Yesterday, Marc Concas resigned from the PS. In fact, it was the resignation of the last socialist general counselor from Nice. That said, the novelty for Marc Concas is to likely form an alliance with another resigning member, former UMP Olivier Bettati (and perhaps other UMP dissidents like Benoît Kandel or Jean Icart?).
A list composed of personalities from both the left and right could indeed be intellectually appealing.
Patrick Mottard, PS general counselor and unsuccessful candidate in the 2001 Nice municipal elections against Jacques Peyrat despite a very commendable score, comments on Marc Concas’s move as follows:
In fact, Marc Concas finds himself somewhat in the position we were in 2008 when we presented an independent left list “Nice Autrement.” He can therefore legitimately ask himself the questions we asked at the time. Except that we are no longer in the same period.
It is precisely for this reason that we chose to unite this year. Indeed, the rise of the far-right and the pressure exerted on the left’s governmental politics require the union of progressive forces in Nice to prevent the FN and the UMP from leading the race in the second round.
But, even without this imperative reason, we probably would not have repeated the 2008 experience. The tendencies of the electorate are significant. After congratulating us on our program (the most serious, it was said at the time) and our campaign (the most imaginative, a journalist told me again recently), many voters resorted to the sacrosanct useful vote. Hence, a commendable result but one that did not really allow us to carry weight.
The Bettati-Concas alliance will face the issue of who leads the list. If, as is expected, Olivier Bettati leads the group, the list will probably be perceived as a right-diverse list with left-wing personalities as reinforcement. It’s uncertain if this will be understood by the left electorate.
In any case, for “Gauche Autrement”, rallying around the list led by the PS is not an option but an ardent necessity for those who want to avoid a UMP-FN showdown.
