EU social democrats, leftist politicians and ecologists urge the need for a common strategy to halt the rise of far-right populism in Europe, before and after the 2019 EU elections.
A number of high-ranking centre-left and left-wing politicians across Europe sent a message of unity last weekend, saying that a new pro-EU narrative is needed to face those political forces that reject the EU project.
On 11 November, the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) organised a conference, where Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and his Portuguese counterpart were also invited.
SPD leader Andrea Nahles said that a common strategy against right-wing forces was “urgently needed”.
“We have to cooperate already during the election campaign and post-election,” she told the Athens new agency, EURACTIV’s media partner in Greece.
“We need to work more closely at the national level also in Germany. Here, there are right and far-right forces, which reject our system and damage democracy. At a European level, this is something essential for the elections next year,” she added.
Nahles admitted, though, that this could not happen overnight but it is “feasible”.
SPD also invited to its conference Greek premier Alexis Tsipras (GUE-NGL) but not the Greek socialist party (Pasok), which is the official member of the European Socialist party.
“Social Democracy and the Left have to walk together on the basis of a progressive 21st century project in Europe,” Tsipras said.
“All the progressive forces in Europe, left-wing, socialist, social-democratic, ecological forces must today realise that Europe, our common home, is facing a high risk and so we have to put aside our differences, we must walk together to save our home,” the leftist politician emphasised.
Tsipras explained that in order to do that, the progressives needed to shape a common strategy taking as an example the coalition governments in Portugal and Spain.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his close ally, senior Syriza MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis, are launching a number of initiatives to build bridges among Europe’s fragmented progressive political forces and create a broad alliance ahead of the EU elections.
Social democracy is not the enemy
In parallel, the European Forum of Progressive, Ecological and Leftist Forces organised its second meeting last weekend in Bilbao. The first meeting took place last year in Marseille.
“For the first time, the Forum acquires a permanent character and sets the goal of a broad coalition against neoliberalism and far-right,” Syriza MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis told EURACTIV.com.
Sources explained that the election of conservative Manfred Weber as Spitzenkandidat of the European People’s Party (EPP) with the “blessing” of Hungarian Viktor Orbán, alongside the danger of creating bridges with the far-right in Europe “speed-up” the developments on the progressive front.
Gabriele Zimmer, the leader of GUE-NGL in the European Parliament, called on leftist forces in Europe to escape from their isolation and seek cooperation with other progressive forces, in order to achieve majorities and influence decision-making in Europe. [...]
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