EU socialist party leaders are converging on Rome this weekend to set out their case for votes in June’s European elections. The backlash against the Green Deal, the Israel-Hamas war, and the rise of the populist Right all pose existential questions for the traditional pro-EU leftists.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez are among the socialist dignitaries touching down in Italy for a meeting of the Party of European Socialists (PES). Luxembourg socialist Nicolas Schmit is expected to be chosen as the group’s Spitzenkandidat (candidate) for the EU Commission’s top job.
Already serving as EU Social Rights Commissioner, the relatively unknown Schmit is—according to socialist insiders—rumoured to have been chosen as an “ideal sacrificial lamb.” By not defeating current Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, his role is to facilitate greater left-wing institutional control in the EU due to his ability to compromise with both the Right and Left.
In a leaked manifesto, scheduled to be released over the weekend, the socialists hammer home allegations of collaboration between the EPP and the ‘far right’ with an additional emphasis on defending the Green Deal, which they helped to draft, as well as reducing Big Tech’s control over emergent AI technology.
Perhaps the biggest concern right now for the socialists is the Palestine question. The European leftist movement struggles with rising antisemitism in some parties—especially those reliant on Muslim voters—in comparison to the comparatively pro-Israel credentials of the German Social Democrats. Reportedly, there is no direct mention of ‘Gaza’ in the leaked draft, despite European leftist parties calling for a ceasefire in the conflict, sanctions against Israel, and more.
Particular animosities on this issue exist between the German and Spanish delegations, with the hard-left government of Pedro Sánchez even calling for the EU to renegotiate trade agreements with Tel Aviv to help force a cessation of violence.
Aside from Palestine and the perfunctory condemnation of the so-called ‘far right,’ the socialists are also expected to extol their commitment to Ukraine and EU expansionism. Generally regarded as the pro-NATO wing of the European Left, PES is likely to lose some votes to the hard Left as well as the populist Right with the rise of anti-NATO radicals unsettling traditional left-wing constituencies.
The two-day Congress will commence on March 2nd, with current polling showing the socialists in second place behind the more centrist EPP, as right-wing populism continues to overturn established norms in European politics.
Across Europe, established socialist and social democratic parties face losing their previously loyal working-class electoral bases, thanks to a backlash over green and migration policies. The leftists could find their traditional hold on the European Parliament shattered by a coalition of populists and the centre-right EPP group.
