The three closing speeches at the European Democratic Party Congress, held on 21 November at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre in Bilbao, intertwined historical memory, political analysis and a strong call to action. Taking to the stage were Aitor Esteban, president of the EAJ-PNV, the Basque party that has been a member of the EDP since its foundation, Sandro Gozi and François Bayrou, respectively Secretary General and President of the European Democrats, each bringing a different but converging perspective on one essential point: the defence of the democratic centre as the only way to keep Europe and its promise alive.
Aitor Esteban, president of the PNV, retraced his party’s 130-year history, from Francoism to exile to its leading role in Basque self-government. Through the story of a people who resisted, adapted and continued to believe in freedom, Esteban reaffirmed the value of diversity and identities within the Union, without which Europe loses part of its soul. ‘Nothing is guaranteed: we must fight every day for freedom and human rights,’ he warned, recalling how democracy is now threatened by simplification, polarisation and digital propaganda. In a context where everything pushes towards extremes, he described the gesture of reclaiming the centre, the space for dialogue, complex solutions and stability, as ‘revolutionary’. For Esteban, the centre is not weakness, but concrete responsibility, the foundation on which a country is built, and a vision of Europe that can truly function, close to people’s daily lives and proud of its cultural and linguistic diversity.
Sandro Gozi, Secretary General of the EDP, broadened the horizon to a “smaller and much more dangerous” world, marked by wars, disinformation and new forms of authoritarianism. He denounced the risk of resignation and the all too widespread temptation to reduce everything to black and white, whereas politics requires the courage to see shades of grey. ‘We live in a time of violence, disinformation and cowardice: that is why we are ready to take risks,’ he said, claiming a different role for European democrats from that of a right wing increasingly subordinate to the far right and a fragmented and withdrawn left wing. Gozi described the EDP as no longer a start-up but a real political accelerator, capable of growing people, projects and alliances. He also called for the need to build a true global alliance of democrats, because nationalists and extremists now cooperate much more than the defenders of democracy. ‘At a time when many would have us believe that everything is black and white, we democrats have the courage to see the nuances,’ he added, stressing that only a profound reform of the Union can give credibility to enlargement, protect democracy and prevent Trump, Putin and their allies from undermining the European project from within.
François Bayrou closed the congress with a dense speech that mixed personal memories with international perspective. He recalled the historical ties between the MoDem and the PNV, a fraternity born in exile and still alive today, and stressed the importance of seeing the EDP not as a small peripheral movement, but as a central core of European politics. Bayrou insisted on the need to recognise a major change of era: the transition from a world “based on the force of law” to one dominated by the “law of force”, symbolised by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In this context, he strongly defended the Ukrainian people and President Zelensky, rejecting the idea that Europe should give in out of moral or political fatigue. “There is a need for a party of democratic optimism, of civic optimism,” he said, convinced that democracy cannot be based on the elimination of difference, but on the contrary on the desire for other sensibilities to exist and be able to express themselves. He spoke of pluralism as the foundation of civilisation, of young generations sacrificed by institutions that do not work, and of the need for a union of cultures, identities and political experiences that transcends national borders. In his closing message, Bayrou evoked the dream of a great global democratic movement that today, thanks to the EDP, can finally begin to take shape.
