What is behind the Socialist Party’s plans for a presidential primary?
The Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste, PS) has endorsed the principle of a US-style open primary system, allowing all self-described left-wing voters to vote on who, among a field of PS candidates, should be the PS presidential nominee. As documents produced by advocates of the measure show, it is a reactionary initiative to rally popular support behind the PS, despite growing popular disillusionment with its pro-business policies. The principle of the open primary has long been associated with the PS’s defeated 2007 presidential candidate, Ségolène Royal. In leadership contests inside the PS, she received significant numbers of votes from new members who had joined through the Internet and at a reduced dues level of €20 during her 2006 nomination. At the Reims Congress of the PS last November, she spoke of “opening the party to the masses” and the “transformation of our party into a big popular party.” On August 26, the French daily Libération published the text of a “call for a popul
Related Questions
- Does California use primary election or party caucuses to select delegates to the Presidential nominating convention?
- Must I select a party and vote in the Presidential Primary races for any ballot measures to be accepted and counted?
- What is behind the Socialist Party’s plans for a presidential primary?
