Only one socialist pair is still in the running next Sunday in the Alpes-Maritimes (Grasse 2 canton), and inevitably, the analysis of this result can only lead to negative considerations within the party.
The situation at the Left Front, running for just one three-way contest in Contes, is even worse. The opposition to the socialist government has not been fruitful because the protest vote chose other recipients.
As for the ecologists, with patchy candidacies and variable alliances, they have been relegated to the status of figureheads.
If next Sunday the voters were to deprive the two left-wing parties of the possibility to sit on the Departmental Council, the catastrophe would be complete.
Admittedly, the national context was not favorable for the socialists, but it was not for the communists either, who were nonetheless opposed to them.
Of course, the department is sociologically conservative due to the presence of an elderly population and a significant number of repatriates.
Moreover, the Left Front’s choice to refuse any alliance weakened both sides and favored competitors who didn’t ask for as much.
But all this does not explain everything: maybe the quality and clarity of the political offer should be examined. The weak opposition to the right-wing power at the local level is not a hallmark of future winners but rather of eternal losers.
There is enough reason to initiate a no-holds-barred analysis to give oneself a slight chance in the future.
Despite the defeat, the socialists are trying to put on a brave face. Yet the atmosphere is gloomy at the headquarters of the PS federation of Alpes Maritimes. Only one pair is present in the second round, in the Grasse 2 canton.
Hard blow
For many activists, these poor results are a hard blow. Even Xavier Garcia was eliminated in the first round. The head of the PS in the Alpes Maritimes was outpaced in the Nice 7 canton by the UMP and the National Front. For him, the absence of the communists in the union of left-wing forces played a role in the election. The golden age of the PS at the departmental council seems distant. In 2004, almost half of the Nice councilors were on the left.
Call to vote against the FN
Choosing between the National Front and the UMP in the second round, the equation seems simple for the PS. At the national level, Manuel Valls and the socialists are calling to vote for the candidate opposed to the FN.
Atmosphere at the PS
L. Verdi, PO Casabianca, and J. Juvigny
Speakers:
Xavier Garcia First Secretary PS 06
Patrick Allemand Regional Councilor PS
departmental elections politics Alpes-Maritimes socialist party
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