9 April 2008
In a message to Walter Veltroni and the Italian Partito Democratico, PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said "I give my full support to the Partito Democratico and to the leadership of Walter Veltroni."
"The people and the families of Italy - from Lombardy to Sicily - need a new Italy. Italians have so much vitality and creativity but they have been badly let down by the political system. They need a new hope. They need a Government that works as hard and as effectively as ordinary Italians do."
"I believe that the Partito Democratico is that hope. The Partito Democratico is a political renewal, a fresh start. It is a new home for progressive Italians where historic distinctions, no longer relevant today, can be left behind."
"The Partito Democratico is offering Italy a new generation of politicians. I am delighted that hundreds of new candidates are standing for the Camera and Senate, that nearly half the candidates are women, and that many are under forty years old."
"The Partito Democratico stands for an Italy where everyone has a fair opportunity to have a good life - and without marrying a millionaire. It stands for an Italy where the future is not a source of fear but a time of opportunities ahead. This is the Italy that Italians deserve, and only the Partito Democratico can achieve it."
"A new Italy is the hope of all Europeans. I wish Walter Veltroni and the Partito Democratico every success on their 'giro d'Italia' and every success in the elections."
Read PES President message 
(Italian only)
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Julian Scola, Communications Advisor - Media & Campaigns
Party of European Socialists, Rue du Trône, 98, B-1050 Brussels
Mobile +32 486 117 394
julian.scola@pes.org
