The time for discussions has not yet come.
While the UDI must hold its national council on November 27 to nominate its presidential candidate, the party president, Jean-Christophe Lagarde, proposed to the candidates running for the Congress of Republicans to hear them.
In a letter obtained from
Le Figaro
, Michel Barnier however indicated that he wanted "
first
" to submit to the vote of the members of his political family, before discussing a possible "
rally
".
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It is because "
this trust with the members is the very basis of all political action
" that Michel Barnier wants to favor his participation in the LR congress, scheduled for December 1 to 4. LR before UDI, in short. According to the candidate, it is a question of acting "
by fidelity
" and "
respect
" to his "
commitments
", as well as to "
the procedure defined
" by his party. The former Brexit negotiator will therefore not participate in the hearings organized by the UDI.
The gathering is not excluded, however.
Although the format chosen by the militants has ruled out the option of the open primary, in which the centrist formations could have participated, Michel Barnier recalled his "
determination to create a dynamic
" around his candidacy if he is elected.
"
Your political movement naturally has its place in this gathering,
" he wrote again.
A position shared by Éric Ciotti
For this, he therefore undertakes, in the event of victory on December 4, to “do
everything possible
”, in a “
second step
”, to “
quickly have a constructive exchange with the UDI
”.
"
I undertake that the discussion of an alliance with the UDI can be done as soon as possible after the vote of the Congress of Republicans, in close liaison with the Presidency and the authorities of my party
", specifies the pretender .
Read alsoThe centrists, excluded from the LR congress, at the heart of the discussions
A position shared publicly, at the end of the afternoon, by Éric Ciotti.
The deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes thus said he was "
sensitive
" to the approach of Jean-Christophe Lagarde, but refuses "
at this stage to seek at the same time the support of another political family
", which, "
well that friend, does not share the same ideological corpus nor the same political project for France
”.
If he is elected, Eric Ciotti will however be “
happy to come and share (s) his vision
” in front of the UDI.
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