French Socialists Locked in Battle
Mayor of Paris, sparks ideological row by declaring himself an unashamed liberal in favor of the free-market
France's fractured socialists are locked in a bitter war for the party's soul as they compete to appoint a new leader with the charisma and political clout to win the presidency that has escaped them for more than a decade.
Bertrand Delanoë, the popular mayor of Paris, is positioning himself for the leadership after issuing a book-length manifesto in which he said his homosexuality would not hinder his political future on the national stage.
But he has sparked a bruising ideological row by declaring himself an unashamed liberal in favor of the free-market - one of the last taboos of the French left. At a weekend gathering of supporters Delanoë repeated his calls for socialists to stop treating competition as a dirty word. Yesterday he continued to defend economic freedom, saying he was delighted to have sparked a row.
But Ségolène Royal, his lead rival, who did not take kindly to being criticized in his manifesto, immediately launched a counter-offensive, saying that liberalism was the language of the left's political opponents and "in the 21st century being liberal and a socialist is completely incompatible". Both Delanoë and Royal have taken to the airwaves at odds over how far the Socialist party should adapt to modern times.
Laurent Fabius, the former socialist prime minister, yesterday called the ideological bickering "surrealist".
Francois Hollande, the current socialist leader and Royal's former partner, will step down in the autumn.
Bertrand Delanoë, the popular mayor of Paris, is positioning himself for the leadership after issuing a book-length manifesto in which he said his homosexuality would not hinder his political future on the national stage.
But he has sparked a bruising ideological row by declaring himself an unashamed liberal in favor of the free-market - one of the last taboos of the French left. At a weekend gathering of supporters Delanoë repeated his calls for socialists to stop treating competition as a dirty word. Yesterday he continued to defend economic freedom, saying he was delighted to have sparked a row.
But Ségolène Royal, his lead rival, who did not take kindly to being criticized in his manifesto, immediately launched a counter-offensive, saying that liberalism was the language of the left's political opponents and "in the 21st century being liberal and a socialist is completely incompatible". Both Delanoë and Royal have taken to the airwaves at odds over how far the Socialist party should adapt to modern times.
Laurent Fabius, the former socialist prime minister, yesterday called the ideological bickering "surrealist".
Francois Hollande, the current socialist leader and Royal's former partner, will step down in the autumn.
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