The game is too subtle not to have been calculated (and the thread a bit thick): organizing a meeting the day after the Metropolitan Council voted on what’s now the property tax (well…), conflating the government’s fiscal policy with that of the Macron-compatible president of the Metropolis (oh yes!), putting the latter at odds with right-wing voters (obviously), pushing him towards leaving the Republican party (it’s only logical…), to finally present himself as the official “party” candidate for the 2020 municipal elections (we’re not going to leave the place for the Front, are we?)
It seems like a remake of the 2008 municipal elections when Christian Estrosi was the official candidate of the then-U.M.P. against the outgoing mayor Jacques Peyrat, who was forced to present himself to the voters with a civic list. Then as now, Eric Ciotti was at the helm, though at the time he was next to the one who, from “boss,” became the rival to defeat.
Should we be surprised by his political twists and turns?
In a lounge of a hotel in Nice, the Nice deputy (speaking in this capacity), before quite a large audience, threw down his gauntlet: “I serve #Nice06, I defend my city. Today, Christian Estrosi will massively increase taxes due to his poor management. Like many residents of Nice, I am worried about this situation.”
In the room, several elected officials (Auguste Verola, Henri Leroy, Anne Sattonnet, Vanessa Antourel-Siegel, Anne-Marie Dumont, Josiane Borgogno, Jean Thaon, Gérard Manfredi, Henri Guige, Fernand Blanchi, Martine Barengo-Ferrier, Christophe Trojani, Dr. Alain Frère, Bernard Asso) composed the political assembly.
But it was the fervent advocate Christelle D’Intorni who had the privilege of disseminating the Ciottist creed: “Raising taxes is not an inevitability. Before asking citizens to make efforts, the Metropolis must set an example by enforcing sound management, as Eric Ciotti did in the Department.”
Well-supported by aligned supporting roles (CPME 06 president Honoré Ghetti, once an opponent of Eric Ciotti – in Saint-Martin de Vésubie – but who evidently changed his opinion, Didier Bellotti UNPI, Armand Lombard U2P, Jean-Jacques Hermant, Chamber of Notaries) whose statements reinforced the audience, the “Nice deputy” sealed a pact, “I will never betray your trust,” before presenting his classic arguments with timely phrases:
Public money doesn’t fall from the sky like a fine rain: it’s the product of your taxes. Political leaders have an obligation of good management, as I have done in the Alpes-Maritimes Department.
Public management is a matter of common sense: when there is less revenue, there must be less spending. Taxpayers should not be viewed, on all sides, as cash cows destined to soak up the debts of the elected officials!
Then came the highlight of the evening: the intertwining of Emmanuel Macron and Christian Estrosi, with a 4.5 billion increase in taxes or a drop in purchasing power for the former; over 13 to 18% property tax and +60% residence tax for secondary residences for the mayor of Nice and President of the Metropolis.
The accusation followed immediately: “I reread Christian Estrosi’s campaign promises. In 2014, he promised not to increase taxes,” declared the Nice deputy in a martial tone…with short memory (yet at the time, the two were friends and allies!).
Eric Ciotti is, of course, a proponent of the dual meaning of the German word “schuld”: both “debt” and “guilt”.
The conclusion is unequivocal: “I want to tell the truth to the people of Nice. No one will stop me from saying it. I have values and convictions: I haven’t changed!”
In other words, “follow me” and you won’t be disappointed!
Wouldn’t it have been simpler to say this from the start, without being an intellectual contortionist?
