Blickpunkt Großbritannien Büro London The Chandlery Office 609 50 Westminster Bridge Road GB London SE1 7QY Tel 00 44 20 77 21 87 45 Fax 00 44 20 77 21 87 46 www.feslondon.org.uk May 2008 The Crisis of the Democratic Left in Europe In times when centre-left parties throughout Europe are increasingly faced with dwin­dling voter support, answers to the question of the causes of this development cannot be found at national level alone. In view of the failure of parties, and in particular the conservative parties, across Europe, the former British Minister for Europe, Denis MacShane, is calling for a new approach, listing ten factors through which European Social Democracy could regain ground. He demands that European Social Democracy focus once again on voters whose lives are limited by poverty and other forms of re­pression. These are people who need and deserve a Social Democracy of the 21 st cen­tury, which is not only fit to deal with the challenges of our time and able to inspire and provide support but also has the will and aptitude to govern. Denis MacShane* The democratic left in Europe faces its gravest crisis in more than half a century. With the return of Silvio Ber­lusconi to power in Italy there now are only three of the twenty-seven EU member states – Britain, Spain and Por­tugal- which are controlled exclusively by one of the member parties of the Party of European Socialists. In other countries like Germany, Austria and the Netherlands democratic left parties are in coalition. ________________________________________________ * Denis MacShane is a Labour MP and represents the Labour Party on the Party of European Socialists Ten years ago the position was very different. In 12 of the then 15 EU member states, including Germany, France, Britain, Portugal, Italy, the Nor­dic countries, the Netherlands and in East Europe the centre-left ruled. No-one has yet undertaken an analysis of why in the space of less than a decade the centre-left has been ex­pelled from power. In each country, po­litical analysts and party officials focus on national explanations. Little effort is made to seek Europe-wide reasons for the left’s decline even as European na­tion-states and their electorates comes