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Sarkozy Elected Leader of French Center-Right Party
In Comeback Stride, Sarkozy Wins French Party Leadership
(about 2 hours later)
PARIS — Former President Nicolas Sarkozy was elected as the leader of his center-right party on Saturday evening in a widely expected victory that could serve as a steppingstone for his 2017 bid to become president of France again.
PARIS — Former President Nicolas Sarkozy was elected as the leader of his center-right party on Saturday evening in a widely expected victory that could serve as a steppingstone for his 2017 bid to become president of France again.
Mr. Sarkozy, a charismatic yet divisive figure, lost to François Hollande, the current Socialist president, in the 2012 election.
Mr. Sarkozy lost to François Hollande, the current Socialist president, in the 2012 general election.
While Mr. Sarkozy has remained in favor with the rank and file of his party, the Union for a Popular Movement, his political comeback earlier this fall has not swayed the wider French electorate, despite the inability of the governing Socialists to fix the economy, which is struggling with record unemployment, and Mr. Hollande’s profound unpopularity.
While Mr. Sarkozy has retained the favor of the rank and file of his party, the Union for a Popular Movement, his comeback this fall has not swayed the wider French electorate, despite Mr. Hollande’s unpopularity and the inability of the governing Socialists to fix the economy.
Anne Levade, an electoral official with the Union for a Popular Movement, known as the U.M.P. for the initials of its name in French, announced the preliminary results at the party’s headquarters in Paris late Saturday evening.
The preliminary results were announced late Saturday at the headquarters of the party, known as the U.M.P. for the initials of its name in French. With 64.5 percent of the vote, Mr. Sarkozy pulled far ahead of the two other candidates, Bruno Le Maire and Hervé Mariton, U.M.P. representatives in the National Assembly, France’s lower house of Parliament. Mr. Le Maire won about 29.2 percent of the vote, and Mr. Mariton about 6.3 percent.
With 64.5 percent of the vote, Mr. Sarkozy pulled far ahead of the two other candidates, Bruno Le Maire and Hervé Mariton, both U.M.P. representatives in the National Assembly, France’s lower house of Parliament. Mr. Le Maire won about 29.2 percent of the vote, and Mr. Mariton about 6.3 percent.
Mr. Sarkozy presided over the U.M.P. from 2004 to 2007, the year he was elected president of France. But using the party as a launching pad for a presidential bid will be harder this time.
Mr. Sarkozy thanked his supporters on Facebook shortly after the results were announced. “This vote marks a new start for our political family,” he wrote in French. “It commits me, and it commits all of us. We must be united and strive to find new solutions for France.”
The U.M.P. will hold a primary in 2016 to determine its presidential candidate for the 2017 elections, and the rivals will include François Fillon, Mr. Sarkozy’s former prime minister, and Alain Juppé, a former prime minister who was also defense and foreign minister for Mr. Sarkozy.
Mr. Sarkozy presided over the U.M.P. from 2004 to 2007, the year he was elected president of France. But using the party as a launching pad for his presidential bid will be harder this time around.
A poll by the BVA polling institute published Friday found that 57 percent of the French had a favorable opinion of Mr. Juppé, versus 23 percent for Mr. Sarkozy.
The U.M.P. will hold a primary in 2016 to determine its presidential candidate for the 2017 elections, and his rivals will include François Fillon, Mr. Sarkozy’s former prime minister, and Alain Juppé, a former prime minister who was also defense and foreign minister for Mr. Sarkozy.
A poll by the BVA polling institute published on Friday found that 57 percent of the French had a favorable opinion of Mr. Juppé, as opposed to 23 percent for Mr. Sarkozy.
Members of the U.M.P. voted electronically and in a small number of polling stations over a 24-hour period. More than 154,000 people voted, a 60 percent participation rate, according to figures released by the party.
Despite reports of hacking attempts and technical glitches on the electronic voting platform, the election went much more smoothly than two years ago, when the party was torn apart by accusations of fraud and conflicting egos. Today it is still hugely in debt and mired in campaign financing scandals. Mr. Sarkozy himself is facing several legal investigations for corruption and influence peddling.
On Facebook, Mr. Sarkozy wrote that “the time is now for action” and that he would meet on Monday with political leaders on the right “to create the conditions for the largest possible gathering.”
