Catching up V: Waiting for the bus in Brussels

I was in Brussels Sunday-Tuesday and it is always nice to see old friends (thanks for your hospitality Henrik), but I can also report that our PES Party chairman Poul Nyrup Rasmussen is as full of energy as always. As you all should know, I really believe in building a stronger Party of European Socialists and Social Democrats.

When I was waiting for the bus to the airport, I got a phone call with a simple message: there is a press conference in Stockholm right now and Sweden's Minister of Foreign Affairs Laila Freivalds is resigning.

As almost everyone else, I think she made the right call and I understand her decision. The Financial Times has published an informative article about the background (here).

The question is of course: who will be the successor? Personally I hope for an individual with solid background in the social democrat party, who also has a strong interest in and knowledge of the foreign policy our party stands for.

Many commentators are pointing out that a Foreign Minister today must also have a sound understanding of general politics and be media-slick. That is true of course, but having strong ties to the party and our foreign policy tradition is even more important to me.

Three people who meet all these demands are Carin Jämtin, Margot Wallström, and Urban Ahlin. But the tabloids are much better than me when it comes to speculations.
(Pictures from AiP:s archive)