he 30th birthday – final call to grow up. The wild youth is over. Time to slow down, to settle. At least this is what I hear from some people – half as a joke, half seriously – as I turn 30 in November.
Turning 30 this November as well, the PES might hear similar jokes. On our congress in Berlin this weekend I said: Don’t slow down. Don’t settle.
Look at all the crises on our continent and the whole world: We cannot afford a social democracy in slow motion. Because we need to uphold the promise of Europe.
The belief in the promise of Europe is something that is deeply rooted in my family’s history. After Khamenei’s regime in Iran killed my grandfather, my grandmother fled to Germany with her six children, including my mother. My grandmother dared to leave everything she knew. To give her family a chance to live in a free country. To make sure her daughters can speak up for their rights. To her, this is the promise of Europe: Europe as the home of freedom and democracy.
But this promise is under attack from inside and outside the European Union.
As if it was not already overwhelming enough, I am convinced the promise of Europe goes even further. It is also the promise of safety. To live in physical safety, but also in safety from material deprivation and in safety from environmental harm.
The climate crisis looms as one of the biggest threats to the promise of Europe. So I want the European Union to step up its game. For a society of well-being that grants prosperity to all within planetary boundaries.
Progressives must be capable of multi-tasking. We can tackle several problems at once. Actually, we know that they are all connected and we have to solve them together. The Party of European Socialists can be the hub for progressives to proof that.
Let’s do it. It’s urgent. Don’t rest.
To the next 30 years!