It will be the left-leaning canton that will be the most difficult to capture for the “numerous” right-wing candidates, whether they are backed by the current municipal majority in Nice (Nice Ensemble) for Philippe Rossini or by the previous majority with the Republican Alliance supporting the candidacy of the identity-driven Philippe Vardon, another candidate from the Republican Party in the person of Emmanuel Guillon, and finally the National Front with the candidacy of Lionel Tivoli… It will be necessary, therefore, to row hard to challenge Jacques Victor, who is well-established in a canton he knows perfectly well and which knows him equally well.
But as we know in politics as elsewhere, nothing is ever certain in advance, even if the multiple right-wing candidacies won’t improve the situation for either of the candidates who will engage in a first-round battle that feels like a semi-final to determine who will challenge Jacques Victor in the second round, which seems preordained.
It is thus Philippe Rossini who has secured the favor of the UMP elites of the Riviera to engage under the “Nice Ensemble” banner, while Philippe Vardon (Nissa Rebela) and Emmanuel Guillon (PR) seem more focused on criticizing and attacking their respective political family’s candidate rather than the incumbent candidate. For each of them, therefore, the enemy may not be found where one might expect!
For Jacques Victor, these various tensions within the opposing parties only serve to bolster a fairly comfortable position as an outgoing general councillor, who, with 43% of the votes, left Micheline Baus (Republican Alliance), now Philippe Rossini’s deputy, and Bogdan Petrovic (FN) far in his rearview mirror during the last election. The situation has changed, but the result could well be much the same, especially if second-round voting instructions go against the right-wing candidate who accompanies Jacques Victor.
In short, the campaigns have been launched with the new year, and it will be very interesting to see if the wishes expressed by candidates from different sides and among those of the same political sensitivity will be followed by resolutions in actions. Tenderness is not likely to be on the agenda!
The Candidates’ Cantonal Web Presence
Certainly, Jacques Victor still has an edge as the outgoing general councillor with his blog updated quite regularly over many years. Yet, the other candidates are not far behind, as in many other Nice cantons. Philippe Rossini and Emmanuel Guillon quickly launched regularly updated personal blogs, while Philippe Vardon uses the Nissa Rebela site to communicate about his campaign. Lionel Tivoli is also present but… with a single article revealing the attack on his headquarters on December 7th!
On Facebook, Philippe Vardon (3,897 friends) and Emmanuel Guillon (1,134 friends) are leading well ahead of Jacques Victor (467 friends) and Philippe Rossini (268 friends).
