MIKKO: Political forces influencing the position of the Socialist group
M. Mikko "The impact of political forces on the official position of the socialist group in the European Parliament".
9. March 2006, Kiiv, Ukraine.
The policymaking at the European Parliament is very hard to describe in a analytic manner, point by point, procedure by procedure. It is probably also very boring to most people. Therefore it is best described using metaphors.
As we Estonians are a seafaring nation, and even my hometown Pärnu is at the coast, I would like to employ a maritime metaphor. The best way to see the interplay of the political forces is to think of the whole dispositive as a sea, even an ocean.
In the sea, there are always waves. There is wind, sometimes there are storms, even hurricanes. There are tides, there are ebb and flow. There are undersea ridges. All these, and countless other factors sometimes sink a ship and sometimes help it reach the harbour faster. Nobody has yet been able to exactly model the sea. And nobody will ever know enough to have an exact model of the European Parliament.
Mostly it is enough to know your way around four or five most important factors to keep your ship from sinking.
Today I will only talk about FOUR most important forces, the streams, winds and tides of the political ocean. I will try to characterise them briefly and to give an example or two about how they have influenced the official position of the Socialist group.
If you want a metaphor, the political groups could be compared to schools of fish. The 732 fish are divided into two main schools and a handful smaller ones. Each individual has personal preferences, has allegiances, personalities, likes, dislikes and connections to other individuals. On the individual level, the MEPs are quite free, but statistically speaking they are relatively predictable.
Currently there are 264 people in the EPP-ED group and 200 in the Socialist group. Anything that these two groups agree on, is very likely to pass through the European Parliament.
I said very likely, not certain. From time to time, some fish swim against the tide, or join the other schools for a vote. Generally, though, the groups are stable.
Now, to the wind and tides.
The principal political forces influencing legislators, among them Socialists, are:
· The member states
· The European Commission
· Lobby organisations (including the trade unions)
· The press
These factors influence all political groups. Another big factor is the great "invisible hand" of officials. The politicians have to rely on scores of officials to keep the wheels oiled and the machinery generally moving.
Regretfully it is not quite possible to give a sensible description of the delicate interplay of personal styles, leanings and sympathies, which push the legislative proposals this way or that way. In this respect, the officials are not so different from the MEPs.
The Member States
First and foremost among the great political forces are the member states. They are the great tides, the Gulf Streams, of the political ocean.
The member states work through the European Council (not to be confused with the Council of Europe) usually called simply "the Council". The unofficial rule of thumb is that nothing goes without "the Council's" agreement.
The reason for that is the so-called "principle of subsidiarity". Subsidiarity is a fundamental principle of European Union law. It was established in the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht.
According to this principle, the EU may make laws only where member states agree that action of individual countries is insufficient. If they disagree, then no EU-wide law can be effected.
This means that member states can block legislative initiatives they do not like.
The European Commission
The Commission is in some ways an opposite of the Council. Whereas the Council replicates quite exactly the political will of the governments at home, the Commission is not supposed to be influenced. And indeed, it is a fairly independent body.
In terms of power, the Commission is officially weaker than the Council. But it is still a great force. A tide, but smaller one. And flowing in the opposite direction. Where the Council flows from member states to the EU, the Commission carries ships and cargo from Brussels to the member states.
In simple terms, the Commission's job is to concentrate on proposing what is best for the whole union. Even if it occasionally means painful and unpopular measures.
Commission has substantial human resources, it conducts thorough research before proposing policies to the European Parliament. The sheer weight of numbers and competence makes the Commission a key influencer of the political process.
The Parliament implicitly trusts the Commission's number and often adopts its approach as a place to start.
Lobbyists
In maritime metaphors, the lobbyists could maybe resemble wind. They are the little Monsoons and Föhns, Sciroccos and Zondas. Their influence is usually quite soft, but occasionally they can whip up a storm.
They may be pleasant and refreshing, but if a wind just keeps on blowing and blowing, you soon want to close your windows and doors and cover your ears to escape the incessant whining. At times we get dozens of letters and calls from lobbyists a day.
Officially the lobbyists are defined as "persons supplying information". Indeed, some of them conduct and present research. Some of them rely on their connections and rhetoric to convince the MEPs.
Lobbying organisations can be divided into businesses and non-profit groups. Businesses promote the viewpoints of paying customers, non-profit sector lobbyists, like Greenpeace or European Broadcasting Union, promote their own viewpoints.
The best of lobbyists provide ready-made amendments to key MEPs to save time and effort. And of course to make sure their viewpoints are adequately reflected in the "report" as the legislative act is called.
For the Socialist group, one group of representatives of special interests has a special position. I probably even should not put them together with the lobbyists. I am speaking of the trade unions.
In many countries of old member states, Socialism and trade unions have always been hand in hand, like thunder and lightning. The trade unions always get a special attention.
Hope you are not tired of weather metaphors yet. I know in England you can always talk about the weather, and I hope the Ukrainians have the same amount of patience and good humour.
The press
At the moment, I am unable to find a good metaphor for the press. Perhaps they are the sun. If the sun shines on us, we become happier - and we are pretty well visible. But sometimes the sun can burn your skin.
