Speaking to the press before the meeting, Martin Schulz indicated that the European Parliament has given a mandate to Jean-Claude Juncker to make the first attempt at building a majority behind his candidacy. Mr Schulz made it clear that the socialist and social democratic parties would have a decisive role to play.
The party leaders reflected on the strong campaign led by the PES. Led by PES President Sergei Stanishev, they congratulated Schulz on visiting more countries, cities and towns than any of his rivals. “We have built a truly European movement, uniting the PES family and energising grassroots PES activists across Europe”, said Stanishev.
Schulz led the most engaging and connected campaign in Europe, reaching millions of Europeans at public events, on TV and radio, through the written press, and with innovative social media tools.
