PES

Last weekend I was in Toulouse for the launch of the PES election campaign. What an event! And if it was so great, this was in no small part thanks to the fantastic spirit and energy of every last activist, candidate and, of course, the fantastic preparation team. As the old song goes, “words don’t come easy”, and that’s true of the excitement and passion of all those who were present, so all I can say is watch the video clips and see for yourself the amazing atmosphere in the Halle aux Grains on Friday evening. As Martine said, Toulouse is a symbol, a city that has never accepted injustice. Thanks to the new mayor Pierre Cohen, it is back in the hands of the left, and that’s something you can just feel on the streets of the city: a sense of pride and human community. Here’s my speech at the rally:

Toulouse : Intervention de Zita Gurmai
Uploaded by PartiSocialiste

The launch made it absolutely clear that we Socialists are united, enthusiastic and ready to fight – and win – this election. With plans for the first 100 days after the election, it is the PES which is responding to and giving answers to the European electorate. What’s more, we have agreed seven demands to put to the new Commission, including a Charter for Women’s Rights.

Just compare that to the EPP congress, being held in Warsaw today (see photo on the right): the contrast could hardly be starker. Where is the energy? Where is the solidarity? Where are the proposals? The PES has said all along that all the right has to offer is business as usual, and that’s just what their congress has been all about. And I’ll tell you another thing that stands out about the EPP congress. It is overwhelmingly male. White, middle-class men seem to be just about the only people that matter in the EPP. How can these people claim to represent Europe, with all its variety, diversity and colour? Especially when the EPP President of the European Parliament refuses to sign the European Women’s Lobby’s 50:50 campaign for gender equal representation in the European institutions (if you’re reading this, Hans-Gert, you can sign the petition here).

The fact of the matter is that there are still far too few women in politics. That’s why the PES manifesto, which has an entire chapter on the issue of gender equality, calls for a gender-equal European Commission, a gender-equal Parliament, and the creation of a European Commissioner for Gender Equality. This is an essential step forward for mainstreaming the fight for gender equality. Indeed, women currently make up 40% of the PES MEPs, and we are working hard to reach gender parity. Compare that to the EPP, whose group is only 24% women, and which seems to have no commitment to increasing that. Their manifesto contains not one concrete proposal in this area. It’s just not good enough.

In Toulouse we were joined by the Secretary General of ECOSY and its President, both women. WWe were joined by a women’s delegation I brought over from Hungary, including Mónika Lamperth (our excellent MSZP Deputy Chair) and Kinga Göncz, who is our head-of-list and is currently serving as Hungarian Foreign Minister, the first woman ever to hold the post. And we also were joined, by video message , by my friend José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, a great feminist. As I said at the rally “[José Luis] has a good understanding of the essence: of parity, of women and men together. It’s the 21st century: SÍ SE PUEDE!”

Toulouse : Message de soutien de Zapatero
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After all, here is the Spanish cabinet, an excellent example of a PES government that is not only gender equal, but has a majority of women. Then take look at the photos coming out out of Warsaw. The images speak for themselves…