Presidential: soon the end for Christiane Taubira?


A week before the closing of sponsorships, Christiane Taubira has only 104 signatures collected out of 500, and sees her chances of continuing the presidential adventure, which began a little over a month ago, diminishing. She had declared herself late, on January 15th.

His campaign never took off

His team ensured that the ex-Keeper of the Seals, victorious of the citizens’ initiative of the Popular Primary at the end of January, would quickly manage to unite the left, deeply fractured, to compete with Emmanuel Macron, the right and the extreme right, for a place in the second round.

But his campaign never took off and the other left-wing candidates, who refused the popular primary, immediately rejected his rallying efforts. Fallen between 2 and 3% in the voting intentions, Christiane Taubira persists and continues her campaign: meeting with young people on Tuesday, symposium at La Sorbonne in front of students on Wednesday, public meeting in Rennes on Sunday.

A trip planned for Thursday in the Gard was canceled after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia overnight, the candidate participating in a rally in front of the Russian embassy Thursday noon with the union of Ukrainian students in France. “This campaign has its meaning, around the major issues it has highlighted: youth, democratic expression and the fight against the far right”, defends Christian Paul, former socialist deputy and close to the candidate.

But “I can see that there is a hurdle to cross”. “The only solution is to redouble your efforts”, he assures, explaining that the “sponsorship hotline has been strengthened, with 150 people who + phoning + or go to see elected officials”.

He does not want to talk about after March 4, the deadline for collecting 500 sponsorships. “The question is not there. The question is to be able to peacefully campaign,” he asserts. “The difficulty comes from a disunited left, which is damaged instead of rebuilding itself”, regretting that “everyone hit Christiane Taubira” on the left.

The fault also according to him to the Radical Left Party, which withdrew from the campaign on February 14, evaporating its network of 170 promises of signatures and its financial support.

Guillaume Lacroix, the president of the PRG, justified this reversal by the fact that Ms. Taubira “came out of the candidate scheme of the left rally, to turn to a candidate scheme of popular legitimacy”. But “the mandate of the PRG was based on a process of unification”.

“She wasn’t ready”

Christian Paul accuses the Socialist Party of being maneuvering. “I would never have imagined how the team of Anne Hidalgo and part of the PS would act to block sponsorships”, he asserts, despite the denials of the First Secretary of the PS Olivier Faure and Guillaume Lacroix.

But in the candidate’s team, some believe that she should have already stopped. “It was a lightning operation assumed, which should not have continued, in the absence of dynamics”, says a relative of Ms. Taubira. Within the popular primary, the mobilization is not enthusiastic either, some having refused to support it unconditionally, accusing it of a lack of effort to unite.

The candidate, who has long played serenity, had to launch a call for help from elected officials on Monday to obtain sponsorship. But many consider it impossible for it to reach 500 signatures. “I don’t see how she can continue,” explains an insubordinate France executive.

“She is not presidential”

“There is a big difference between the polls and the popular primary. She is not presidential”, considers another left-wing observer, disappointed: “she is more inspiring to be acclaimed at the Zenith with Gaël Faye”, singer for who she wrote a song and who had invited her on stage in November 2021.

For him, Christiane Taubira “was not ready, those around him were not ready and did not have the right motivations. Above all, they wanted to kill the PS”. “We let her believe that by the miracle effect of the oracle, she was going to win everything. Now, to come out on top, she can only accuse the old parties”, regrets a socialist executive.

“What shot her down was her failed performance at the Abbé Pierre Foundation” on poor housing, adds another socialist. But “she deserves better than what is reserved for her today. She is expensive”.



Source link -74