PES

The European elections have now started in the UK and the Netherlands and by Sunday evening will be completed in all 27 EU member countries.

The elections are a vote on the policy, direction and leadership of the European Union. It is the Parliament that will vote on the next President of the Commission.

A vote for the Conservatives is a vote for business as usual. It is a vote for not doing enough to fight the crisis. It is a vote for the current European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, a conservative, to get another five years in charge of the European Commission. A prospect which even one well-respected Financial Times columnist described as ‘very depressing’.

A vote for the Socialists is a vote for a change, a vote for a new direction for Europe. It is a vote for a new recovery plan for Europe, which is plainly not possible with the current Commission President. It is a vote for a new majority in the European Parliament: a majority that will ensure a new leadership and a new direction. The PES is the only party that can deliver this change, the only party around which a new majority can be built. The PES has set out a number of steps it wants to take in the first hundred days of the new Parliament including a strong, new recovery plan, an Employment pact to safeguard jobs, and action to prevent a rise in poverty and inequality.

Don’t believe those who say that Barroso’s second term is a ‘done deal’. The conservatives cannot get a majority on their own, and no one has ever suggested they could.

So there is still everything to vote for. Don’t stay at home. Your vote really does count!