In winning the left’s primary with a program more suited to becoming the leader of the MJS (hence the youth-focused campaign!) than President of the Republic, Benoît Hamon might have been able to manage by reaching out to the governmental left.
The task was not easy for this advocate of the protest left, who, somewhat disloyal, had not ceased criticizing the Valls government, but it was probably doable. Instead, he preferred to try to unite the protest left with an agreement that included almost the entire EELV program. This attempt ended in failure, with Jean-Luc Mélenchon refusing to rally to his darker shade of pink.
As a result, Hamon finds himself at a loss, as the supporters of the governmental left, who felt scorned, massively join Macron, while the protest left’s electorate prefers the original to the copy: Mélenchon over Hamon.
I will not vote for Mélenchon, but one must acknowledge his certain talent and relatively courageous positions against communitarianism (which is not the case with Hamon’s team).
Everything is still possible in this somewhat crazy campaign, but with four weeks left before the election, the momentum is on Mélenchon’s and, of course, Macron’s side—not Hamon’s.
by Patrick Mottard
