Sanchez’s PSOE aims to beat the far-right that wants to dismantle the EU from within

4 months ago 15

Spain’s ruling Socialist Party (PSOE/S&D) wants to defeat the far-right and those who want to break up the EU from within, the party’s lead candidate in the EU elections, Teresa Ribera, said on Wednesday, despite polls favouring right-wing forces.

Speaking at the party’s rally in Seville to present the official list of PSOE candidates for the European elections, which in Spain will be held on 9 June, Ribera, also the minister for ecological transition, called on people to vote to defeat the “ultra” forces across Europe.

“We are going to win against the far-right, against those who raise their arms in Rome and Milan, and against those who defend bombs against peace, against those who want to blow up Europe from within,” Ribera said, Euractiv’s partner EFE reported.

However, Ribera’s enthusiasm clashes with the latest polls in Spain, which point to a victory for the Spanish right-wing conservative party, Partido Popular (PP/EPPLast week, the

The right-wing party, the third-largest force in the Spanish parliament, unveiled its top candidate for the EU elections: Dolors Montserrat, an MEP seen as a “hardliner.”

The PSOE and its allies in the socialist family in the European Parliament (S&D/PS) also face the challenge of defeating the European Peoples’ Party (EPP), which is the favourite to win the June elections, as well as the right-wing liberals sitting in the ECR group – which also includes the Spanish far-right party VOX – and the “ultra” forces in the Identity and Democracy (ID) group, among others.

In this sense, Ribera pointed out the importance of uniting Europe’s progressive forces to fight the “cowardly right”, which is having no problem striking regional coalition deals with far-right parties, the PSOE list leader warned.

Ribera presented fellow candidates from her party’s EU election list as politicians committed to a “more social, greener, more feminist and fairer” Europe.

“We want more Europe, more rights, more opportunities, a better future. More democracy and values (…),” Ribera added.

Analysts suggest that Ribera could opt for a commissioner’s post in the next European Commission after the June elections – there is speculation that she could hold the climate or energy portfolio.

(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.Euractiv.es)