Or maybe clouds is a better metaphor. There are fluffy white clouds in a sunny sky, giving it more character, making it look somehow nicer. And there are storm clouds and thunderstorms hitting the guilty and the innocent alike.
In well-functioning democracies the press is usually called "the fourth power". For elected representatives of the people, the press is in some ways the most important power.
The media carry the opinion of the voters to their elected representatives. The media also report on the achievements of the deputies for the public at home.
Even in domestic politics, the press has become the main channel of communication between a MP and her or his voters. When you are thousands of miles away from your electorate, like the MEPs, the press becomes even more important.
If your work is not reflected in the press, your voters tend to assume that you are not doing much. Consciously or unconsciously, the parliamentarians tend to choose topics, which attract media interest. Under these circumstances, it also seems logical that the MEPs tend to choose political standpoints, which are likely to go down well with the electorate.
To return to the metaphors - there is no point in swearing at the sun and the clouds. They will do what they have to do. You just have to be equipped to deal with them.
On Socialist International
As the time allocated to me is nearly over, I will say just a few words about the meaning of international cooperation to Ukrainian Socialists.
First and foremost, very hearty congratulations to you on joining the Socialist International. Your internationality is going to be your great advantage. Moreover, your gain is not only your internationality. You are gaining a sharper profile. You define yourself unmistakably as socialists.
In elections, a clear profile is extremely valuable. Especially as the democracy matures. Voters will want to know more than what are your promises. They will want to know what are your values, what you stand for.
As the Ukraine is setting course to European integration, it is important to be able to tell people, who are your partners in Europe. You know the English saying: tell me who are your friend and I will tell you who you are.
In new democracies, the parties often give themselves fanciful names, like the Reform Party or the Rural Alliance or People's Union. Just looking at the names and the programmes, it is not always easy to tell, are they conservatives, are they liberals or who are they?
Initially, it might be possible to gain more votes by being vague on your main principles and concentrating just on the bread-and-butter issues. But sooner or later you must find the set of principles you identify with internally and internationally.
Again, I congratulate you on this important step. Now there are further steps which need to be taken quite urgently. The youth organisation should get in touch with the European young socialists, the ECOSY. There is much going on in this organisation and you can learn as well as contribute a lot.
In the same spirit, the women's organisation should get the cooperation going with women of the Socialist International. You have seen and met Zita Gurmai, the chair or female Socialists in Europe. She is from Hungary, she has a great understanding of your problems. We will welcome you warmly.
On this note, I want to finish my address today.
Thank you!
9. March 2006, Kiiv, Ukraine.
The policymaking at the European Parliament is very hard to describe in a analytic manner, point by point, procedure by procedure. It is probably also very boring to most people. Therefore it is best described using metaphors.
As we Estonians are a seafaring nation, and even my hometown Pärnu is at the coast, I would like to employ a maritime metaphor. The best way to see the interplay of the political forces is to think of the whole dispositive as a sea, even an ocean.
In the sea, there are always waves. There is wind, sometimes there are storms, even hurricanes. There are tides, there are ebb and flow. There are undersea ridges. All these, and countless other factors sometimes sink a ship and sometimes help it reach the harbour faster. Nobody has yet been able to exactly model the sea. And nobody will ever know enough to have an exact model of the European Parliament.
Mostly it is enough to know your way around four or five most important factors to keep your ship from sinking.
Today I will only talk about FOUR most important forces, the streams, winds and tides of the political ocean. I will try to characterise them briefly and to give an example or two about how they have influenced the official position of the Socialist group.
If you want a metaphor, the political groups could be compared to schools of fish. The 732 fish are divided into two main schools and a handful smaller ones. Each individual has personal preferences, has allegiances, personalities, likes, dislikes and connections to other individuals. On the individual level, the MEPs are quite free, but statistically speaking they are relatively predictable.
Currently there are 264 people in the EPP-ED group and 200 in the Socialist group. Anything that these two groups agree on, is very likely to pass through the European Parliament.
I said very likely, not certain. From time to time, some fish swim against the tide, or join the other schools for a vote. Generally, though, the groups are stable.
Now, to the wind and tides.
The principal political forces influencing legislators, among them Socialists, are:
· The member states
· The European Commission
· Lobby organisations (including the trade unions)
· The press
These factors influence all political groups. Another big factor is the great "invisible hand" of officials. The politicians have to rely on scores of officials to keep the wheels oiled and the machinery generally moving.
Regretfully it is not quite possible to give a sensible description of the delicate interplay of personal styles, leanings and sympathies, which push the legislative proposals this way or that way. In this respect, the officials are not so different from the MEPs.
The Member States
First and foremost among the great political forces are the member states. They are the great tides, the Gulf Streams, of the political ocean.
The member states work through the European Council (not to be confused with the Council of Europe) usually called simply "the Council". The unofficial rule of thumb is that nothing goes without "the Council's" agreement.
The reason for that is the so-called "principle of subsidiarity". Subsidiarity is a fundamental principle of European Union law. It was established in the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht.
