The Municipal Council session confirmed two simple truths: The possibility, even though mathematics is an exact science, that numbers can be “interpreted” and the fact that politics is the art of the possible, where on the same subject one can say everything and its opposite.
This is the feeling that debates between Christian Estrosi, his deputies, and the opposition evoked after contestation of the official documents of the financial and management accounts of the year 2012, which ultimately were used by both parties (majority and opposition) to draw up a report on the five years of tenure of the current mayor and his team.
Excellent report for some and insufficient for others.
Fine words, verbal tussles, mutual accusations, the display of power by Christian Estrosi, and the relentless contestation by his main rival, Patrick Allemand, did not allow the controversy to take on a logical character with real content. Instead, it confined itself to the game of attack-parry-riposte, allowing each to defend their reasons and maintain their positions, yet remaining alien to the average citizen (and not just them…) who would simply like to understand who says what and why.
In short, the proposed deliberations (Financial Account and Management Accounts)* were unsurprisingly approved by the municipal majority with the opposition voting against, each content to discipline themselves to their own roles.
Likewise, the decision to take legal action against Dexia regarding the case of the only remaining so-called toxic loan of the original eight was finally unanimously approved after a long and fruitless “battle” to determine if they could or should have reacted more quickly and, in either case, who was responsible.
An irrelevant issue from the moment the mayor of Nice preemptively cut the ground from under those who publicly accused him of inaction or even complicity by taking this initiative himself.°
The oratory marathon, to tell the truth rather bland, did have its moment of emotion: When, either mishearing or misinterpreting a phrase by Christian Estrosi in response to Patrick Allemand, some colleagues thought they understood that the outgoing mayor had thereby confirmed his candidacy for the municipal elections scheduled for mid-May 2014.
Hence the immediate clarification by the Mayor, who wanted to refute this interpretation.
Nothing serious, but then why such urgency?
Since there is no doubt for a single moment of Christian Estrosi’s intent to succeed himself, is it just a simple question of timing, or will there be a surprise?
Should we imagine, as in the recent Parisian example, that a local primary will be organized so that Christian Estrosi can partake in the electoral campaign armed with popular and “formal” legitimacy?
That would be a masterstroke for the outgoing mayor, especially since the PS and its allies preferred to sidestep this option and its positive effects.
So, will we see the right outperform the left on the theme of participatory democracy?
