On the road and on new media
Today’s the last day for almost 2 weeks that I’m sat at my desk in my office – I’m off to London teaching EU politics and to meet website clients, to Vienna for a PES Activists Forum where I’ll be presenting about the use of the internet, I have a quick stop in Bratislava to meet an old friend from Norway, then it’s back to the UK for some more teaching at Sunningdale. In short it’s going to be manic, and posting here is going to be quite light.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the journey will be Wednesday next week at the finals of the New Statesman New Media Awards. Somehow or other whodoicall.eu, the small EU politics campaign I’ve been running with Jan has reached the final 3 in the Campaigning for Change category. I’m sure we don’t have a chance against the much larger projects we’re up against, but it’s a privilege to just be there. I’ll try to post some updates from the awards – surely they must have wireless at the awards ceremony for New Media Awards! 🙂
[UPDATE – 27.06.08, 1600]
There are some interesting bits and pieces about the Austrian SPÖ’s change of position on Eurotopics (in English) and from Die Presse (in German). Yes, the EU does need new means of democratic legitimization, but countries unilaterally announcing commitments to referendums as a result of national posturing and internal party tensions is a useless reason.
OK, thanks for the tip. I’m hopeful there might be some interesting things coming from some of the speeches at the event.
Sorry, off topic: The real problem with the SPÖ is not Chancelor Gusenbauer alone but the new SPÖ leader Faymann, who is propably behind the radical change and likely to be top candidate for next elections, I assume in autum.
Even if Gusenbauer/Faymann loose the elections it will be hard for the SPÖ to change the new direction again any time soon.
Will try to blog about it over the weekend.
Yes, the SPÖ is involved in the organisation of the event – together with the Renner Institut, the PES and FEPS. Gusenbauer is also speaking on the first panel on the Friday of the conference.
Quite frankly I have always wondered about Gusenbauer’s approach to EU questions after the Barolo incident, and a rather flat speech at the 2006 PES Congress in Porto… Anyway, let’s see what he says in Vienna.
The Vienna PES forum is co-hosted by the SPÖ if I am not mistaken. There might be quite a heavy informal debate concerning the SPÖ’s change in their EU politics then.
Well done on the media awards btw.