adminmonths before the presidential election.
For the first time since 1958, the right-dominated upper house in France swung to a left-wing majority in a major generational change of the guard.
Early results from the indirect results showed left-wing candidates took at least 23 seats from the ruling conservative party, securing them a narrow victory and an absolute majority. The shift to the left, which UMP Senate leader Gerard Larcher described as having ‘seismic’ consequences ahead of the election in April, drew howls of joy from supporters at a meeting in Paris.
Jean-Pierre Bel, head of the Socialist group in the Senate, told LCI television: ‘The 25th of September, 2011, will go down in history.
“The results of this Senate election represent a real comeuppance for the right.”
It follows a series of wins by Socialist candidates in local elections in the same regions where tens of thousands of municipal officials – empowered as so-called ‘super voters’ in the Senate poll – cast votes yesterday.
A left-leaning Senate will not be able to derail Sarkozy’s legislative plans, but the loss of a long-standing bastion for the right is a symbolic setback – especially with his persistently poor poll ratings.
Sarkozy has become slightly more popular in the past few months, but he remains one of the least well-liked president in post-war France and faces a tough battle for re-election. French voters are depressed about their economic prospects, unemployment remains stubbornly high and a European debt crisis has invited intensive scrutiny in the nation’s public finances.
The concerns have overshadowed Sarkozy’s foreign policy victories, notably the French role in the toppling of Colonel Gaddafi in Libya.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the result came from divisions in the ruling camp. “Today, the opposition has shown strong progress in the Senate, underscored by divisions in the ruling camp in several regions,” he said in a statement. “The moment of truth will come next spring. Tonight, the battle begins, and the results of this Senate election show us what sort of effort we will have to produce.’
Government spokesman Valerie Pecresse pointed out that the right retained a majority in the National Assembly. Sarkozy is expected to announce in November that he will run for a second term. – Daily Mail.
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