Internet Changes Everything

European election campaign �blog� is a first

The Malta Independent Daily Website

The European Parliament election campaign’s first on-line diary – a web log or “blog” – will be launched by the Party of European Socialists (PES) this weekend in a move to counter voter apathy. The Malta Labour Party is a full member of PES.

Party president Poul Nyrup Rasmussen has chosen May Day to begin publication of his personal view on the campaign across 25 countries.

The four-language Euroblog will be published on the PES website: www.pes.org and will appear daily until election day in June, giving former Danish premier Mr Rasmussen�s inside story about the ups and downs of the European campaign.

Visitors to the website will be able to take up issues raised by Mr Rasmussen and post their views.

Said Mr Rasmussen, who heads the Danish social democrat list at the elections: �Politicians must embrace modern ways of communicating with the electorate. I believe that my Euroblog will help to raise the level of interest in the elections, particularly among young people.

�It will be open and frank � and it will be interactive. I will say what I think and give some insights into what is going on behind the scenes.

�Apathy is our great enemy at these elections.

�If my Euroblog plays a part in engaging ordinary people in the campaign, and helping them to understand the issues at stake, I will be delighted.�

At an election congress in Brussels last week, the PES published the first-ever pledge card for a European election campaign. The card sets out four key commitments to the electorate in 25 countries.

Said Mr Rasmussen: �Our commitments � on sharing prosperity in a social Europe, creating more and better jobs, managing migration, pursuing social integration and fighting terrorism and its causes � meet the primary concerns of the people in all our countries.�

May 4, 2004 at 10:04 PM in Politics | Permalink | TrackBack (22) | Top of page | Blog Home