Socialists launch 'vandal banker' video campaign

Background
Compared to their counterparts in the US, Brussels policymakers have generally been slower to harness the power of online technologies to get their message across to citizens.

A survey published in November found that although online resources and social media play a key role in helping politicians shape policies in Europe and the US alike, members of the European Parliament lag behind their colleagues in Congress when it comes to engaging with citizens (EurActiv 10/11/09).

Despite this, the research found that advanced social media like online videos are gaining in acceptance among MEPs, "especially in terms of communicating to constituents".

62% of MEP assistants considered online videos an effective means of communicating, compared with blogs and micro-blogs like Twitter at 45% and 27% respectively.

A separate survey published ahead of last summer's European Parliament elections found that while congressmen on Capitol Hill were already tweeting with Americans across the United States, MEPs were still making scant use of the Internet and failing to fully grasp the potential of digital politics to engage with voters (EurActiv 20/05/09).

In Europe, the Party of European Socialists was better at utilising online technology than the other leading political groups in Parliament, found the survey, carried out by consulting firm Fleishman-Hillard.

The 'Vandal Banker' video was posted on YouTube and launched at a meeting of the socialists' financial and economic network on 7 April.

The move represents the latest attempt by the PES to harness new technologies in communicating with Europe's citizens.

Launching the campaign last week, Austrian State Secretary for Finance Andreas Schneider, who chairs the Party of European Socialists' financial and economic network, said "the vandal banker in our video clip ends up having to clean up his mess. With a financial transaction tax, we can ensure that he will be joined by his colleagues".

Asked by EurActiv to respond to the campaign, a representative of European banks said the industry would prefer not to get involved with "party political issues" of such a "sensitive"nature.

A tax on cross-border currency trading has been considered on many occasions by politicians worldwide after it was first proposed in 1971 by the economist James Tobin. The tax named after him, the so-called 'Tobin tax', is mainly aimed at limiting short-term currency speculation.

At the request of the September G20 summit, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is considering a financial transactions tax as a way of rescuing defaulting financial institutions and removing the debt burden from the taxpayers' shoulders.

The PES clip, which shows a banker arrogantly spraying graffiti on a wall, was published ahead of the socialists' European Action Day for a Financial Transaction Tax on 24 April.

Brandishing a spray can, the banker in the 57 second-long video daubs the words 'if you cause 3,000 billion euros' worth of damage, what should the fine be?' on the side of a building.

Later he is pictured wiping the message off the wall, indicating that bankers should be forced to mend the damage caused by the financial crisis.

For YouYube, the 'Vandal Banker' video is just the latest in a series of collaborations on EU affairs dating back to last June's elections, when the online broadcaster teamed up with TV channel Euronews to launch a service encouraging candidates, constituents and experts "to engage in a dialogue through online video" (EurActiv 06/05/09).

The PES will hold its action day just 24 hours before the IMF presents the findings of a major report on taxing financial transactions - requested by G20 leaders at their summit in Pittsburgh last September- at its spring gathering in Washington (25-26 April).

Positions
"We are entering a critical period for the idea of a financial transaction tax," said Party of European Socialists (PES)President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen at the video's launch.

"We have the expert-level endorsement, and we have proven that it is both desirable and feasible. Now all we need is the political will," Rasmussen said, insisting that "this video and our action day will keep the pressure on the decision-makers".

Germany and France have pushed for a Tobin-style tax on transactions as a way to raise money for developing countries and dampen volatility in foreign exchange markets, an idea which is supported by the Socialists and Greens in the European Parliament (EurActiv 02/09/09).

The idea of taxing financial transactions has attracted fierce debate in Europe.

Prominent figures like economist Jeffrey Sachs have urged the EU to impose a financial transactions tax without delay (EurActiv 10/03/10), but International Monetary Fund (IMF)Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn doubts the effectiveness of such a levy (EurActiv 18/03/10).

Presenting the results of a major survey on digital politics last year, James Stevens, senior vice-president for digital services at Fleishman-Hillard in Brussels, said "the vast majority of MEPs are using the Internet and are certainly being inspired by the success that Barack Obama has had, but too many of them still believe that digital tools are less effective than traditional forms of communication, such as television and newspapers".

Next Steps
24 April: European Action Day for a Financial Transactions Tax.
25-26 April: IMF to present report on FTT at spring meeting in Washington.
26-27 June: G20 summit in Toronto.
Links
Political Parties

Party of European Socialists: ‘Vandal Banker video’ launches countdown to 24 April Europe-wide events (Press release; 7 April 2010) [FR]
Party of European Socialists: Vandal Banker (Video)