The two former opponents within the Socialist Party (one, Xavier Garcia, in a social-democratic position; the other, Paul Cuturello representing the social left) have announced their alliance in support of Olivier Faure, the president of the socialist group in the National Assembly, candidate for the party presidency during the internal elections that will take place on March 15 and 29.
It’s a relative surprise since one might have expected the departmental secretary to choose Stรฉphane Le Foll and the city councilor (aligned with Hamon) to support Emmanuel Morel.
But in this case, it is Olivier Faure’s proclaimed desire for “rebirth” that has taken precedence with the two strong figures of Nice socialism.
So, end of divisions? “We must know how to start again – they say in unison – and build a societal project that can reconcile us with our electorate.” And then, “we oppose ideas before, and then, once the decision is made, we must know how to work together.”
In fact, it’s not the style of the house as evidenced by the course of the last five-year term during which rebels and egotists reveled in the demolition enterprise of their own party.
For Xavier Garcia and Paul Cuturello, Olivier Faure is the man who understood the situation with the necessary lucidity and will be the personality that can embody the will for unity against the balkanization of the party.
It is true that the distancing, marginalization, or even disappearance from political life of certain pseudo-leaders, ego-maniacs serving only their personal ambitions, will ease the task of whoever takes the faded rose emblem back in hand.
March 29 will also be the occasion for the election of the departmental secretary: Xavier Garcia, who succeeded Patrick Allemand three and a half years ago after the electoral debacle in the regional elections in December 2014, will he be a candidate for his own succession?
The person concerned reserves a decision in the next two weeks.
In any case, the Socialist Party needs voters more than leaders: a first test will be the number of voters at the national level (the number of registered voters is estimated at 70,000) and local (817 registered).
Because if even the members massively miss this meeting of internal party life, how can we interest, motivate, and include others?
