Socialists tone down attacks on conservatives and liberals in EU election manifesto

STRASBOURG — Europe’s center-left political force is dialing down its attacks on conservative and liberal rivals ahead of June’s European election.

The Party of European Socialists’ (PES) most blistering condemnation of the rightward shift of the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) has been removed from a version of the manifesto “endorsed” by the PES on Feb. 14 and seen by POLITICO.

A January version of the manifesto stated: “We condemn conservative and liberal parties that have enabled the far right to access power. It is an insult to our values and our European history.”

That line does not appear in the new draft, although there is a fresh reference to the need to “fight the far right” on the first page of the 10-page document.

Socialist parties and leaders from across Europe will gather on Friday and Saturday in Rome to endorse EU Jobs Commissioner Nicolas Schmit as the face of their election campaign, and officially support the manifesto. Schmit will face incumbent Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who will be endorsed as lead EPP candidate next week.

The Socialist’s manifesto is light on new policy proposals but doubles down on core social democratic tenets, such as battling the cost of living crisis, securing better protections for workers and making the climate transition fairer for citizens. The manifesto’s lack of ambitious ideas is perhaps a tacit acknowledgment that those socialist fundamentals are under threat, as the center of political gravity in Europe shifts to the right. Polls predict a far-right surge in the next European Parliament.

The Socialists are set to lose seats, according to POLITICO’s Poll of Polls, but will remain the second-largest faction in Parliament, behind the EPP. That means it’s likely the Socialists will have to find a way to work with the EPP, and possibly the liberals too.

During the campaign, the PES is expected to accuse the conservatives of enabling the normalization of far-right parties, for example in Italy, and will seek to exploit the policy gulf between the EPP’s leader in Parliament, Manfred Weber, and von der Leyen, who staked her legacy on many of the proposals Weber is now seeking to undo.

On foreign policy, the document makes no reference to a cease-fire in Gaza, bar a vague reference to “work to end conflict … in the Middle East” and committing to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

The socialists’ desire to “build a strong partnership with the United Kingdom,” a new addition, is a nod to the U.K. Labour Party’s chances of governing after a general election.

The new version also calls for “targeted” changes to the EU’s treaties to prepare for more countries, such as Ukraine, joining the bloc.

Elsewhere in the manifesto, there are proposals to bring forward a “roadmap” for quality work and well-paid jobs, an “EU Strategy of Age Equality” and new language on cutting down farmers’ use of pesticides and helping food producers make a green transition.

The socialists also zone in on AI, with a specific focus on algorithmic management — which is where workers’ tasks are assigned to algorithms.

“Big Tech’s pursuit of profit or algorithmic management must never be allowed to undermine democracy and workers’ rights,” it read.

Schmit has led efforts on this already by introducing rules on algorithmic management in the gig economy, for Uber drivers and Deliveroo couriers — where task assignment by algorithms is the default.

The rules hang by a thread after two years of negotiations, though — as a group of countries, France among them, twice scuppered a political deal.

Gian Volpicelli and Pieter Haeck contributed reporting.