Contrary to what Nicolas Sarkozy hoped, there will be no agreement between the Republicans and the presidential majority in view of the legislative elections.
Despite the disappointment of the presidential election, where their candidate had collected barely 4.7% of the votes, Republicans refuse to make an agreement with the presidential majority for the legislative elections.
About sixty parliamentarians from the party met yesterday, Monday, April 25, to discuss the issue of possible defections to the presidential majority or even to parties ranked even further to the right on the political scale.
The question has been settled, according to the president of LR, Christian Jacob: “There is no double membership. We can’t be the Republicans and presidential majority, we can’t be the Republicans and Reconquest!, we can’t be Republicans and Horizons. We are Republicans. We are independent.”
He adds that those who join the government, like Edouard Philippe or Bruno Le Maire in 2017, will be excluded from the party. “The commitment that our candidates will sign is that of sitting in a totally independent group, which is in no way in the presidential majority, and even less with the extremes”.
Slingers?
Despite this uncompromising speech, some party executives like Damien Abad or even Jean-François Copé multiplied what seemed to be appeals to the presidential majorityin their public speaking.
A few weeks ago, former President Nicolas Sarkozy even considered negotiating an agreement with Emmanuel Macron in view of the legislative elections. “It is our political survival that is at stake”, he would have even launched during a lunch. In the end, nothing will happen.
Other weaknesses remain. To ensure that this guideline desired by Christian Jacob is followed during the campaign for these legislative elections, an agreement was signed by the party almost unanimously, except for Damien Abad and the former MEP Philippe Juvin, who abstained.