2014 is far away but also very close when it comes to deciding whether (or not) to organize primaries on the left to designate the candidate who will have to face Christian Estrosi, Bruno Gollnish, or other candidates yet to come or confirm. Status update!
As we know, Patrick Allemand, the leader of the Nice left, has declared himself a candidate to follow up on his previous candidacy in the last Nice municipal elections of 2008, where he finished in 3rd position in the first round (Estrosi: 35.80% – Peyrat: 23.14% – Allemand: 22.30%), to then climb to second position during the second round (Estrosi: 41.33% – Allemand: 33.17% – Peyrat: 25.50%). He saw the same result in the last legislative elections of 2012 with a defeat in the second round against the President of the General Council of Alpes-Maritimes, Eric Ciotti (Ciotti: 60.73% – Allemand: 39.27%). The numbers do not really favor the 1st Vice-President of the PACA Region, and this might decide the national PS circles to opt for a Nice primary.
If that were to be the case, Marc Concas, the General Councilor of the 1st district of Nice, would undoubtedly be the most serious contender for the nomination. By winning the second round of the cantonal election of the first district of Nice in 2008, the Nice lawyer did more than secure his re-election. The outgoing general councilor was the only socialist in Nice to emerge victorious from the polls, especially against a heavyweight opponent in the person of… Eric Ciotti. There is no doubt that this result might also tip the balance in favor of organizing primaries in Nice. When asked about it, Marc Concas expressed confidence in his party’s choice, but nothing says that in the event of a direct nomination for Patrick Allemand, the leading Nice lawyer won’t go ahead and enter the municipal race after all.
But apart from these two likely candidates, other elected officials are also clamoring for the nomination. Thus, Patrick Mottard, Jean-Christophe Picard, and others like Robert Injey will have their say, and it is not excluded that they may also position themselves at the starting line of the primaries. A cat-and-mouse game that is likely to liven up the start of 2013 in the microcosm of the Côte d’Azur left, which will eventually have to make its choice someday.
