The PES launched its new campaign website – www.elections2009.pes.org - to promote its manifesto and candidates for the 2009 European elections.
The Party also printed its manifesto in four languages – English, French, German and Spanish – in an attractive and colourful format featuring photographs of PES activists with a symbol for the manifesto – a cube with the title of the manifesto and the campaign website address.
The PES also announced a photo competition – inviting people to take a photo of themselves with the ‘manifesto cube’ (downloadable in every EU language from the campaign website) in front of a local landmark or with a local personality.
The campaign website includes
• The manifesto ‘People First: A New Direction for Europe’, initially in four languages and eventually in all EU languages.
• Candidates
• A manifesto film which can be downloaded as well as simply viewed
• A photo competition
• A blog which allows users both to post their own articles and comment on others – offering real dialogue (continued from the PES’ manifesto consultation) unlike the EPP’s misleadingly named Dialogue TV where “dialogue” means being able to send an email to the EPP
• Videos posted by the PES, and its grassroots activists
• Talking versions of the manifesto for the blind – initially in English but soon also in French, German, Polish, Slovak, Spanish and other languages.
The PES also published
• The manifesto - in colour and with photos
• A leaflet on the manifesto as well as a postcard and poster
The President of PES Women, Zita Gurmai said “Today we are launching a campaign to spread the word about our manifesto into every corner of Europe. We are determined to do so because we are proud of our manifesto, we have confidence that our manifesto really does offer a new direction for Europe, a way out of the crisis. The PES manifesto ‘People First: A New Direction for Europe’ represents the progressive way forward for Europe and for its people.”
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, President of the PES, said “The EPP and ELDR have no coherent response on financial market reform and the economic recovery. They will be found out. The PES has a plan: coordinated investments in smart, green growth and regulation covering all financial players at European level and at global level. Already our governments have been proposing progressive job creation programmes. We are the only party that is actively putting pressure on Barroso and McCreevy to come forward with concrete proposals at the spring summit.”
“Women risk being the biggest victims of this crisis. First hit by redundancy because they are the most vulnerable, in precarious employment. Already cases are being reported of women shortening their maternity leave because they are afraid of losing their jobs, in spite of the legal protection against this. Women on low pensions relying on their savings are also being hit. The EPP and ELDR do not even mention gender equality in their manifesto texts. The recent Czech Presidency’s attempt to call into question the EU’s child care targets is another example of the right-wing’s fundamentally paternalistic approach to women.”
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
