The fact that Christiane Taubira “considering“to run for president”is basically the symptom of a left that is unable to pull out of the game“, analyzes the political scientist and CNRS researcher at the Center for the Study of French Political Life (Cevipof) Bruno Cautrès this Saturday on franceinfo, the day after the declaration of the former Minister of Justice. Despite Christiane Taubira’s appeal to s ‘unite behind it, the political scientist believes that the union of the left “seems to have started very badly“.
franceinfo: What do you think of this declaration of intentions by Christiane Taubira?
Bruno Cautrès: I told myself that everything seemed to get more and more complicated on the left and that every week, maybe every day that passed, a rather confused situation was starting to set in. It is basically the symptom of a left which, in this presidential election, for the moment, does not manage to pull out of the game, does not manage to impose its agenda, does not manage to really impose its themes, which is moreover quite curious because a certain number of themes which the candidates of the left are carrying are real subjects of concern for the French. There is a curious gap between these subjects which are very important in the eyes of the French and a completely chaotic political situation.
Finally, according to you, what emerges from this declaration is not union but even more fragmentation?
At the end of this complication, there may be something that will come out, but the problem for the moment is that there is no consensus on the modus operandi of this union on the left. There are unitary projects for everyone, but these unitary projects, paradoxically, are very divergent. We can either have a unitary project around the popular primary, or around a common platform leading to a common candidacy, or in the form of withdrawal, but we see that there is no real agreement on the mode operative to achieve more unity of candidates on the left.
Do you think the other left-wing presidential candidates will unite behind her?
It seems to have started very badly because, given the voting intentions, no one really embodies the electoral leadership on the left at the moment. It goes from candidates who get around 4-5% of the voting intentions to candidates who are around 8-9%, so we’re fighting a bit in a pocket square. And then nobody embodies political leadership either. The themes around which the candidates revolve, democratic renewal from below, social justice, ecology, etc., are basically claimed by all the candidates even if the modalities to achieve social justice or ecology do not are not the same. The major themes are often quite common, so it is very difficult for voters to differentiate between candidates.
So why does Christiane Taubira think that the others could unite behind her?
It should not be excluded, among politicians, that there are a lot of convictions. Christiane Taubira undoubtedly believes that the left and the voters of the left need a message that tells them to get out of the ruts. She may also be convinced that she is, by her positioning and by what she represents on the left, a personality who can lead different candidates to line up behind her. It is true that Christiane Taubira, for many voters on the left, is an emblematic figure, an icon, who embodies the sincerity of the commitment, the convictions. She participated in the government under François Hollande but left it at one point. He is a political figure who represents an important capital on the left, at least with a certain left. She has a fairly significant form of really symbolic capital, so that’s probably what pushes her to make her statement.