The departmental elections are approaching, and alliances are being formed. In the face of the right-wing wave expected in the Alpes-Maritimes, where a second-round UMP-FN showdown is expected in many cantons, what will remain of a left-wing presence that, nevertheless, could or should count on a third of the voters?
Divided irreconcilably between the Socialist Party, which has shifted towards social democracy, and the Left Front, seduced by the sirens of anti-system rhetoric, with the Green-ecologists torn, by turns, between messianic whims and personal power, it’s not easy to create an attractive offer for an electorate bewildered by the general situation and disillusioned by leaders not always rising to the challenge.
It is in this context that the initiative of two young forties, Xavier Garcia, the new secretary of the PS06, and Ladislas Polski, secretary of the MRC and leader of the united left opposition in La Trinité, is welcomed. They decided to “set aside everything that could divide them to unite around what can bring them together.”
The addition of two weaknesses does not necessarily make a strength, but it is certainly a symbolic act for the construction of a “front of progress” where everyone can find their place with their specificities but with a common goal and horizon.
This approach is interesting and could attract other left-leaning adherents in a region, sociologically and culturally, right-leaning, where the republican and fascist variants vie for the favor of voters by adjusting their offerings according to situations.
The concrete application of this PS/MRC alliance will be the joint candidacy of a representative from the latter political formation in the canton of Levens, where he will face off with the local leader, the outgoing president of the General Council, Eric Ciotti.
Similarly, a substitute labeled as MRC will appear on the PS list in canton 7 (Nice-East and La Trinité), a canton where Xavier Garcia and Fouzia Ayoub will attempt a difficult challenge.
“The risk that the left may not be represented on the General Council is real. The moment is not for intellectual subtleties, who is right and who is wrong, but for the union of our forces,” say the two young leaders in unison.
They go so far as to paint a dark horizon: “The alternative is moving towards a semi-feudal system where the right will simultaneously have control over the clientelistic distribution of public money, as it is done today, and that of the populist opposition front.”
Will other left-wing political movements heed this message?
