Jean in tough spot

EX GOVERNOR GENERAL AWAITS LA FRANCOPHONIE VOTE

The contest between Michaelle Jean and Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo for la Francophonie’s top post goes far beyond the spending questions that have plagued the former Canadian governor general.

Several observers believe Jean has only the faintest of hopes of being chosen for a second mandate when the organization of Frenchspeaking nations chooses a new secretary general this week in Armenia.

But Jean, who has been in the role since 2014, has no intention of giving up, according to her spokesman.

“I confirm she’ll be there until the end and probably beyond,” Bertin Leblanc said in an email.

Over the past few months, Jean has vigorously defended her record, lambasted what she called the “smear campaigns, disinformation and defamation” from members of the media who accused her of excessive spending, and promised to modernize the multilateral organization’s administrative practices.

But in Mushikiwabo, she’s facing a candidate whose lead increasingly seems insurmountable. The Rwandan minister enjoys the support of France as well as the all-important African Union.

But beyond that, there are also a number of geopolitical factors that are increasingly lined up against Canada’s former governor general, experts say.

“(French President) Emmanuel Macron wants to re-centre, reposition France within la Francophonie, and he sees a Francophonie that is much more about the cultural promotion of French and learning French, while Michaelle Jean and others see a more politicized role,” said Martin Normand, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Ottawa.