The activists have finally spoken. On Saturday September 25, the Republicans (LR) party organized a decisive congress, capable of writing the history of the coming months of the right wing formation. The executives have indeed questioned their members on the advisability of changing the statutes in order to choose the means of appointing their candidate for the presidential election of 2022. A question so delayed that it had become a subject of great concern in the corridors of the rue de Vaugirard, at the party headquarters. Time is in the emergency for LR while the pre-presidential campaign seems to be taking place without the right, eclipsed on its political territory by the active omnipresence of Emmanuel Macron on one side and the competition between Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour on the other.
The 80,000 members were therefore asked to decide between a primary semi-open to supporters and a decision in congress where they alone would have the choice of the candidate. No one wanted the 2016 version of the primary, which saw Alain Juppé, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Fillon compete in bitter verbal battles. On Saturday, members have therefore completely killed this possibility by opting for the designation of their candidate at a congress which will take place on December 4. A choice validated by 58% of members against 40.4% who wanted a semi-open primary.
“From now on, we can move forward serenely”
The candidates “Who share the values of the right and the center” can, officially, be as many as they wish to present themselves to this vote in congress, as long as they bring together 250 sponsorships from 30 different departments. Nothing therefore prevents the president of the Ile-de-France region Valérie Pécresse, the mayor of Garenne-Colombes Philippe Juvin, the deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes Eric Ciotti and the former European commissioner Michel Barnier, who were candidates for a eventual primary, to seek the support of their political family during the congress. In the wake of the results, all of them immediately confirmed their participation in this event. Already making a few at LR sneer who call this system a “Closed primary” .
Except that this time, Xavier Bertrand, the president of the Hauts-de-France region, candidate since April and who categorically refused any primary, should join in the dance. The senator of the Alpes-Maritimes Dominique Estrosi-Sassone, one of her spokespersons, has she not clarified the situation in LR strategic committee, by specifying the intention of her champion to participate in a congress ? He himself had let it be understood directly in front of the deputies in Nîmes during the parliamentary days of LR in early September. Xavier Bertrand, who still does not manage to widen the gap in the polls, can therefore reconnect with his former political party without denying himself. Running a presidential campaign without the finances and LR structures would indeed be very risky for Mr. Bertrand.
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