New membership campaign, municipal elections 2014, the Radical Party of the Left (PRG) is making its presence felt in the department. Patrick Mottard, General Councilor of Alpes Maritimes, and Jean-Christophe Picard, president of PRG 06, hope to win over the people of Nice with a direct slogan: “I too join the PRG”.
In a difficult context where the electorate is traditionally anchored to the right, the PRG is trying its best to gain a foothold. Often associated with the ideas of the Socialist Party, the party clearly wants to distinguish itself from its rival.
Patrick Mottard is clear, the Socialist Party and the Radical Party of the Left have different ideological lines: “On secularism, the PS is quite ambiguous, especially on the question of Islam, whereas we advocate strict secularism: an important value for democracy. The PRG also favors a more parliamentary regime. On the European question, we are one of the only political formations to want a federalist Europe that would be the embryo of a truly global government. Socially, our vision is closer to small entrepreneurs. Many radical elected officials are present in rural regions.”
With 2 ministers, 2 parliamentary groups, and many local executives (the territorial collectivity of Corsica, 4 general councils, more than 1,000 towns), the PRG, France’s oldest party, intends to use its past to look to the future. On new posters, prominent radical figures: Georges Clรฉmenceau (symbolizing willpower), Pierre Mendรจs-France (ethics), Jean Moulin (courage) and Michel Crรฉpeau (ecology). Jean-Christophe Picard adds: “We are the idea laboratory of the left, so we position ourselves according to our own values.” For the 2014 municipal elections, the PRG has not yet decided on the issue of a united opposition list. Patrick Mottard prefers to remain cautious: “We are in favor of a united opposition list, but on the condition of organizing primaries. If solutions are proposed to us, we are ready to listen. But on this question of primaries, the Socialist Party has not responded to us since October 2012. Yet a primary would create legitimacy for the opposition. I understood that Patrick Allemand does not receive unanimous support in his own party. How can he then position himself as an opposition candidate?” The situation between Patrick Allemand and Marc Concas, socialist deputy, is more than tense as the municipal elections approach. A political context that increasingly cools the possibility of a common “anti-Estrosi” list for the upcoming elections.
