PES Manifesto

Global Progressive Forum - dream to reality

Published Friday, February 22, 2008 at 17:15
by Editor (845 views and 0 comments)

Last week European socialists living in Geneva met to discuss the PES manifesto, the Global Progressive Forum and the 'Decent Work - Decent Life' campaign. Here's a report from Sylvia Moore, Deputy Chair of the Labour International Coordinating Committee:

On 23 August 1963 Martin Luther King delivered his famous dream speech of hope at the Washington DC march, declaring: "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal… Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children"

In 1984 some twenty years on, thousands marched to l’Elysée, in Paris. They were mainly ‘beurs’, youngsters born in France of Arab immigrant parents. Then Harlem Désir launched a massive campaign ‘Touche pas à mon pote’ - Don’t touch my friend - and set up SOS Racisme with the dream of integrating immigrants. His parents came from two farflung French departments, Alsace and Martinique. Former conga player in a rock métis band, like Martin Luther King, he became a political drum major. He was spokesman for SOS Racisme until 1992, and from 1989 – 1994 member of the Economic and Social Council. In 1999 he was elected as socialist MEP for Ile de France, and he became Vice President of the Global Progressive Forum (GPF).

In a nutshell the GPF’s goal is to reform globalisation by creating progressive communities for change. Last week provided opportunity for members of European socialist parties residing in Geneva, Switzerland, to hear about the GPF’s on-going discourse at a special meeting on 15 February. The purpose was to debate PES manifesto for the 2009 elections and the 'Decent work, Decent Life' campaign.

Our speakers were Harlem Désir and Luciano Vecchi, PES Presidency member and National Executive member of the party of the Democratic Left (Democratici di Sinistra - DS) in Italy. As MEP from 1989-1999 he served on several committees. In 2005 he became DS’ Director of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was arranged by Labour International’s branch at Geneva and neighbouring France with participants from the British, Dutch and French socialist parties, the Eurosocialist Association of Geneva and journalists.

The centre piece was the negative impact on a world propelled by one track globalisation, unbridled free market forces and governance blurred by fragmentation, with a downward spiral of inequality, environmental damage and political instability. The issue at hand was how to create an alternative globalisation for sustainability, equity and legitimacy.
Luciano Vecchi introduced the theme by zooming in on the key challenges for the PES - European identity and diversity, Europe’s role in the world, Saving the planet’s environment, Harmonising work and social norms. He referred to the PES Council’s November 2007 resolution ‘The EU on the international scene; promoting sustainable peace’, with its mandala for sustainable peace, solidarity – globalisation for the benefit of all, democracy – more rights and duties for individuals and states, respect for the environment, and the role of the PES.

He underscored that the PES was the only transnational party with forward political solutions to global problems through its 2009 Social Manifesto. The PES could promote dialogue across borders and show that Europe in the framework of a new constitution treaty could be an example and opportunity for open style governance. It could be an axis for political proposals to governments which ultimately would make decisions on the social future of Europe and its place in the world.

Harlem Désir, French member of the European Parliament, called for the reform of global financial and trading insistutions in tune with new models of global, democratic governance. ‘Raise the PES flag’, he urged so that the Social Manifesto could be moved forward by urging national parliaments to discuss it themes: A New Social Europe, Europe in the World, Democracy and Diversity, Saving our Planet. In synergy with trade unions, governments should be pressed into putting in place social norms and implementing international labours conventions.

Concerns expressed by participants were that the GPF could have a wider scope to include other non-state actors such as consumer groups and could pave the way for genuine grassroot participatory democracy and direct democracy through national parties at national and European levels. Ordinary citizens should not be held hostage or unrepresented by the labyrinth of mega governance. They should have a say in multi-track globalisation with a human face through public, political debate.

lan Leather, former Deputy Director of Public Services International feared that trade unions in Eastern countries were too weak to influence positive change. Working now in Georgia he found that the shaky relationship between the government and trade unions made it difficult to set up a better health care system. Luciano Vecchi noted that other than Hungary, on the whole political parties were transient and weak in Eastern Europe and did not even want elections. Workers were reluctant to join trade unions which lacked experience. Nevertheless it was important for all players to respect each other’s autonomy in order to build solid working relations.

Transborder co-citizenship has a unique identity given that almost every issue is cross frontier these days needing global responses. It transcends national identities with their myriad diversities. I asked the speakers what concrete measures the GPF would bring up to guarantee harmonious transborder community co-existence.

Harlem Désir stressed that international organisations especially the World Trade Organisation should be sensitised by speaking out loudly and clearly to put on pressure to standardise global social norms through multi-lateralism. Trade Unions should be approached with concepts in common as basis for cooperation. Luciano Vecchi called for action through appropriate institutions and using means such as advocacy and political thinking.

Wouter van Ginneken, Deputy President of the Eurosocialist Association of Geneva wanted to know what kind of product was expected from our discussions and how we could participate in the PES manifesto process.

Luciano Vecchi’s clarion call in response was to encourage PES activists to come up with clear ideas on the Social Manifesto in a short, precise and pithy format. ‘Don’t be put off’, he said, by diverging political views as an excuse for mass inertia and for doing nothing. So many different ideas from all the possible actors are facts of life. Indeed, his compatriot, composer Luigi Nono said that ideas inspire innovation and generate their own appropriate technologies and tools.

The heart of the matter is to turn dreams into reality with ideas to kickstart creative, viable solutions. They become reality through engaging responsible political architecture and a global ethic of planetary stewardship, the other face of globalisation. The PES and the GPF are opening doors to take up this challenge and prevent a repeat of Martin Luther King’s verdict that: "History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."

Tags: decent work, globalization, manifesto