The resignation of the current mayor of Nice, a member of Les Républicains, is not a surprise and will be formalized at the next municipal council meeting scheduled for next Friday.
It comes as the Council of State has just dismissed the three appeals filed against the election of Christian Estrosi as head of the Region, including that of Marion Maréchal-Le Pen.
The information has been circulating for a few days but has just been made official through a statement signed by Pierre-Paul Leonelli in his capacity as president of the municipal majority group.
It’s not quite an exit from the scene, as the president of the Region and the Metropolis will remain the true dominus of local political life. His alternation with his first deputy, Philippe Pradal, who will replace him in the mayor’s chair, is just a formal act.
Moreover, the future former mayor of Nice will be the first deputy with the same delegations, which raises some comprehension difficulties when reading them. How much time will he be able to dedicate to it?
As with the deputation, Christian Estrosi wants to keep control over the municipal community by appointing someone whose profile and skills cannot be contested but who is relatively new in the world of politics: a loyal collaborator, not a potential future competitor.
The barons should not worry: the parcels of their power will be preserved and respected.
This strange ballet reminds us of the one between Putin and Medvedev in Russia, mingling with and following the institutional norms of that country: one president and the other prime minister, then one prime minister and the other president, finally reverting to the first solution.
Will The Master and Dmitri have a copy on the shores of the big blue?
Is Christian Estrosi not an ardent admirer of Russia and its political leaders? So why not follow their example?
As Machiavelli said, “Morality is foreign to politics that only aims for power.”
