The mayor LR of Antibes Jean Leonetti, who will present his tracks to the Republicans on Tuesday to decide between the presidential candidates, pleaded for an open primary of the right and the center, in an interview with the Sunday Newspaper. “We must find a system” to “decide” the potential candidates and this selection “can only be open,” said Jean Leonetti. Because “if we decided to question our only LR activists, how could we ask Valérie Pécresse, Xavier Bertrand or our centrist friends to participate? ”, He added, while the direction of LR is reluctant to any primary, synonymous according to it of divisions, and hopes the emergence of a natural candidate.
For Jean Leonetti this time “the tie-breaker must not give rise to a negative competition”: it is necessary that the winner “does not exclude the others and that all ultimately form a team” to carry “together” the presidential project. To the question of a possible participation of Eric Zemmour, Jean Leonetti assured that “can be candidates only the personalities of our family of thought of the right and the center validated by a system of sponsorships”. In addition, “the number of candidates must remain reasonable”.
A “friendly and constructive dialogue” with Xavier Bertrand
According to an Ifop poll published by the JDD, 46% of those polled believe that Xavier Bertrand “would make a good candidate” for the right for 2022, followed by Valérie Pécresse (42%), François Baroin (38%), Laurent Wauquiez (35%) and Michel Barnier (32%) . Bruno Retailleau is at 18%. “In politics, it is not because we leave a little early that we cannot be caught up”, warned Jean Leonetti, noting a “friendly and constructive dialogue” with Xavier Bertrand , who refuses to submit to a tie-breaker.
While some urge LR management to accelerate its schedule, which provides for a nomination of the candidate in November, Jean Leonetti estimated that “if from next Tuesday, we act on the principles of a selection process”, then “we will be within a reasonable and efficient timeframe ”. As for the survey of 15,000 people to be launched by LR at the start of the school year, Jean Leonetti explained that it would serve to “shed light on the debate” but could not “replace the selection procedure”.