Republicans at choice time

A few hours before the Republican Congress, a thick fog still surrounds the results.

Who will be the two finalists designated by the first ballot of the LR Congress?

The answer will be known Thursday afternoon, after an electronic vote open to the 139,918 members validated by the control body.

Behind the conquering enthusiasm displayed in the home stretch of this internal campaign, the teams of the five candidates nevertheless remained very cautious before the fourth televised debate, Tuesday evening on France 2 and Franceinfo.

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This last debate was to begin almost at the same time as the declaration of candidacy of Eric Zemmour which was to be announced Tuesday evening also to the JT of the competing channel, TF1. This concomitance could not be perceived by The Republicans as the fruit of chance. As soon as Zemmour's irruption was confirmed, the reactions were quick. Damien Abad, president of the LR deputies, underlined the stake of the presidential election for which the profile of the

” should “

”.

,

added the deputy for Ain, citing de Gaulle.

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Focused on the deadline of December 4, the decisive day of the second round of congress, the right LR had launched its internal campaign by rejoicing in being able to shed light on its candidates and its proposals. On the eve of the first ballot on Tuesday, none of the five personalities involved in the competition had given the impression of having crushed the match. And finally, after weeks of public meetings, debates and a national council, it was very difficult to predict a trend, or even the order of arrival of the five competitors. If Michel Barnier, Xavier Bertrand, Éric Ciotti, Philippe Juvin and Valérie Pécresse each highlighted their project and their style, the competition above all revealed a notable difference in tone with the 2016 primary. This time,the participants launched into the battle by openly sharing a double objective: to privilege the unity of the right and to make the rally a weapon for the presidential election.

Do not damage each other

Put to the credit of Christian Jacob, this "

" made it possible to avoid the risk of divisions, which had undermined the party, five years ago, during a primary shock opposing Alain Juppé, François Fillon and Nicolas Sarkozy.

On the eve of the first round of Congress, the President of the Republicans (who will turn 62 on December 4, the day of the second round) is pleased with the progress made by his party.

“

”he promises supporters, publishing the still fresh image of the 5 LR candidates gathered at his side, in Colombey-les-Deux- Churches.

The promise of a

united “

”, ready to take up the challenge of a return to power, was expressed several times during the campaign.

Undoubtedly, this was a way of recognizing that the Republicans did not have a political size powerful enough within them to campaign on a single name.

But this strategy also had the advantage of drawing up a political offer of alternation in the face of the “

” so often criticized by candidate president Macron.

Campaign promise

The presidential campaign will soon say whether the figure chosen by The Republicans will succeed in cultivating the unity displayed during the Congress as a force. Obviously, the elected of December 4 will have to be able to overcome the probable resentment after the internal election, confirm his political space in the opinion polls and contain the temptation of the Zemmour vote. But everything suggests that the responsibility with which the five candidates took care not to damage each other during this closed primary can bear fruit. Many on the right want to believe that this campaign promise will consolidate the strong desire for victory, observed in all the meetings of the right for several weeks. This good state of mind and the same perception of the country's emergencies did not prevent us from offering quality debates,even if these were too often judged to focus on security and immigration.

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In the end, it should be remembered above all that the convergences of the candidates of the right turned out to be more visible than their divergences.

And besides, this observation echoes the slogan hammered out for months by President Jacob: "

."

It is up to the final winner of the LR congress to shine as the conductor of this rally from the first day of his election to wear the colors of the right in 2022. It will be Saturday.