Few takers as French Socialists seek a savior

PARIS: Wanted: A dynamic leader for France’s historic Socialist Party, able to rebuild the brand after a year of watching the political ground crumble beneath its feet. Candidates: Not many. The fact that few Socialists can agree on who might be placed to unite a scattered left just eight months after the party held the presidency under Francois Hollande, has many wondering if the task is even possible.

The leadership doubts come hot on the heels of the forced sale of the party’s opulent Paris headquarters for 46 million euros ($55 million) and layoffs for more than half its 100 staff members. This week Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, education minister in ex-president Hollande’s abysmally unpopular government, announced she wouldn’t run for party chief, saying “there are other ways to make yourself useful”.

Her decision turned all eyes toward Olivier Faure, 49, head of the 31 lawmakers-down from 277 - who remain in parliament after Emmanuel Macron’s centrist upstarts smashed their way to power last year. The Socialists have been rudderless since Hollande’s decision not to risk standing for a second term in the face of historically low approval ratings. That opened a rift in the once powerful party of such leftist titans as Francois Mitterand, which newcomer Macron capitalized on in his sprint to the presidency.

Faure has so far kept his cards close as party apparatchiks around him have splintered into different groups. His associates indicate a decision to seek the party leadership could come Tuesday, now that the path appears clear. “He has kept his balance perfectly at the centre of the party,” a party source said. —AFP