians who are fighting “
for freedom in Europe
” and promised the unfailing support of European socialists “
against the tyrannical regime of
[Russian President Vladimir]
Putin
”, reports our correspondent in Rome,
Anne The Nir
.
He deplored the tragic situation in Gaza, while reiterating that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, but that international laws must be respected.
He then outlined, in broad terms, the content of the “
Electoral Manifesto
”, adopted in Rome.
This moves from the protection of labor rights to the European Green Deal - "
which must not have a break, due to the accelerated effects of climate change
" - to a common European defense and the fight against nationalism advocated by the far right, deemed “
a poison for democracy
”.
Also read: Far-rights, abstention and disinformation, the challenges of the 2024 European elections
Discontent from the agricultural world benefiting the far right?
The Party of European Socialists (PES) is the second largest group in the number of seats in the European Parliament, behind the European People's Party (EPP).
Three months before the European elections on June 9, the two main groups of the European Parliament are getting ready to
face an extreme right which could make a breakthrough
by taking advantage
of agricultural discontent
in particular .
Also read: What are the keys to the agricultural crisis shaking Europe?
The head of the French Socialist Party Olivier Faure said he feared seeing “
the far right gradually eating away at the peasant electorate on the grounds that today there would be a contradiction between the ecological question and the agricultural question
”.
“
What we must constantly remember is that the enemy of agriculture
is not ecology
, it is liberalism
,” he said, calling on European socialists to “
to bring a substitute hope to that which the extreme right seems to bring today
”.
The leader of the Italian Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, concluded the congress with these words: "
We must be the greatest enemies of fear of the future and the greatest supporters of a policy closer to vulnerable people
."
And added “
We must restore rescue missions at sea because Europe was not built to die, but to give new hope
.”
Read alsoFrance: the former head of the Frontex agency joins the far right for the European elections
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