“We will never cooperate or form a coalition with the far right.” That’s the unshakeable promise to voters that progressive political leaders made today in Berlin, Germany. The PES will always be “a reliable and strong voice against right-wing extremism and for our democracy. This means no cooperation or alliance with ECR or ID in the European Parliament”. FdI is part of the Eurogroup Ecr, the League of the Eurogroup Id.
This promise was made today at a high-level PES conference in Berlin, which saw the participation of the German Chancellor Olaf Scholzof the president of the PSE Stefan Lofven, of the common candidate of the PSE Nicolas Schmitof the general secretary of the PSE Giacomo Filibeck, of the co-leader of the SPD Lars Klingbeilof the Spitzenkandidat Spd Katarina Barleyof the general secretary Spd Kevin Kuhnertof the leader of the Swedish SAP Magdalena Anderssonof the leader of the Democratic Party Elly Schlein. Who posted the video of the signing of the joint declaration by the PSE leaders today in Berlin on social media. Adding: “Today we have signed a clear commitment with the European socialist family: never alliances with the nationalist right. Enough with the normalization of the sovereignist right. The European socialists are not even willing to sit at a negotiating table with those who deny the foundations of stay together in the Union”.
The party leaders and general secretaries present at the conference approved the Berlin Declaration of Democracy, which was also signed by the PSOE leader, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchezthe leader of PSD Romania, the prime minister Marcel Ciolacuthe leader of the Malta Labor Party, the Prime Minister Robert Abelathe president of the S&D group Iratxe Garcìa Pèrez and many others.
The advance of the far right is poison for democracy
The document opens with a premise: “Europe is founded on democracy, freedom, fair economic cooperation and social cohesion. This is a project of progress with historic significance, which over the decades has guaranteed peace and prosperity and which allows us to build our future together, as Europeans – we read – Europe is the most advanced model of transnational democracy in the world, with a strong parliament at the center: the European Parliament. The advance of the far right is a threat to the European Union and to its citizens, to their rights, to their well-being. It is poison for democracy. Where the far right governs, all rights are at risk: they limit workers’ rights, attack freedom of the press and the rule of law, attack women’s rights and try to erase LGBTI rights. They implement authoritarian and autocratic measures to undermine freedom and democracy.”
Regarding security, the document continues, “they have no credibility: they are complicit with the autocratic Russian regime and its attack on European security within the EU and NATO framework. The ideology, programs and policies of the far right are all that Let’s fight. Their values have marked the darkest pages of our history and are irreconcilable with ours.”
The PSE
On the contrary, the PSE “exists to unite people, not to pit them against each other. We fight inequalities, divisions, intolerance. We are proud to fight to offer a dignified life to all, to defend the rule of law and fundamental rights, civil society and freedom of the press, women’s rights and gender equality. We firmly oppose all forms of discrimination and hate speech. Our proposals – we read in the declaration – are inclusive, progressive and aim to offer a better life to all citizens by addressing the problems linked to economic inequality; trying to give opportunities to everyone, investing in innovation and greater civil commitment at local and regional level” The protests of recent weeks are remembered, with millions of citizens taking to the streets against the far right in Europe. “As Socialists and Democrats we are with them: we will fight to protect democracy, fundamental rights and the most vulnerable people. We will always be in solidarity,” the document reports.
For this reason, as PSE, “we condemn without appeal the conservative and liberal parties that have allowed far-right parties to come to power, both through coalitions and parliamentary agreements. Without their complicity this would not have happened. And it must never happen again! For our political family there is no ambiguity:
• We always condemn and fight racism, xenophobia and discrimination at all levels.
• We protect social cohesion, justice and solidarity, defending the most vulnerable groups who risk becoming targets of hatred, division and intolerance;
• We protect the independence of the media and forcefully counter disinformation, so that European citizens have the freedom to inform themselves independently and form their own opinion;
• We support the timely and full implementation of the rule of law conditionality mechanism to ensure that EU funds do not go to autocratic governments;
• We support the reform of the Article 7 procedure, to ensure that the Commission and Member States can act more quickly in cases of serious violations of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in all states of the Union;
• We always defend international law, the rules-based international order and strongly oppose Russian aggression.
The invitation addressed to all European democratic parties
The document concludes with an invitation to all European democratic parties “to firmly reject any normalisation, cooperation or alliance with the far right and we expect this commitment to be formally and unequivocally included in their respective electoral manifestos and programmes, as well as we have done in the PSE manifesto and in this PSE Leadership Declaration. Only in this way can we guarantee voters that a solid barrier against the far right will exist even after the European elections – As socialists and social democrats, we fight for an inclusive, free and equal society in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect. These values are the basis of the European project and the principles that we will always defend!”.
