George Papandreou was re-elected President of the Socialist International on Thursday night. The decision of the conference of the Organization, held in Colombia, for the president of the Movement of Social Democrats, was unanimous.
In his speech, immediately after his re-election, Mr. Papandreou referred in detail to the current challenges and the phenomena of populism and nationalism that plague the political life of many countries of the world, emphasizing among others:
"Their priority is to seize and maintain power. Our priority is to use power for the benefit of all. They believe that they will make their countries strong by building walls, investing in weapons, making unilateral decisions.
"We believe that we will make our countries strong by investing in people, education, social rights, the ability to work together in a globalized economy.
"They say 'take control again' and by that they mean isolationism, Brexit, closed borders. We say 'take control again' and we mean to fight against inequalities, to empower citizens, to strengthen our democracies, to respect human dignity and rights. They say, reduce the taxation of the rich. We say reduce the power of the rich. "
The central theme of the Socialist International Conference "For a Peaceful World with Equality and Solidarity" began in Cartagena de India, Colombia.
Colombia to support President Juan Manuel Santos and his government partner, a member of the Socialist International (Partido Liberal Colombiano PLC), for a peaceful solution to the civil dispute with the guerrillas. human lives, having lasted for over half a century.
More than 500 delegates from all over the world warmly welcomed President Santos, who was awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
George Papandreou thanked President Santos for his warm words and awarded him the Papandreou-Cem 2017 Peace Prize. This year, he stressed, is given to President Santos for two reasons: show a political courage that is very rare today. "We hope that this courage will inspire other leaders to take initiatives that will resolve other conflicts that plague many parts of the world."
Source: news.in.gr