“What I lacked to be in the second round of the election was Ségolène Royal’s victory.” It’s uncertain whether the wave would have been as pink as it was blue on the French Riviera and in Nice if Ségolène Royal had been elected, but this prediction honestly holds water. Far from being discouraged, Elodie Jomat is heading towards new adventures, and this peloton enthusiast will certainly be more incisive during the final sprint of her next election, which could well be local or even regional. Missing one stage does not prevent you from winning the Tour de France.
Nice Premium revisited this first round alongside the candidate from the PRG, who has established itself as one of the major parties of the left in Nice.
Nice Premium: Elodie Jomat, how would you analyze the 2007 legislative elections in your district and on both the local and national levels?
Elodie Jomat: Normally, we would have just been the victim of a “blue wave”… But the inclusion of left-leaning individuals in the Government greatly destabilized our electorate. As a result: the wave turned into a tsunami! In fact, achieving this was precisely the objective behind Nicolas Sarkozy’s tactic of opening up.
NP: 19.15% of the votes. Is that a respectable score for a first attempt and for a PRG candidate?
EJ: Indeed, 7,372 voters placed their trust in me, putting me in second place.
Despite an electoral timetable unfavorable to the party losing the presidential election and the demobilization of left-wing voters, I held up quite well since I maintained the score achieved by Ségolène Royal in this district last April 22nd.
NP: What was missing for you to be in the second round?
EJ: The victory of Ségolène Royal in the presidential election!
NP: What do you think about the election of Rudy Salles?
EJ: It is paradoxical that the incumbent deputy, despite being elected for nineteen years, could, in the eyes of some, embody the change desired by everyone.
But as one might expect, right-wing voters voted for the label, not the person… It was indeed to get the support of the UMP – and thus be re-elected – that the incumbent deputy distanced himself from François Bayrou to rally behind Nicolas Sarkozy.
NP: What will be the program and projects of Elodie Jomat in the coming months?
EJ: I will continue to work with associations and citizens. The left is now the only recourse for all those disappointed by Sarkozyism… because swindlers always disappoint!
Immediately, the left radicals will mobilize their militants and supporters so that Patrick Allemand, the PS candidate supported by the PRG in the first district, scores as high as possible next Sunday.
NP: Finally, the next election on the horizon, the municipal ones. Will you be on a list, and which one?
EJ: The PRG hopes to have elected representatives in all councils to be able to defend the common good. Given our mastery of local issues and our presence, our absence from the Nice city council is, for us, an anomaly that we intend to correct as of March 2008.
There is no reason why the dynamic of unity that began with the PS and the MRC during the presidential and legislative elections should not continue at the local level. Otherwise, we will be present on another list.
For my part, I will go where I am most useful… Nice needs all the goodwill it can get!
