Overview

• Speaking in Strasbourg at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Pedro Haces Barba argued that no democracy can be understood without free political parties.
• He characterized parties as the conduit between society and modern democracy, converting social demands into public policy while confronting a trust deficit.
• He urged guaranteed, competitive candidate selection, transparent digital innovation with data protection, and a results-focused agenda that affects daily life.
• He cited 2024 turnout comparisons to illustrate democratic variation: Mexico at 61% of the electoral roll, Europe about 51%, India 65.7%, and South Korea 67%.
• He said multipolar geopolitics and artificial intelligence make immediate reinvention necessary to show that democracy delivers concrete results for future generations.