We were expecting surprises and, in the end, the surprise was the confirmation of a large portion of the incumbents. In fact, there were few changes in the list of women and men who will support Christian Estrosi in defending “his” town hall.
And none of these changes seem significant, no flower in the buttonhole as rumors suggested, but simply contributions from civil society and some changes in hierarchy within the two coalition parties.
A few heads have rolled (no need to recall the names and reasons), along with the dissidents who were excluded or who left of their own accord to join the rival list led by Olivier Bettati.
To find a new entrant, one must be patient and trace back through the chronological order of the list, as a third of the candidates representing change are placed in practically non-eligible positions.
Furthermore, Christian Estrosi was clear on this matter: “Given the results of the first term (‘Nice has regained its beauty, its influence, its rank’) … ‘You don’t change a winning team.’”
The outgoing mayor’s close circle will therefore continue to be on the front line to assume the most important delegations. Loyalty played an important role in the choices because, if there is a “leader” in a team, as Christian Estrosi likes to define himself, it is evident that the “collaborators” must participate in the team game. And, if we attribute the situation, the musical significance of “conductor,” one is also asked to follow the rhythm and play the score in the right key.
For the “rookies” of the team, the next term will be the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the cause, preparing themselves to take over, as the inner circle, with all due respect to the “silver foxes,” really no longer belongs to the future.
If we stick to age categories, it cannot be said that this list is a future-forward one. Indeed, not a single candidate in their thirties is among the top 20 on the list while the fingers of one hand are enough to count the others.
We had somewhat hoped for a list that looked more towards… the future!
