Primaire or not Primaire?

Since few weeks, inside of the French Left, we have a debate about the opportunity to choose our candidate thanks to a system of Primary, hugely open to the citizens. This idea wins a lot of supports after the success of the Italian Primaries when more than 4 millions of Italians chose Prodi as a leader of the Left coalition. Obviously, it create a dynamic in favour of the candidate chosen like this.

In France, the Socialist Party will choose its candidate thanks to a vote open to all the party members. So two questions: is it possible to enlarge this vote to choose or candidate, or even better to have a primary inside all the Left. There are lots of opposition. The Parti Communiste, the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire already opposed this idea. The Greens also want to have a candidate. The real problem in France is the electoral system, too much focused on the Presidential Elections. If you don't have a candidate to this election, you don't exist politically. That's why partly explained the division of the Left at the last presidential elections with the results well known (No left candidate at all, at the second round). There is also a lot of opposition inside the party. If we accept a system of primary, we also have to accept to make a common project with all the other left forces. Not a socialist project supported by the left but a left project made by all the Left. Other very bad argument: it is not possible to imagine a socialist loosing against a green or a communist. But if a socialist is not able to win against a green or a communist, for sure, he will not be able to president of the Republique.

So lots of problem, but for me one of the only way to have a united left and win the next presidential elections. Let's see!

An article of Libération on opinions inside PS about the 'primaires'

"Une primaire pour la victoire" an article of Henri Emmanuelli in Libération

The call of "Le Nouvel Observateur" for primaries inside the left.