The consultation of the Nice members of the Socialist Party for the selection of the top of the list for the 2014 municipal elections yielded the expected result: Patrick Allemand received 239 votes. Moreover, being the sole candidate, this consultation was more administrative than formal!
These 239 votes reflect a lack of interest in this selection? The answer is in the question: Who would be interested in turning up (apart from the loyal followers) for an election whose outcome is already known?
A primary between several candidates would have been much more exciting and a true act of participatory democracy. It would have energized the potential left-leaning electorate in Nice with a reach far beyond those simply registered. Finally, it would have given legitimacy to the elected candidate; Patrick Allemand, the most likely winner, would have come out stronger. It was not chosen for various reasons, with everyone having their theory on the subject, but it was probably a grave mistake.
Caught between the outgoing mayor Christian Estrosi, who is a war machine with uncommon firepower, the parachuted FN candidate who, despite her weaknesses, rides the populist wave of Marine Le Pen, and Robert Injey who will play his cards by highlighting the meager results of government policy, Patrick Allemand will likely struggle greatly to participate in a likely three-way race, and even in that case, the current prognosis places him as the least favored.
He could have probably avoided this by not making tactical errors that tarnish his image as a leader: No primaries, 239 votes in the internal consultation…
A different strategy and a different pace will be needed to captivate the voters and convince them to choose the ballot bearing his name, in the last two weekends of March next year.
