France: Socialist Left factions in dire straits in Paris(major ongoing cat fight)

France24 ^ | 11/17/08

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'Socialist Left factions in dire straits in Paris'

'Grassroots militants pick Ségolène Royal - again'

France's opposition Socialists vote Thursday for a new leader after a fierce contest laid bare deep divisions and threatened to scuttle their chances of building a challenge to President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Former presidential candidate Segolene Royal is putting her political survival on the line as she squares off against rivals Martine Aubry, the architect of France's 35-hour work week, and leftist Euro-MP Benoit Hamon.

The vote by the party's 233,000 members -- which could head into a runoff on Friday -- comes on the heels of a party congress that ended in disarray at the weekend after delegates failed to agree on a consensus candidate.

The stakes are high for France's main opposition party.

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Aubry(left,) Royal(right)

Débâcle as women duel over French opposition

After a weekend playing statesman in Washington, President Sarkozy must be toasting the Socialist party today. France's main opposition group spent the past three days tearing itself to pieces over a new leader.

They gathered in Rheims, the champagne capital, to pick a chief and revive the party that was last relaunched by the late François Mitterrand in 1971. They failed and the upshot from the disastrous congress is a showdown by ballot next Thursday between two women who loath one-another: Ségolène Royal (above right) and Martine Aubry (left).

A third candidate, Benoît Hamon, a leftwing member of the European Parliament, remains in the race. He is a distant third, so it is likely that the party will come under the command of either Royal, 55, its failed presidential candidate last year, or Aubry, 58, who gave France its 35-hour working week when she was Labour Minister a decade ago.

The congress did achieve one thing. It ended the national ambitions of Bertrand Delanoe, the Paris Mayor, whom everyone was betting on until a couple of weeks ago. Whoever wins Thursday's vote -- or more likely a second round run-off on Friday -- the Socialists are set for long-term civil war. The differences between the Royalists and the orthodox camp are too great to heal soon.

For the moment, the betting is on Royal although most of the party elders hold her in contempt. They see her as incompetent and border-line insane with her evangelical, emotional discourse. She is known as Saint Ségo, Jeanne d'Arc or, more recently, la Sarah Palin du Parti Socialiste.

Royal's hectoring, poetic, self-dramatisation sends her detractors into a rage. Among them is François Hollande, the outgoing leader, father of her children and her partner until she hijacked the presidential candidacy in the autumn of 2006. Hollande said yesterday that he was ashamed of his party. Some, such as Michel Rocard, a veteran former Prime Minister, are threatening to leave the party if "the usurper" wins.

more ...

[TigerLikesRooster]

Left faction of French Socialist Party? That must be a real red faction.:-)

[Abathar]

"Royal's hectoring, poetic, self-dramatisation sends her detractors into a rage. Among them is François Hollande, the outgoing leader, father of her children and her partner until she hijacked the presidential candidacy in the autumn of 2006."

And here I thought the Clintons were unique to politics...

[TigerLikesRooster]

No, French have always been a light year ahead on this kind of thing. Clintons are trailer-trash/mad-harridan variation on the theme of power-hungry couples’ dysfunctional love life.

[Abathar]

Very true, choosing a spouse/partner with the same ambitions and goals as you have when it comes to cutthroat politics is not a recipe for a happy marriage.

In any environment your biggest competitor is always the same species, politics is no different I guess.

[winodog]

Have you heard of Max Keiser? He is a Paris talking head, I believe and he has been saying some interesting things lately. Mostly about Goldman sachs being monsters and how they (and others) have ripped off the rest of the world, depression coming, America lost its Liberty, etc.

I ask because I am wondering if he is real big around the world or if he just another small time talking head.

[4rcane]

when you have a right wing party trashing capitalism, theres not much difference between the left and right wing party in france

[TigerLikesRooster]

Haven't heard about him. Maybe he is popular in Europe.