The presidential campaign barely ended when that of the legislative elections got off to a strong start, around possible alliances between the political parties. On the left, the question takes up all the space and the negotiations have begun. What can we expect?
La France insoumise, rallying party
La France insoumise, from the top of its 22% in the first round of the presidential election, and although it did not manage to qualify for the second round, does not seem to want to leave the choice to the other leftist formations: l alliance will be made around her. Jean-Luc Mélenchon even imagines a destiny as Prime Minister, if the voters allow him to impose cohabitation on Emmanuel Macron.
The logic is obviously to see the Insoumis take the reins in front of the other parties. They also specified that if the alliance is made, their far-left program, baptized the Common Future, will be the basis of its policy. Similarly, they want the distribution of nominations to be made according to the score obtained by each in the presidential election. The greens having made 4.6%, the Communists 2.3% and the Socialists 1.75%, LFI will have plenty of time to impose its candidates, to hope to obtain more than the 17 seats of 2017.
However, who says alliance says negotiation. Even in a hegemonic position, they will not be able to impose all their ideas on their associates. Enough to make some teeth cringe in their ranks, especially on the side of the most radical executives and activists. “It will be a bet… I know that it can cost us”, admitted Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Europe Ecology-The Greens divided
Environmentalists are divided about an alliance with LFI. The current represented by Eric Piolle and Sandrine Rousseau is undeniably “Mélenchon-compatible”. The mayor of Grenoble even speaks of a “humanist arc”, which the losing presidential candidate could “structure”. The Génération.s party, a member of the green pole, also spoke out for a rally behind the leader Insoumis.
However, another current, represented by Yannick Jadot, is much less favorable to this agreement. He would prefer to get closer to the socialists, in order to form “a powerful ecological, social and republican bloc”. He said that “it will not work” if it was done behind Jean-Luc Mélenchon. “If at some point this coalition does not respect the diversity and identity of its partners, (…) it will be without me,” said the man who won his camp’s primary for the presidential election.
Moreover, in the event of an agreement on the conditions of La France insoumise, the risk for EELV would be to see its number of nominations drastically reduced (depending on the score in the presidential election). It would then be difficult for him to obtain deputies stamped “green” in the National Assembly.
This is why Julien Bayou, boss of EELV, indicated that he wanted a “coalition” between the various left-wing parties, rather than a federation under the same banner. He denounced the “hegemonic will” of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, asking for a “representation of each”, which is “fair”.
The Communist Party agrees
The Communists very quickly let it be known that they agreed to line up behind LFI. Presidential candidate Fabien Roussel called for a “global agreement” on the evening of the first round. The PCF, however, also recalled that it wanted a coalition, because its goal is to “have a parliamentary group, not to sit with LFI”, according to Ian Brossat.
The negotiations should make it possible to find points of agreement on certain divisive subjects, such as nuclear power.
The Socialist Party finally part?
While LFI had initially implied that the Socialist Party was automatically sidelined, things finally changed. The will of its First Secretary, Olivier Faure, meant that discussions began to take place. It emerged that nothing “insurmountable” divides the two camps. Negotiations will therefore continue.
It must be said that the PS is largely in a weak position, after the slap suffered during the presidential election (1.75%). Already reduced to 30 deputies in 2017, the socialist group in the National Assembly could crumble dangerously. Joining forces with the rest of the left could therefore make it possible to keep a small role in the political game, even if it looks small.
Still, some PS executives have announced that they refuse to merge into the alliance proposed by the Insoumis. This is the case, for example, of Carole Delga, president of the Occitanie region, or Jean-Christophe Cambadélis. The latter even claimed that it would be a “surrender”. According to him, the lefts are not fungible and the socialists should rather dissolve to better rebuild themselves.
And the NPA?
La France insoumise also invited the NPA (New Anti-Capitalist Party), represented in the presidential election by Philippe Poutou. The latter indicated that he accepted the invitation to discuss, congratulating this initiative. The executive committee of the NPA defends the idea of a common candidacy, “with the possibility of finding mediations, balances, compromises, around a dynamic transcending the logics of the apparatus by allowing our different political positions to be represented”.
The public funding of parties, a crucial issue in legislative elections
While the question of alliances obviously has ideological and political implications, it is also of paramount financial importance. Indeed, the public funding of political life is essentially played out during the legislative elections. As soon as a party obtains at least 1% of the votes in 50 constituencies, it receives 1.42 euros per vote each year, for five years.
For each of them, presenting at least 50 candidates therefore seems to be a matter of financial survival. Especially since for each deputies obtained, the State pays 37,000 euros per year to his party. What also understand the importance of negotiations concerning the number of nominations granted to each, and the place where they are (constituencies are easier to win for the left than others).