Will he leave or stay…? The regional comedy between the two strongmen of the Alpes-Maritimes seems to have been underway for a few days with statements from each allowing (as always) several degrees of interpretation.
In the prevailing UMP atmosphere, it had been whispered for a few weeks that the President of the General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes, Eric Ciotti, might be the natural candidate for the regional election to go head-to-head with Jean-Marie Le Pen (FN), who has just officially announced his candidacy, and Christophe Castaner (PS), chosen by his peers.
Between the “Christian Estrosi has all the qualities to be a very good candidate. If he is, I’ll call to support his candidacy” from Eric Ciotti and the “I find it nice to see that Eric thinks I remain a natural leader…” from Christian Estrosi, there are years of local politics, and it would take a clever person to distinguish the true from the false as both men know each other well and are adept at playing both sides.
In the entourages of both, little information leaks out, and the speculations of various circles more or less close to the two officials on the degree of friendship—or rivalry—that binds them are mere rumors and often poor fantasies.
As the weeks gradually turn into years and with the elections that follow, the management of this duo currently doesn’t have too many flaws, and the electoral results are rather favorable.
The choice of the candidate to embark on the Regional adventure is likely to be just another episode of their relationship that, like all others, will be widely commented on, criticized, dissected, and more or less finely analyzed…
And then, are we sure that the UMP members from Marseille are so fair-play as to leave the stage to their Nice neighbors just because they need to redistribute their local powers?
A certain Valérie Boyer has already positioned herself at the starting line, and when “female politicians” get involved, it’s not always easy to dislodge them.
Of course, Christian Estrosi is the president of the national nomination committee… Will he want to use or abuse his power?
In this game of chess, Eric Ciotti plays smart: “I want to bring the best to this territory that has given me so much. Long live the Alpes-Maritimes and long live France,” he declared during the last General Council session last week.
But, as in any good series, it’s the next episode that will be the one that counts…
