The possibility of seeing a departmental assembly without any left-wing elected representatives is very likely, but this danger does not at all deter Cécile Dumas from the straight-line path she has chosen: No alliance with the socialists at the local level.
In this choice inspired by “hardline” principles, one finds the radical spirit that has characterized this political formation for some time, without yet achieving convincing results at the electoral level.
But principles are principles…
In an unambiguous language, Cécile Dumas explains, “We want to unite those who are daily suffering the consequences of the national policy of the PS government and those of the UMP majority in the Alpes-Maritimes.”
The new leader of PS06, an active supporter of Hollande and the Valls government, who renounce leftist values, wants to unite the left, but for that to happen there must be a leftist policy in place! We will not participate in a desperate attempt to hide these renunciations and the forthcoming electoral disaster of the PS.”
What can be said in the face of such stubbornness?
The response comes precisely from Xavier Garcia, the new departmental secretary: “I learn with sadness and consternation about the position of Cécile Dumas, departmental secretary of the PCF 06 for the departmental elections.
This refusal to the unity I have expressed, and which many left-wing voters, including long-standing communist voters, express to me every day, is a Christmas gift for the UMP and especially for the National Front.
As for me, I cannot resign myself to subjecting our voters to the desperate second-round choice between the UMP and the FN in many constituencies.”
There is no question of denying the disagreements over government policy or the identity of each. But locally, many things bring us together: In a department like ours, where it constitutes a real threat, we cannot fight the FN by offering it a highway.
The PS 06 is determined to build the unity of the left at all costs. I am personally prepared to go very far, including putting at stake the constituency where I have myself been endorsed.”
The least one can say is that the road is steep…
