Next Left Round Table “Building a new progressive majority”

On 20 April, FEPS Organized a conference in Barcelona with the support of R. Campalans Foundation in order to provide new answers on how to overcome the crisis of democracy, and while bringing meaning to terms such as “legitimacy”, “representation”, “social contract” ensure the favourable electoral trend for social democracy in Europe

The programme “Next Left: Building a new progressive majority” was composed of the 3 building blocks:

• Organizing, mobilising and legitimising – contemporary challenges for representative democracy
• Sense of politics in the aftermath of the global crisis
• What do the new generations expect from social democracy? There is demand, but is there supply?

Participants discussed on how preserve, strengthen and develop European democracy but also what is the role that social democracy should play in the 21^st century to regain its strength as a credible political force.

The discussion looked at perspectives for an eventual broad progressive alliance on national, European and international level; as also answered the challenge how to bridge the gap between world of politics and young people.

Among the outstanding academics and experts, Alfred Gusenbauer, Chair of the Next Left Research Programme, Josep Borell, President of the European University Institute and Andrew Harrop, Secretary General of Fabian Society, ensuring through his participation the continuity between this seminar and a debate that FEPS together with Fabians plans to hold in London in June