One of France’s dullest politicians is now odds-on to take up residence in the
Élysée Palace next year. François Hollande, the former leader of the French Socialists, has emerged on top in a competition to take on Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency.
Six contestants vied for the Socialist nomination, including Ségolène Royal, Hollande’s former partner who lost to Sarkozy in 2007. In the first round of the primaries yesterday, Hollande finished first ahead of current Socialist leader Martine Aubry. Here are the results based on 82 per cent of the votes cast:
The two will now face each other in a second round on Sunday, with Hollande the clear favourite.
Policy-wise, the differences between Hollande and Aubry seem small. They have both signed on to promote “The Change”, which mixes Keynsian stimulus — including the creation of a public investment bank, the construction of 150,000 public-housing units, and changes in taxes on companies — with market-reassuring measures such as cutting the budget deficit to below 3 per cent of GDP by the end of 2013.
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