nonfiction.fr comments on Campaign for a PES Primary

nonfiction.fr carried a further article on Wednesday on the progress of the Campaign for a PES Primary. In an article entitled, "Primaires européennes: début d'une mise sur agenda politique?" or "European Primary: beginning of a political agenda-setting?" nonfiction.fr commented:

Enfin, il semblerait que les langues se délient du côté des représentants politiques européens. Hier, des députés européens – respectivement du PS belge du SPD, et du Partidul Social Democrat roumain – commencent à sortir de l’ombre sur ce débat, affirmant leur enthousiasme pour adapter l’idée d’une primaire pour le scrutin européen.

English translation (errors are my own. Desmond O'Toole)

Finally, it appears that European politicians are beginning to speak about it [Campaign for a PES Primary]. Yesterday, MEPs from the Belgian Socialist Party SPD and the Romanian Social Democratic Party have begun to emerge from the shadows on this debate, expressing their enthusiasm for adapting the idea of primaries for the European elections.

The remainder of the article can be accessed here.

Ana Gomes supports the PES Primary

The Campaign for a PES Primary is thrilled to report that support coming from MEPs of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament continues at great rhythm. Today Ana Gomes, Portuguese MEP from the ‘Partido Socialista’ declared her express support and commitment to the need for a primary or direct system to choose the next PES candidate for President of the European Commission in 2014, thus joining some of her colleagues in the European Parliament.

Ana Gomes was elected in 2004 a Member of the European Parliament and reelected in June 2009. She has been a career diplomat since 1980 and served in the Portuguese Missions at the UN in New York and Geneva, and also in the Embassies in Tokyo and London. Between 1999 and 2003, she was Head of Mission and Ambassador in Jakarta, where she played an important role both in the process leading up to the independence of East Timor and in the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Portugal and Indonesia.

Ana Gomes was diplomatic adviser to the Portuguese President (1982-1986); posted to the Permanent Mission to the UN and International Organisations, Geneva (1986-1989) and to the Embassies in Tokyo (1989-1991) and London (1991-1994); member of the Portuguese delegation to the Middle East peace process during Portugal's EU presidency (1992); member of the Special Political Affairs Office (East Timor dossier Timor) of the Foreign Ministry (1994-1995); head of office of the Secretary for European Affairs (1995-1996); member of Portugal's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York - coordination of the Portuguese delegation to the Security Council (1997-1998); head of Section of Interests and, later, Ambassador of Portugal to Jakarta (1999-2003).

She is a Law graduate from the University of Lisbon; member of the National Executive and Political Executive of the PS (Socialist Party) (since 2002); member of the PS National Secretariat and Secretary for International Relations (2003-2004).

In the European Parliament, her main areas of activity are: human rights, security and defense, international relations, gender issues and development.

Zgonea (VP PSD, Romania) declares his support for Campaign.

I met Valeriu Ștefan Zgonea of the Romanian Social Democratic Party last Thursday at the PES meeting of the "Network on Modernising Politics" that discussed how the PES would select our candidate for the next Presidency of the European Commission. Valeriu spoke passionately in favour of opening our European party to our entire membership and trusting them to make the decision as to who will lead us into the next European Parliamentary elecitons in 2014.

Valeriu is a member of the Romanian Parliament and Vice President of the Partidul Social Democrat. He is a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Administration, Territorial Planning and Ecological Balance and also of the European Affairs Committee. Valeriu has a prodigious legislative record in the Romanian Parliament, including on the national minimum wage, domestic violence and support for victims of natural disasters. In an article published today, entitled Democraţie peste frontiere, Valeriu writes (Romanian with English translation following):

Activiştii Partidului Socialiştilor Europeni propun organizarea alegerilor interne preliminare pentru a desemna un candidat al stângii pentru şefia Comisiei Europene. Iniţiativa dezvăluie viziunea stângii asupra modului de a lua decizii şi de a face politică şi se traduce printr-o democraţie reală, în sensul cel mai profund, prin implicarea tuturor membrilor şi simpatizanţilor partidelor PES din toată Europa. Stânga este aceea care a construit în Europa societatea bunăstării. Stânga a promovat drepturile muncitorilor salariaţi, dreptul universal la sistemele publice de sănătate şi educaţie. Stânga a promovat egalitatea deplină între bărbaţi şi femei.