According to this principle, the EU may make laws only where member states agree that action of individual countries is insufficient. If they disagree, then no EU-wide law can be effected.
This means that member states can block legislative initiatives they do not like.
The European Commission
The Commission is in some ways an opposite of the Council. Whereas the Council replicates quite exactly the political will of the governments at home, the Commission is not supposed to be influenced. And indeed, it is a fairly independent body.
In terms of power, the Commission is officially weaker than the Council. But it is still a great force. A tide, but smaller one. And flowing in the opposite direction. Where the Council flows from member states to the EU, the Commission carries ships and cargo from Brussels to the member states.
In simple terms, the Commission's job is to concentrate on proposing what is best for the whole union. Even if it occasionally means painful and unpopular measures.
Commission has substantial human resources, it conducts thorough research before proposing policies to the European Parliament. The sheer weight of numbers and competence makes the Commission a key influencer of the political process.
The Parliament implicitly trusts the Commission's number and often adopts its approach as a place to start.
Lobbyists
In maritime metaphors, the lobbyists could maybe resemble wind. They are the little Monsoons and Föhns, Sciroccos and Zondas. Their influence is usually quite soft, but occasionally they can whip up a storm.
They may be pleasant and refreshing, but if a wind just keeps on blowing and blowing, you soon want to close your windows and doors and cover your ears to escape the incessant whining. At times we get dozens of letters and calls from lobbyists a day.
Officially the lobbyists are defined as "persons supplying information". Indeed, some of them conduct and present research. Some of them rely on their connections and rhetoric to convince the MEPs.
Lobbying organisations can be divided into businesses and non-profit groups. Businesses promote the viewpoints of paying customers, non-profit sector lobbyists, like Greenpeace or European Broadcasting Union, promote their own viewpoints.
The best of lobbyists provide ready-made amendments to key MEPs to save time and effort. And of course to make sure their viewpoints are adequately reflected in the "report" as the legislative act is called.
For the Socialist group, one group of representatives of special interests has a special position. I probably even should not put them together with the lobbyists. I am speaking of the trade unions.
In many countries of old member states, Socialism and trade unions have always been hand in hand, like thunder and lightning. The trade unions always get a special attention.
Hope you are not tired of weather metaphors yet. I know in England you can always talk about the weather, and I hope the Ukrainians have the same amount of patience and good humour.
The press
At the moment, I am unable to find a good metaphor for the press. Perhaps they are the sun. If the sun shines on us, we become happier - and we are pretty well visible. But sometimes the sun can burn your skin.
Or maybe clouds is a better metaphor. There are fluffy white clouds in a sunny sky, giving it more character, making it look somehow nicer. And there are storm clouds and thunderstorms hitting the guilty and the innocent alike.
In well-functioning democracies the press is usually called "the fourth power". For elected representatives of the people, the press is in some ways the most important power.
The media carry the opinion of the voters to their elected representatives. The media also report on the achievements of the deputies for the public at home.
Even in domestic politics, the press has become the main channel of communication between a MP and her or his voters. When you are thousands of miles away from your electorate, like the MEPs, the press becomes even more important.
If your work is not reflected in the press, your voters tend to assume that you are not doing much. Consciously or unconsciously, the parliamentarians tend to choose topics, which attract media interest. Under these circumstances, it also seems logical that the MEPs tend to choose political standpoints, which are likely to go down well with the electorate.
To return to the metaphors - there is no point in swearing at the sun and the clouds. They will do what they have to do. You just have to be equipped to deal with them.
On Socialist International
As the time allocated to me is nearly over, I will say just a few words about the meaning of international cooperation to Ukrainian Socialists.
First and foremost, very hearty congratulations to you on joining the Socialist International. Your internationality is going to be your great advantage. Moreover, your gain is not only your internationality. You are gaining a sharper profile. You define yourself unmistakably as socialists.
In elections, a clear profile is extremely valuable. Especially as the democracy matures. Voters will want to know more than what are your promises. They will want to know what are your values, what you stand for.
As the Ukraine is setting course to European integration, it is important to be able to tell people, who are your partners in Europe. You know the English saying: tell me who are your friend and I will tell you who you are.
In new democracies, the parties often give themselves fanciful names, like the Reform Party or the Rural Alliance or People's Union. Just looking at the names and the programmes, it is not always easy to tell, are they conservatives, are they liberals or who are they?
Initially, it might be possible to gain more votes by being vague on your main principles and concentrating just on the bread-and-butter issues. But sooner or later you must find the set of principles you identify with internally and internationally.
Again, I congratulate you on this important step. Now there are further steps which need to be taken quite urgently. The youth organisation should get in touch with the European young socialists, the ECOSY. There is much going on in this organisation and you can learn as well as contribute a lot.
In the same spirit, the women's organisation should get the cooperation going with women of the Socialist International. You have seen and met Zita Gurmai, the chair or female Socialists in Europe. She is from Hungary, she has a great understanding of your problems. We will welcome you warmly.
On this note, I want to finish my address today.
Thank you!
posted by Triinu at 3/22/2006
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