Regional candidates in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes © Antoine Merlet © AFP © Maxppp
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The regional elections, which should be held in June if the health context allows it, will present a cast up to the stakes, i.e. the presidency of a community which has a budget of 4 billion euros and economic skills to the hour when the crisis threatens. Laurent Wauquiez, the outgoing president, advances as a big favorite, his record slung over his shoulder. He could also take advantage of the divisions of the left which hinder the return of Najat Vallaud-Belkacem.
In 2015, the regional elections had recorded the birth of a new region by marrying Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes and the appearance of Laurent Wauquiez in the political life of Lyon. He quickly became one of its essential characters. His mandate was punctuated by controversies and political biases which split and awakened the Region. At the Confluence region hotel, he multiplied the announcements, the plans to several hundred million euros and put forward a rigorous financial management: a billion euros in savings over the duration of the mandate. Laurent Wauquiez has also awarded himself the title of the best managed region in France and sings this tune to satiety. In 2015, he campaigned on this promise. Six years later, he will surf on this aspect of his balance sheet. His opponents will suggest another reading. In stereo, the left-wing lists hammer home that these savings are above all budget cuts, especially in the vocational training sector.
2022 in the lead
As in 2015, the electoral campaign which opens will largely revolve around the personality of Laurent Wauquiez. The cast is now almost complete. Socialist Najat Vallaud-Belkacem has put an end to the false suspense surrounding her candidacy in mid-March. After a three-year hiatus, she returned to the political arena. If the socialist activists were impatiently awaiting her return, the other left-wing formations (EÉLV, the PCF and the Insoumis) are reluctant to make common cause with her. Under the terms of often fruitless negotiations, the left is preparing to leave in dispersed order. “They will want to quickly crystallize their electorate and show that they are more to the left than the others. They will scramble their messages. Their only objective will be to get the best score on the left in the first round ”, note, confident, a cadre of Republicans. Laurent Wauquiez is already the central character of a campaign in which he has not yet launched officially, also maintaining a false suspense. “We really don’t have the head for that. We are in the process of finalizing the State-Region plan contracts, we are working on the mountain plan and the health and economic consequences of Covid-19 ”, one explains in his entourage. “He is in a permanent electoral campaign”, denounce his opponents. The greatest uncertainty ultimately revolves around the holding of the poll. Initially scheduled for March 2021, the elections were postponed to June due to the health context. The campaign has barely started when three regions (Île-de-France, Hauts de France and PACA) are living almost entirely under the confinement regime. Threats of postponement therefore hover again over the regional ballot. A decision will be taken in early April.
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