Cât de diferit ar fi fost răspunsul Europei la actuala criză, la necesitatea creării de locuri de muncă şi incluziunii sociale, dacă în fruntea Comisiei Europene ar fi fost un social-democrat? Iată o întrebare care ne provoacă, ne obligă să căutăm soluţii şi să învăţăm din greşelile trecutului.

Continuăm în acelaşi mod, folosind dezinteresul unor grupuri tot mai extinse de cetăţeni sau votul negativ faţă de dreapta, sau facem paşi înainte şi deschidem partidul spre oamenii al căror sprijin îl dorim? Cred că trebuie să alegem un drum care pune pe primul loc oamenii. Stânga trebuie să dovedească, în acest moment, capacitatea de a include cetăţenii în toate deciziile care îi privesc.

Acest lucru este valabil nu numai la nivelul PES. Trebuie să fie un model şi pentru noi, pentru Partidul Social Democrat. Aş dori să organizăm alegeri preliminare în partid pentru anumite funcţii, de la preşedintele partidului, parlamentari, consilieri judeţeni până la candidaţii la primăriile orăşeneşti şi comunale. Aş dori mai multă transparenţă şi o reprezentare reală a cetăţenilor.

Alegerile preliminare conferă nu numai autoritate, ci şi capacitatea de a dialoga cu cetăţenii, cărora le propui opţiunea pentru o politică publică în folosul comunităţii. Totodată, cred că este o şansă de a reînvăţa ce înseamnă echipă! Nu se poate face politică în folosul cetăţenilor fără spirit de echipă, fără a cunoaşte problemele reale ale comunităţii, fără a ţine cont de părerea oamenilor. Politicienii trebuie să „coboare” din afişul electoral în rândul cetăţenilor. Numai astfel vom câştiga încrederea oamenilor şi le vom servi cât mai bine interesele. PSD trebuie să demonstreze că rămâne partidul celor mulţi!

Deputat Valeriu Zgonea,
Vicepreşedinte PSD

English translation

Activists of the Party of European Socialists are proposing internal primary elections to nominate a candidate of the Left for leadership of the European Commission. This initiative reveals a Left vision of how to make decisions and policy that translates into a real democracy in the most profound way by involving all members and supporters of PES parties across Europe. The Left are the ones who built Europe's welfare society. The Left has promoted the employment rights of workers and the universal right to public health and education. The Left has promoted full equality between men and women.

How different would the European response to the crisis be, including the need for job creation and social inclusion social, if the head of teh European Commission would have been a social democrat? Here's a question that challenges us, forces us to seek solutions and learn from past mistakes.

We can continue in the same way as before, and see disinterest in politics growing amongst citizens or voters switching to the right, or we can make steps forward and open the party to people whose support we want? I think we must choose a path that puts people first. It is for the Left to prove, at this time, our ability to include citizens in all of the decisions affecting them.

This is true not only in the PES. It must be a model for us, the Social Democratic Party [of Romania]. I would like to organize primary elections in the party for certain functions, for example the party president party, parliamentarians, city mayors and candidates for county and municipal office. I would like more transparency and representation of real citizens.

Primary elections confer not only authority, but also the ability to talk with citizens, who can propose options for public policy and community service. Also, I think it's an opportunity to revive our team! You can not politically serve the people without team spirit, without knowing the real problems of the community, regardless of how people feel. Politicians have to think of citizens beyond just election time. Only thus shall we gain the trust of people and best serve their interests. The PSD must prove that we remain the party of the many!

Deputy Valeriu Zgonea ,
Vice-President PSD

(Google translate and local editing - all errors my own. Desmond O'Toole)

Moscovici comments on the Campaign

Pierre Moscovici (Parti Socialiste France) has been National Secretary of the socialist party (PS) since 1995, minister for European affairs between 1997 and 2002, and member of the Assemblée Nationale since 2007. He successfully campaigned in favour of an open primary in the French PS by launching an online petition in June 2009. Moscovici is a leading socialist voice for the extension of democracy within the European Union and amongst parties of the Left.

