They are five to aspire to be the champion of the right in the presidential election. But Philippe Juvin seems far in the competition, away from the duels that prevail over the televised debates and militant meetings.
“There are actually two internal duels, and the first is the rivalry between Xavier Bertrand and Valérie Pécresse”, analyzes a deputy LR. If they themselves resumed their card in the context of the congress, the two region presidents have a similar profile: both left the party when Laurent Wauquiez chaired it, Xavier Bertrand in December 2017, Valérie Pécresse in June 2019.
In front of the executives, Xavier Bertrand addressed the criticism head-on: “Yes, Bertrand is gone (…). I made this choice but I never wanted to make my association La Manufacture a political party so as not to compete with Les Républicains. “ One way to stand out from the second which had structured its own party, “Free! “. In return, Valérie Pécresse shot an arrow in the direction of the favorite in the polls, citing Jacques Chirac: “Polls come and go, it’s like a dog’s tail. “
In this first match, one of the strengths of the Northerner is to be, on form, the most comfortable in contact with members, microphone in hand. That of the Ile-de-France: the meaning of its shocking formulas. Basically, it assumes a “Frank rupture” and remains the closest to the liberal program of François Fillon in 2017. While its competitor takes care of a popular and social image.
“The second duel is the arbitration on partisan loyalty between Michel Barnier and Éric Ciotti ”, continues MP LR, a fine connoisseur of internal movements. Saturday, November 20, in front of party officials, the second paid tribute “To Laurent Wauquiez who resisted the blasters from the outside and the censors from the outside, who suffered the vindictiveness of those who found him too on the right and especially not enough macronist”. Like him, the Southerner refused to vote in favor of Emmanuel Macron against Marine Le Pen, in the second round of the 2017 presidential election. Eric Ciotti’s advantage in addressing this militant hard core is his project « radical », with this exhortation: “Vote for your ideas!»
“I have never been one of those who judged Laurent Wauquiez too right on immigration”, similarly advanced Michel Barnier. In this second match, the Savoyard’s main asset is his personal stature as a former foreign minister, European commissioner and then chief Brexit negotiator. “Yes, I will be a serious, very serious president, because the presidency of the Republic is something very serious”, he claimed, his nose in his notes. The national advisers did not however spare it, supporting the contradiction between its commitments of yesterday and its criticism of today of the European construction.
The thing seemed understood: Michel Barnier will face in the second round either Xavier Bertrand or Valérie Pécresse. A little music nevertheless begins to rise: the energy of these last two and the vagueness of the first on several points of his project could come to thwart the initial scenario. “This election is a black box, we do not know what will come out of it”, insists an observer. A balance of power that the hearing of the candidates by the national council has still not made it possible to clarify.
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