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Letter of congratulations to Pedro Sánchez, new Prime Minister of Spain

• Spain

Brussels, 6th June 2018

Dear Pedro,

We would like to congratulate you and express our delight about your election as Prime Minister of Spain. We believe that this marks a new era for Progressives, for Spain and for Europe.

The circumstances within which you have taken your new responsibilities are evidently very challeng-ing. Citizens are disenchanted about politics, exhausted by the abuse of resources and power. How-ever we believe that your genuine commitment to a different kind of governing is the best guarantee that you will succeed in your mission; one that acts in the name of and based on the mandate of its people, one that welcomes democratic scrutiny, abides by transparency, and there to serve to trans-pose the social contract.

Indeed, you have inspired us in particular while campaigning for your mandate to win popular trust as Secretary General of PSOE. Your leadership and openness have attracted many, re-energised the party and has given activists a reason to fight again. They joined in sharing the understanding that it is a different Spain that is at stake, a Spain that will reduce inequalities and a Spain that should be able to turn the page on austerity. We hope that the same positive energy, while now channelled on the state level, will prompt also many on the EU level to think that another, Social Europe is possible and in fact with your adherence to the European Council the mood and the trends will begin to change as well.

As we receive further news reports about your government, at FEPS we feel honoured to have had the pleasure to work with you and others directly from your new team and we look forward to build-ing on the work together. In particular, we would like to congratulate wholeheartedly FEPS Vice-President and Chair of the Scientific Council, Josep Borrell as your new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, and Teresa Ribera, who has always been a very active member of our network, as your new Minister of Environment and Energy, alongside the rest of the Cabinet

On that note, we would like to reiterate the commitment we made to you both during our encoun-ters within FEPS “Lamy Group” and during our talk exactly one year ago in Ferraz. FEPS remains at your disposal. It would be an honour for us to work with you, your cabinet and our Spanish partners in this certainly challenging, but also ground-breaking period.

Our very best wishes in this new phase.

Yours sincerely,

Maria João Rodrigues, FEPS President

Ernst Stetter, FEPS Secretary General