Primary left: turnovers Valls and Cambadélis – L’Express

The art of the opposite view. In an interview with JDD , Manuel Valls defends the interests of the primary left, while the PS National Council on Saturday approved unanimously a resolution in favor of the organization of the elections end of January 2017. “the primary corresponds to a need democratic participation in our society,” said the Prime Minister.

“The PS hears rightly gather the left during this primary, the reformist left, socialist, environmentalist, radical, that is to say, the Beautiful People’s Alliance for it is to be in the second round, “said Manuel Valls.

In March, Valls said he was “very suspicious”

So far, the Prime Minister had however rejected the idea of ​​a primary. On January 16, during his time on the show “We are not lying” on France 2, he considered that François Hollande was “the natural candidate of the left” and “the outgoing President of the Republic n did not have to submit to a primary. ”

On March 15, on BFM TV and RMC, Manuel Valls had again expressed his reservations on the issue of the primary. The Prime Minister said he was indeed “very suspicious of all these initiatives, which consist basically to get us back to another Republic,” as had spotted The Lab .

Now in JDD on Sunday June 19, he sees no devaluation of the office of President that the outgoing head of state descend into the arena . “What is it demeaning to go back to the French, to defend his ideas, to explain his action? That is democracy!” justifies the former candidate for the primary PS 2011.

Cambadélis The changes depending on the political context

If Manuel Valls has evolved over the subject, Jean-Christophe Cambadélis has even more clearly changed his mind. In September 2015, in an interview with Libération , the first secretary of the PS categorically rejected the idea of ​​a primary. “We can not want to fight against the fragmentation and organize its members before the presidential election,” he argued. It was, indeed, on the eve of the launch of the regional campaign.

In January, several personalities from left, as Thomas Piketty, launched an appeal in Libération for a “large primary left and environmentalists.” The position of Jean-Christophe Cambadélis then evolved. In an interview with JDD paid in February, the Socialist deputy for Paris believed that “if this primary (organized) without, or prejudice (and) to select the best candidate from the left, c is a good idea and it must be organized. ”

A tactical shift: strategist and good analyst of the political situation, Jean-Christophe Cambadélis quickly understands that environmentalists and communists, though initially supported a primary left, will be divided on the issue few months of their respective conference, which took place in early June. What to allow the rue de Solferino to blame for the failure without much expense in EELV and the PCF. By April, Jean-Christophe Cambadélis felt indeed that the PCF “took responsibility for the division” and that the primary “had the lead in the wing.”