Today, the members of the Socialist Party will elect Patrick Allemand’s successor at the head of the Alpes-Maritimes Federation.
The spontaneous resignation of Patrick Allemand, who retains his elected positions at local and regional levels, has caused some significant shocks and rekindled internal debate in an idle party, rattled by the recent electoral setbacks.
Patrick Allemand has clearly understood that revitalizing the party also requires new blood and thus proposes and supports the candidacy of Xavier Garcia, the spokesperson for the federation.
His candidacy is contested by the various factions of the party’s left, who oppose him with Jean-François Verdier, a transitional candidate, pending the outcome of the party’s Congress in June 2015 where they will battle against the social-democratic line of the current majority.
Xavier Garcia is widely favored, but the true outcome will come from the number of voters, which will provide a clearer understanding of the party’s condition and, consequently, the representativeness of the winner.
But what will be the political line and objectives of the future socialist federal secretary?
We summarize below the key elements extracted from his statement of intent.
Excerpts from the statement of intent of Xavier Garcia
Our party is experiencing a difficult period and, in a territory like ours, the federation can only be seriously impacted by the current slump and divisions.
However, it is precisely these difficulties that give meaning and strength to our commitment, particularly in our department. And it is with this mindset, clear-eyed yet extremely determined to stand firm, that I submit myself to the vote of the members.
The new first secretary who will emerge from the polls on December 3rd will need the legitimacy of the members’ vote to successfully undertake two main tasks in the coming months.
Firstly, to negotiate with our partners for the broadest possible union of the left and to quickly organize the party for the departmental elections in the face of an all-powerful UMP and a more threatening FN than ever. Secondly, to ensure that the preliminary debates and the federal congress are conducted impeccably for all the sensibilities within our party.
However, these two objectives should not prevent us from immediately undertaking a collective reflection and work on the future of our federation. These should revolve primarily around three challenges:
The first challenge, which I consider as key to the success of all others, is to expand our member base. Even though it is not an easy task under the current circumstances, it must be a priority.
To expand it quantitatively, to expand it sociologically thereafter, and finally, to expand it geographically.
This brings us to a second challenge, which is the renewal of our leadership and elected officials.
This renewal has as a corollary a change in our militant practices and our means of communication. I believe this is the third challenge of the renovation we must undertake.
I will be uncompromising on upholding the collective interest and the image of our federation because even though this principle alone will not guarantee success, ignoring it will certainly lead us to failure.
Indeed, I am convinced, and we must all be convinced, that there is no fatality of failure in this department. The last senatorial elections have demonstrated it, and we will demonstrate it again.
