The former socialist president pleads for a rally limited to environmentalists and communists, excluding any rapprochement with the rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
The 21.95% obtained by Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round of the presidential election prompted many leaders on the left to review their opinion of the rebellious leader. From “complacent with dictators” and in particular Vladimir Poutine, the rebellious leader has become frequentable for the socialist and environmentalist directions who are working (with more or less difficulty) on an agreement for the legislative elections. François Hollande, he does not seem to have moved one iota on the deputy of Bouches-du-Rhône. Guest of France info this Thursday, the former President of the Republic recalled – without quoting him too much – that he was still not a fan of his former comrade. Above all, the former first secretary of the PS explained all the harm he thought of the rally project being negotiated between rebels and socialists.
For Hollande, the discussions between the PS and LFI would lead, squarely to “a disappearance of the Socialist Party”. “If I have followed correctly, the electoral agreement is to say ‘we start from the results of the presidential election’ and for the first time in the history of the left there will be no more plural candidacies, there will be single nominations from the People’s Union. Which would mean in three-quarters of the constituencies in France, there will no longer be any socialist candidates in the first round. […] never in the history of the left, we had this kind of behavior”he develops.
? Alliance on the left ➡️ “The Socialist Party must be faithful to its own history, not to my record. This history is that of the relationships within the left. The PS has always wanted union. Discussing is necessary. Disappearing is impossible”, for François Hollande. pic.twitter.com/ZqMDYfLiBH
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) April 28, 2022
“We know that the project is not credible”
Beyond the question of distribution of constituencies, the former boss of the PS also has a problem with the program of the rebellious. Especially on Europe or diplomacy. “Would that mean that the next government, if it were formed and if it had a majority, would be led to question the European treaties? To disobey? To leave NATO? To no longer help the Ukrainians by providing them with military equipment”, Holland list. For the socialist, Mélenchon remains the representative of a “radical left whose project we know is not credible”.
Moreover, the former mayor of Tulle (Corrèze) “think that this agreement will not be accepted”. “It is electorally unacceptablehe assures. It calls into question the foundations of socialist commitment.. If however, the PS were to top, “it is that he will have decided to disappear”, insists Holland. Its leaders, not its activists, he takes care to specify. The former boss of the roses pleads for “another gathering”, with ecologists and communists only. Like in the good old days of the plural left. Undoubtedly, the former president does not appreciate the many rebellious criticisms of his five-year term. At LFI, we are also clearly asking the Socialists to break with the balance sheet of François Hollande so that the negotiations in progress succeed.
“Fault of Embodiment”
The speech of François Hollande comes a fortnight after the worst score in the history of the Socialists in the presidential election 1.75% under the leadership of Anne Hidalgo. “I necessarily have a share of responsibility when I led France and I did not represent myself, I think there are necessarily consequences”, he concedes. However, he also notes “that for five years, work should have been done by the PS, and has not been done”. “There was a lack of incarnation”he continues, targeting without naming him the current first secretary of the PS, Olivier Faure.
For the future, the former president pleads – surprise – for a change of direction and calls on local elected officials to take the controls. “With the help of the most experienced”, he takes care to specify. Obviously, Holland is counted in this category. “I will help as much as possible”, he pretends to say. And for the moment, Hollande refuses to be clear about his candidacy for the legislative elections. In a pirouette, his trademark, he dares to make a single confession: “Being a candidate for the Popular Union, that, I exclude”.