On the 25th September, Pierre was invited to speak at the Liberation of Lyons forum, held in partnership with the Jean Jaurès Foundation, a leading French think-tank for progressive social change. In his speech on the subject « Construction européenne et l’idéal démocratique? », Pierre made reference to the Campaign for a PES Primary and the role it is playing in the democratisation of the EU's institutions and the creation of a European political space:

Les avancées de Lisbonne ne sont qu’une première étape dans la démocratisation des institutions et la construction d’un espace politique européen. D’autres progrès sont nécessaires, parmi lesquelles:

* Renforcer le rôle du Parlement européen qui, élu au suffrage universel, est le cœur démocratique de l’Union.

* Faire du Président de la commission européenne l’émanation directe de la majorité parlementaire. Il faut à ce titre accorder de l’attention à l’initiative de primaires ouvertes proposées par certains pour désigner le prochain candidat socialiste à la présidence de la Commission, qui conduirait donc les listes du PSE. Cette initiative peut contribuer à « percer » le silence médiatique sur les questions européennes et ranimer l’intérêt des citoyens pour ces élections.

* « Européaniser » l’élection du parlement européen à travers l’institution de listes paneuropéennes.

English translation:

The advances in Lisbon [Treaty] are only the first steps in the democratization of institutions and the construction of a European political space. Further progress is needed, including:

* Strengthening the role of the European Parliament which is elected by universal suffrage and is the democratic heart of the Union.

* Making the President of the European Commission a direct emanation of the parliamentary majority. It is for this reason that we should pay attention to the initiative for an open [PES] primary that has been proposed by some to designate the next Socialist candidate for the presidency of the Commission, and who would therefore lead the lists of the PES. This initiative can help "break" the media silence on European issues and revive the interest of citizens in these elections.

* Europeanising the election of the European Parliament through the establishment of pan-European lists.

The Campaign for a PES Primary is delighted to welcome the comments of Pierre Moscovici and warmly endorses the rallying call with which he ended his speech:

Il nous faut donc continuer sans relâche, ne pas nous laisser gagner par le scepticisme ambiant. L’Europe politique n’a jamais été une évidence ou un acquis, mais bien plutôt une ambition, un combat. L’idéal démocratique est au bout du chemin.

We must therefore continue without respite. We cannot let others win by skepticism. A political Europe has never been obvious nor inevitable, but rather it is an ambition, a struggle. The democratic ideal is our ultimate goal.

Note: translation errors are entirely my own. Desmond O'Toole.

MEPs begin to support PES Primary campaign

The Campaign for a PES Primary is delighted to report that MEPs of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament have begun to join the campaign. The first three MEPs to signal their support for more democracy in the Party of European Socialists are:

Vasilica Viorica DĂNCILĂ

Vasilica Viorica DĂNCILĂ is the leader of the 11 member Romanian delegation to the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament. She is a member of our Romanian sister party, Partidul Social Democrat. She is a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, the Delegation to the Mashreq countries and the Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean. Viorica has a long history of social democratic activism in Romania. She was Member of the National Council of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) (2005-2009) and the Executive Bureau of the National Women's Organisation of the PSD (2005-2009) as well as President of the National Women's Organisation of the PSD (2005-2009). She also served as a local councillor from 2004 to 2008.

Constanze KREHL

Constanze Krehl is a member of the 23-strong German delegation to the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament. She is a member of our German sister party, Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands. Constanze is a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development, Delegation to the countries of Central America and the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly. She has been a member of the European Parliament since 1994 and served as an observer MEP for three years before that. She has held various senior positions within the SPD, including Regional Chair in Saxony (1999-2004) and member of the SPD Federal Executive Committee since 1999. Constanze received the Federal Order of Merit in 1998.

Saïd EL KHADRAOUI

Saïd EL KHADRAOUI is a member of the five-strong Belgian delegation to the Socialists and Democrats Group and is a member of our Belgian sister party, Sociaal Progressief Alternatief. He is Vice-Chair of the Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries and a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism. Saïd previously worked in the office of the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Home Affairs (1998-1999), the office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Budget (1999) and was an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (from 1999). He was a member of the national party bureau of the SP.A and served as its International secretary (since 2007). He was a member of Louvain City Council (since 1994) and its Deputy Mayor (2001-2003). He has been an MEP since 2003.

The Campiagn for a PES Primary welcomes the support of these three MEPs and looks forward to more members of the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament joning our campaign in the next few weeks.

