After the annus horribilis that was 2017, the socialists are hoping for a better 2018. In any case, it will be hard to do worse!
While awaiting the result of the national congress that will elect the national secretary and establish a “unified” political line, one wonders if there is still room for a divided, unrestrained party. Not that things are going any better with the traditional rival, the Republican right, but still.
The situation in the Alpes-Maritimes has never been easy, but now they’ve hit rock bottom: the two strongholds of presence remain Mouans-Sartoux and Valbonne.
In the Nice City Council, there are only 3 councilors, in the Metropolitan Council the relationship with the majority is even clearer, and in the Department, there is only one representative.
What to do? Where to start again? Membership is dwindling (there are about 700/800 registered members, but we’ll see how many will come to vote on March 29 for the national and departmental elections).
There are a few valuable young people, a few loyalists full of goodwill, but to say that the party exists and has weight in the debate…
With such beginnings, it’s not easy to be the secretary of a “survivors’ club,” and Xavier Garcia knows this with his intellectual clarity.
“We are still alive,” he said to the fifty or so militants gathered at the headquarters of the federation for the traditional Epiphany cake—calling for discreet work to be done in the months following the double electoral defeat of last spring, which ended many political careers and prompted the departure of some party heavyweights.
Locally, the historical leader Patrick Allemand defines himself as a “walking socialist,” (which says it all), and he plays a solo game.
For Xavier Garcia, unless they want to disappear, it will be necessary to resolutely take the path of renovation if they want to rebuild the party and “not die a slow death,” and acknowledge the end of the right/left divide, which was, in a way, an electoral sinecure.
For him, “there is a political space between the left and Macron,” yet it is necessary to decide if the goal is to be a governing party or if the appeal of the opposition prevails.
The question is not trivial when, during the last five years, the “rebels” have been more staunch and effective opponents than the right, even managing to present a motion of censure against the government.
With such credentials, doubts are more than justified. How to reform the party with such leaders? How to rejuvenate a think tank, be a force of proposal, define modern public policies with such managers?
So there is a lot of respect for Xavier Garcia when he says “we must be proud to be socialists,” but then what?
