Wednesday, April 25, 2007

And Then There Were Three

François Bayrou just wrapped up an hour long press conference during which he announced that he would not give an endorsement for the second round, but left the door open to changing his mind by stating that he would take into consideration any evolution in either of the other two candidates' positions between now and May 6. He also announced the formation of a new political party, tentatively named the Democrat Party, with which he intended to run parliamentary candidates in every legislative district, thereby ruling out for the time being any notion of joining a formal governing alliance with either candidate.

In "liberating" his voters, Bayrou made mention of his political principles, but also of his misgivings with both Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal. Of the two, the portrait he drew of the former was by far the less flattering, describing Sarkozy's close contacts in media and finance as a menace to democracy, and his "taste for intimidation and threats" as a risk for the already fraying social fabric. Of Royal, he expressed more comfort with her social policies and governing style, but repeatedly underlined their differences in economic policy. He later referred to his "sharp" (ie. personal) misgivings over Sarkozy, compared to his "chronic" (ie. policy) misgivings over Royal.

When asked if he had made a personal decision as to who he would vote for, Bayrou cleverly responded that he had a pretty clear idea of what he would not do, but was not yet sure what he would do, a formulation he referred back to later with the added remark that a moment of reflection ought to make clear what he was trying to convey.

My reading of his remarks is that he's very clearly closing the door on any possible alliance with Sarkozy, whereas he would entertain a semi-autonomous coalition with Royal based on how much she was willing to modify her economic platform. He accepted her invitation to debate their respective programs, and expressed an openness to do the same with Sarkozy should he extend an invitation.

So while both Sarkozy and Royal expressed pleasure last Sunday to find the race clarified into a classic right-left faceoff, Bayrou made it clear that he has no intention of going anywhere. To the contrary, with his new party and repeated assertion that the results of this past Sunday confirmed the arrival of a third political force, he seems to have every intention of sticking around.

Posted by Judah in:  La Presidentielle   

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