1,700 people say YES to PES Primaries

1,700 people say YES to more democracy in Europe

Following the successful visit that the Campaign made to Brussels last week we are very proud to announce this morning that membership of our Facebook Campaign page has soared past 1,700 supporters. Thank you to everyone who has signed up as a supporter. Please continue to build the campaign. We need 3,000 supporters to be able to have the maximum impact at the PES Congress in Warsaw in December where the decision on whether to hold democratic primaries to select the PES candidate for Commission President will be made.

22 Sept: meeting with sister parties in Brussels

Desmond O'Toole was the principal speaker at a meeting of representatives of PES sister parties in Brussels on the 22nd September. The meeting was called to discuss the Campaign for a PES Primary and was ably moderated by Nicole Fondeneige (Parti Socialiste France) and Werner Wobbe (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands).

Desmond opened his speech with the words:

"Political survival is not compulsory. Democratic primaries to select the PES candiate for the next President of the European Commission are part of our political family's fight for survival in Europe. We cannot continue with business as usual, as if nothing has changed. We must open our party out to the people whose trust and support we seek and whose interests we serve. This means that to once more be able to change our world, we first have to change ourselves."

A lively debate then took place in which a number of questions were asked about how realistic it was to organise democratic primaries across Europe for the post of PES candidate for Commission President and whether such a process would ultimately be successful in engaging party members and citizens. Also raised was the question of how such primaries might be financed given the scale of the proposed electorate. Also discussed was the enormous opportunities that democratic primaries would open up for the PES to respond positively to the popular mood for transparency and inclusiveness that has taken hold across Europe. Primaries were one way of confronting the atmosphere of cynicism and despair about politics that is common in Europe today.

In conclusion, Desmond argued that:

"A political family that had built Europe's social welfare systems, introduced rights and protections for working people, championed universal public services like health and education, promoted equality between women and men and lifted so many people out of poverty and alienation could not now claim that it was unequal to the task of renewing itself. European social democracy must inspire every bit as much as it must be realistic. We must meet the demands of people to be included in the decisions that affect our lives. We must trust our own members and reach out to the citizens that we want to represent. Democratic primaries in the PES are one of the most important ways in which we can do this and so shape a new Europe that puts people first."

Over 1,600 Supporters on Facebook

1,600 people say more democracy in Europe

On the day that the Campaign for a PES Primay came to Brusels, we are delighted to announce that we have soared past 1,600 members on our Facebook campaign group.

Financial Times Deutschland covers the campaign

The following article was carried in the Financial Times Deutschland this morning. It arose from an interview I gave when I arrived in Brussels yesterday and dicusses both the Campaign for a PES Primary as well as the likelihood that other European parties like the EPP (Conservatives) and the Greens will follow our lead.

Campaign arrives in Brussels

Campaign organisers, Desmond O'Toole and José Reis Santos will be speaking at events in Brussels tomorrow evening (Wednesday 22 September) on the Campaign for a PES Primary.

1. PES activists On-line Conference

This is part of a series of broadcast conferences hosted by the PES Secretariat in Brussels which bring PES activists together from across Europe to listen and contribute to the debate on key issues in European politics and PES campaigns. Desmond and José will be joining Anne Morin of the PES Secretariat to discuss "Choosing a PES candidate for the European Commission Presidency".

Access to the on-line conference is unfortunately only available for registered PES activists and citygroups, who will already have received details about how to join the conference. However, the conference is recorded and will be available for general viewing immediately after it has ended. A link to the recording will be provided on this website.

There are two broadcasts, one in English at which Desmond will speak, and one in French at which José will speak. The English-language conference takes place on-line between 18h30 and 17h00 CET, and the French-language conference between 19h15 and 19h45.

2. Brussels-based PES national party branches

Desmond will be the main speaker at a joint meeting of the Brussels-based branches of the PES national member parties which will discuss the Campaign for a PES Primary and the selection of the PES candidate President of the European Commission.

This open debate will be moderated by Nicole Fondeneige (PS France) and Werner Wobbe (SPD Germany) The meeting is open to members of the PES national party branches based in Brussels and will take place at 19h00 at 15, Avenue de Tervuren - 1040 Etterbeek. A report on this meeting of "sister party brances" will be carried on this blog at a later date.

