by Philip Cordery, PES Secretary General

Success in numbers, success in atmosphere and success on content - this was the universal opinion of over 2000 participants who attended the PES Convention last week. The convention was capped by rousing speeches by PES interim President Sergei Stanishev, PES outgoing President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and by S&D Group President, Martin Schulz, that paid tribute to the energy of the Convention goers. All speeches emphasised that the Convention marked the start of a building process for European Social Democracy.

Open and dynamic debate was the aim of the PES convention and that was what resulted, as each of the four plenary debates delivered in fine style. From Fair Economy to Equal Societies, from a Just World to Active Democracy the participants committed to a transparent and confident analysis of the issues.