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Poul Nyrup Rasmussen in Washington DC
12 posts
Written by Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
CV : Poul Nyrup Rasmussen is the President of the Party of European Socialists (PES). He has played a leading role in Danish politics for over a decade as Prime Minister and leader of the Danish Social Democrat Party.
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Energy and climate- part of a new agenda for people’s security - 19-04-2007 17:13:30
There is a new common vision in Europe shared by progressives and the PES. This is part of peoples’ new prospects for security. They see and feel the change in climate conditions each day.
Energy efficiency, new sustainable energy sources, wind power, solar energy, Europe is at the front of all this. The comprehensive energy and climate targets which the European Council agreed in March 2007 are a new basis for Europe’s cooperation with the US. It’s important to understand that on both sides of the Atlantic we need long term investments.
If we do it in the right way millions and millions of jobs could be created on both sides of the Atlantic. The PES adopted our program for energy and climate policies in Porto, in December 2006. Now we will follow up. The conservatives say that tackling climate change in Europe alone is too costly. We only account for 17% of total CO2 emissions worldwide.
But the PES we have wider ambitions. We can cope with climate change if we do it together with the USA and we can take the lead in the effort to save our planet. For the PES, Europe should invest in new initiatives to be in the frontline for tackling climate change together with the new Democrat engagement on the issue in the US. -
PES activists in Washington and New York?- not a dream - 19-04-2007 10:04:06
It’s a fact that quite a few social democrats and socialists from our member parties live and work in Washington DC and New York. They just don’t know each other. But we know them and they know us too. Why not create a platform, a group of PES activists in Washington and New York? That’s exactly what we did. Thanks to some very committed individuals, we agreed on PES meetings in Washington and New York to start now. This agreement was the conclusion of our meeting in the Democrats HQ in Washington and it was agreed with our party members in New York. In a few weeks members of our national member parties will receive an offer they cannot refuse: PES activists in New York and in Washington!! And we will certainly do our best to visit them each time we are in town. We will be in touch more frequently on the Internet. We will exchange information on what’s going on, in US and Europe. We have PES activist groups in an ever growing number of cities – especially in Europe but now in Washington DC and New York too! I’m so proud to meet activists who together – through the network of PES activists - will make a difference.
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Still a long way to go towards a common agenda for the people - 19-04-2007 10:03:37
Intensive discussions and reflection: over 20 meetings in 48 hours, an unbelievable agenda but it was worth all the effort. And it was good to see the new energy among the Democrats. As they say themselves, it’s simply more fun to work when you have majority in both senate and house. Our thinking, which we also told our democratic partners, is that there are high expectations from many people – environmentalists, the ’68 generation, poor people, middle class. And there may be many factions within the Democratic Party, this is a big challenge and it demands a united effort. As an experienced assistant to one of the senators said: “now it’s about getting used to the new majority for us old dogs and using it”. That goes for the PES too. Globalization is here to stay with all its opportunities and risks and uncertainties for ordinary people. Let’s join the progressives in US-European relations for a better world. We, the PES, are dedicated to do this. We will follow up on this series of meetings in a more systematic way than in the past agendas. The first step will be coordinating demands to the G8. As we conclude a fantastic productive meeting with the chair of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean, I feel we must actively prepare for the post-Bush EU-US relations.
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Democracy worldwide - yes but how? - 19-04-2007 10:03:09
In discussions with the NDI and Brookings Institution it was clear that we share a common understanding. We agree on the basic conditions for creating a truly sustainable democracy. It cannot work without proper institutions, checks and balances, independent judges, legislative assembly separated from executive powers and so forth. This is one of the reasons why Bush was wrong in his attempt to promote democracy in the Arab world, especially Iraq. That is why we must learn from his mistakes, be it in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, in Africa. NDI’s commitment to a more comprehensive approach to democracy is remarkable. It has very strong similarities with our engagements and the way the progressive parties see and act in the European Parliament.
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“Healthcare for all” - a reasonable claim - 19-04-2007 10:02:34
“Healthcare for all” is now becoming the top priority among ordinary Americans. And they have good reasons for doing so. Many pay an extremely high insurance premium and too many people cannot afford to pay the private insurance. Too many are simply outside the basic services. In Europe we use 7-9% of our gdp on our hospitals and health care. In US it is 14%. And every Democratic Congressman and Senator we talked to underlined their commitment to healthcare. The European way is giving a high service to all at a lower cost – and a universal service: no matter whether you are rich or poor. The old American system based on employers’ contributions is breaking down, that is what is happening in America now. I strongly support the new Democratic engagement in the US. Healthcare for all could be the first new move for a fairer society. It could be the first breakthrough for progressives. We agreed during our meetings to exchange information and experiences, on how to organize healthcare for all, how to finance it. The PES will be very active together with our member parties in this new cooperation. Progressive politics is, in essence, about creating better conditions for people, better conditions than the markets alone can deliver.
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The Democrat candidates for President - 18-04-2007 17:14:27
Things are moving fast now, in media and people’s engagement on who is going to be the Democrats Presidential candidate.
All our talks in all our meetings have confirmed the Democratic race is now really focusing on three candidates, Hilary Clinton, Barak Obama and John Edwards. And they are all qualified.
I am taking note that the race has in practice been brought forward. We may have our Democratic candidate already in February or March 2008 if the decisive states make their choices. And importantly in that race, candidates are boosting each other. They are all doing better and better. You cannot say that for the Republicans.
That is also a promising sign for the new progressive leadership of USA that so many of us in Europe and America are looking forward to.
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