Add a twibbon to your Facebook or Twitter profile

I just supported the Campaign for a PES Primary by adding a sticker to my profile picture. Get the sticker and show your support now at twibbon stickers. This is a really good way to show your support in the week that we will be making our presentation to PES officials and national party representatives at the meeting of the "Network on Modernising Politics" on Thursday 23rd September.

Over 1,500 supporters now on Facebook

Over 1,500 supporters from all across Europe have now joined our Facebook campaign page. That puts us over half-way to our first main target of 3,000 supporters. It's great news and an indication of how important so many progressive citizens view the campaign to further democratise the Party of European Socialists.

The first big test for our campaign will take place next week when a campaign organiser will visit Brussels to lobby activists, MEPs, journalists and party officials on the Campaign for a PES Primary. The itinerary for the visit is as follows:

Wednesday 22nd September

11h00 to 17h00    meetings with officials and journalists
18h30 to 19h00    on-line conference with PES activist citygroups
19h00 to 21h00    debate at joint meeting of PES sister party branches

Thursday 23rd September

11h30 to 16h00   Meeting of the PES Network on Modernising Politics

This is the meeting at which a presentation will be given to PES officials and PES national party representatives about our call for the PES candidate for President of the European Commission in 2014 to be chosen by the individual members of the PES national parties in democractic primaries.

Friday 24th September

11h00 onwards (tbc)   Other meetings at PES head office.

If there are any campaign supporters or other citizens interested in the campaign who want to meet with us during the visit to Brussels please contact us at pesprimary (at) gmail.com

PES Leaders write to the Campaign

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and Philip Cordery

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (PES President) and Philip Cordery (PES Secretary General) have written a joint letter to the organisers of the Campaign for a PES Primary. Their letter came in response to letters written by Desmond O'Toole and José Reis Santos a couple of weeks ago formally advising the party leadership of the Campaign.

Over 200 supporters gained in last two days

That's 1,300 supporters who have now joined the Campaign for a PES Primary. We are well on our way to the half-way mark and we are so grateful to everyone for their solidarity and good wishes.

We also received formal confirmation from the PES head office today of the arrangements for the meeting in Brussels on the 23rd September. This is the meeting at which Desmond O'Toole will present our proposals for democratic primaries to select the PES candidate for President of the European Commission.

The meeting will last all day and will bring representatives of the PES national member parties together to discuss a number of subjects including the selection of the PES candidate for Commission President. There is a lot of work to be done to prepare the presentation, but all of the support that you are providing is a great encouragement to us as we build support for our proposals.

The PES is the first European party to discuss opening up the way that we will select our presidential candidate. It is a strong  indication of the strength of democracy in our party that PES activists are being asked to participate in this debate at such an early stage. With your continued support and with many more people joining us each day we will succeed in achieving our dream of a more democratic, open and inclusive Party of European Socialists.

Alegeri preliminare in PES, acum!

PES activists in Romania have been campaigning very strongly amongst their members for a democratic selection process to choose the PES candidate for European Commission President in 2014. Almost 20% of the supporters for our Facebook campaign are members of the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD); that's over 200 people. They have now taken their campaign to the PSD Summer School where they will be looking for even more people to sign up to support greater democracy in the PES.

In a blog article on their webpage entitled, "Alegeri preliminare in PES, acum!", Victor Negrescu (President-Coordinator, PES activists Romania) writes:

« Cred ca este timpul sa construim un nou nivel al democratiei, democratia europeana, iar PES trebuie sa fie in avantgarda politicii europene pentru a deveni un exemplu si a convinge europenii de seriozitatea ideilor si principiilor noastre de stanga. PES activists Romania va fi un puternic sustinator al acestui principiu iar campania de promovare de abia a inceput » declara Victor Negrescu, presedinte-coordonator national PES activists Romania.

PES activists Romania extinde participarea la campania europeana si va realiza o campanie proprie de promovare in interiorul Partidului Social Democrat dar si in randul populatiei din Romania. Prima etapa este realizarea unei campanii de promovare la Scoala de Vara a PSD, urmata de scrisori de sustinere catre leadershipul partidului

A leaflet has also been produced for circulation at the PSD Summer School which can be downloaded here.

