OK, it’s up and running: PES Activists. The idea is that members of political parties that belong to the Party of European Socialists sign up there, give a small donation, and access a range of online services. It’s a good idea, and it looks very pleasant – clearly they paid a decent designer. But there are two main problems at the moment: a lack of content, and lousy technology. The discussion forums are empty so far – some items are always needed, even before a forum launches. Further, it’s impossible to get new forum posts e-mailed to you. Last but not least there’s the idea of a Bloggers’ Corner where you can read opinions from other PES activists. Quite a pity it’s done that way and you have to login: what’s the problem with making this information public? Anyway, PES activists is an interesting effort at bringing together members of centre-left parties from across Europe, but I remain to be convinced.