Six weeks to gain 3,000 to 5,000 supporters. Yes, it really is that important.

Many thanks to you for all of your support for the Campaign for a PES Primary and for helping us to reach over 1,000 supporters on Facebook. In less than six weeks we have attracted the support of PES activists, public representatives and progressive citizens for our campaign for the PES to hold democratic primaries to select our candidate for the next Presidency of the European Commission.

That's over 1,000 people who want to put democracy first in the PES and to use that as a platform for Europe to take a new direction at the next European Parliament elections in 2014.

Our campaign is also attracting considerable comment in the European media. "Euobserver" and "EurActiv" have both carried articles on the campaign and "New Europe" has published an opinion piece in their newspaper on the work that we are doing. We are also seeing a lot of political interest in the campaign as MEPs and officials return from the Summer vacation.

This is important because we are now reaching the first big challenge for the campaign. In three weeks time, on the 23rd September, I will be presenting our proposals to an internal meeting of the PES in Brussels. Our aim is to ensure that the PES organisation and the PES national parties endorse our call for democratic primaries. While we have encountered no opposition to our proposals so far in the PES we cannot take anything for granted. This is a project with huge transformative potential but it requires hard work and dedication to ensure that we deliver our objectives.

That's why I have a request to make of you. The feedback I have received from across the PES is that while gaining over 1,000 supporters in six weeks is impressive, we need to attract betwen 3,000 and 5,000 people in order to make a real impact on the decision-makers in the PES national parties. I know that this will be a huge task, but it is essential to demonstrate the level of grassroots support for our ideas.

Can I therefore ask you to invite just 10 of your Facebook friends to join this campaign group. Don't just send them an invite ... please contact them individually and encourage them to sign up. It really is that important. And remember, we have less than three weeks to achieve this level of support. So please contact 10 of your Facebook friends today and ask them to support our campaign group.

When we make our presentation in Brussels we really need to be able to anticipate all possible objections. With thousands of people supporting the campaign we wil be able to make a much more convincing case for a democratic PES.

Amitiés socialistes ... Desmond.

Desmond O'Toole and José Reis Santos
Campaign for a PES Primary

PES website blogs the Campaign for a PES Primary

The campaign is delighted to report that the official PES website (www.pes.org) is now carrying a blog article describing the Campaign for a PES Primary. This is not OFFICIAL support for our campaign, but it does show the seriousness and credibility of what we are arguing for.

In an article entitled, "Activists float idea of PES Primaries", the PES blog notes:

In an example of using social networking to organising an activists campaign, on the 26th of July a group of PES activists, led by Desmond O’Toole (Irish Labour Party), and José Reis Santos (Portuguese Socialist Party), launched a Campaign for a PES Primary on Facebook. So far the Group has attracted over 1000 members and is generating significant publicity with articles in New Europe and euobserver, not to mention blog articles by Jon Worth, David Chopin and Ralf Grahn amongst others.

According to Desmond and José, the campaign’s objective is that the next PES Council, in Warsaw in December, agrees to schedule democratic primaries in every member party of the PES to select the candidate for Commission President. This call is based on Resolution 2 from PES Congress 2009 in Prague, in which it was agreed that giving a face to a political platform is imperative in today’s politics, especially in such difficult elections as the European ones. To tackle apathy at the European ballot box it was agreed to have a PES candidate for the European Commission Presidency.

Primaries are just one mechanism of choosing a candidate. In a paper by Dr. Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Policy Advisor, there are at least five methods suggested for selection. One thing is clear however, the goal is a landslide victory in 2014, how that goal is reached is going to be an exciting and engaging debate.

Pelas primárias para escolher o candidato do PES a Presidente da Comissão Europeia

A Portuguese language blog, Loja de Ideias, has picked up news of the Campaign for a PES Primary. The blog article reads:

Como sabem (e se não sabem, ficam a saber) está a haver um debate no seio do PES (Partido Europeu Socialista) sobre como decidir o próximo candidato do PES a Presidente da Comissão Europeia. Uma das propostas, apresentada por destacados membros do PES Activists (e um deles - o José Reis Santos - escreveu por aqui em tempos) é efectuar esta nomeação por eleições primárias nos vários partidos pertecentes ao PES.

The original article can be viewed here.