(Bloomberg) -- Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is vowing to scrutinize candidates better as part of a root-and-branch overhaul after it suffered a surprise defeat in France’s snap election.
The party, which had been riding a wave of far-right support going into the ballot, wants to determine why it performed so poorly and how it can be ready next time.
The initial results of an internal audit found the party didn’t sufficiently assess its parliamentary candidates and that those who ran weren’t properly trained, party officials told Bloomberg. The findings are set to be presented to board members in mid-September.
The report’s author, Aleksandar Nikolic, who won a seat in the European Parliament elections in June, said recommendations will include tougher scrutiny for anyone seeking to run for legislator, mayor or city counselor, as well as better preparedness.
“My job is to make proposals that will allow us to do much better next time,” Nikolic said in an interview, echoing mishaps that fueled a perception the far right is still too radical and unfit to govern. One candidate this summer, for example, appeared wearing a Nazi cap in an old picture on social media. Another turned out to have been involved in a robbery-related hostage-taking in the nineties.
The party has been gaining popularity in France as Le Pen has sought to bring it into the political mainstream and distance it from the overt racism and controversial views of its co-founder, her father Jean-Marie. Yet, the failure to capitalize on a wave of support this time, as other parties rallied together to keep the far right from power, has highlighted the challenges she still faces in seeking to become president when Emmanuel Macron’s term ends in 2027.
Voters will also head to polling stations a year earlier than that, with France due to hold municipal elections in 2026.
Back to Class
The National Rally found this summer that a separate source of concern internally was the poor performance of many candidates in televised debates, with some incapable of citing their priority if elected. Others lacked basic knowledge of economics.
Nikolic said potential candidates will now be required to attend classes to learn about subjects such as how value-added tax works, with rehearsals ahead of TV debates to improve preparedness. Those cleared to run will also be required to commit strictly to official policy guidance to prevent unwelcome controversies. One legislator seeking reelection sparked a backlash by suggesting on TV that dual nationals should be excluded from certain government jobs.
The National Rally began its summer campaign as frontrunner to form the next government after President Macron dissolved the National Assembly. Polls showed it would win the most seats in the lower house, with some predicting it may get an absolute majority.
Yet campaign mishaps ended up jeopardizing Le Pen’s efforts to normalize the party’s image that included softening its stance on social issues such as LGBTQ rights and abortion, and becoming an advocate for the working class.
The party’s vice president, Louis Aliot, said preparation ahead of the next elections should focus on local and grassroots activists, adding that further training for party officials should include learning about history and sociology.
“The top of our pyramid has been working remarkably well but we’re having problems at the bottom,” he said in an interview. “A party is like an army, it requires total discipline.”
Valerie Igounet, a historian who specializes in the far right, and tracks online racism and antisemitism via Conspiracy Watch, said the party had made previous attempts to discipline both its politicians and militants with sit-down gatherings and textbooks but that those efforts lost traction in recent years.
“Le Pen and other National Rally officials know that semantics are the core basis of everything in politics,” she said in an interview.
Convincing Business
Aliot also points to a struggle to reassure business leaders and opinion leaders who remain reluctant to back the party, adding that it is still “a bit too far from certain circles.”
Many party members acknowledge the overall campaign message was an issue but some also blame the party leadership for parachuting candidates into several constituencies instead of betting on militants with local roots.
In Dunkirk, in northern France, the party picked an outsider instead of Yohann Duval, a city counselor and public servant who came a close second in a previous legislative election. The parachuted candidate lost.
“This happens in other parties, too, but it’s still regrettable,” Duval said in an interview.
Macron’s surprise snap election call initially appeared as an extraordinary opportunity for the National Rally, with Le Pen saying she had a full cabinet ready to take over the government. Macron justified his decision, which followed his resounding defeat by the far right in European Parliament elections, as a need to clarify the balance in domestic politics.
A so-called republican front formed again, with rival parties that had been at each other’s throats for years swallowing their animosity and creating a largely unified electoral front to keep the far right at bay. Le Pen’s party ended up in a third place. A leftist alliance won the most seats, while Macron and his allies came second.
With Macron yet to name a new prime minister following the election, he met with Le Pen and Bardella on Monday as part of a series of talks with political leaders about the composition of the new government. The president’s aides privately say his decision to dissolve the National Assembly ultimately helped expose the far right’s technical and political limitations.
Igounet, the historian, warns that nobody should dismiss the National Rally, however, adding that the party may still succeed in taking advantage of the situation, claiming humility as it learns from mistakes.
And its next election fight may even come as early as next year. If the lower house is unable to function without a clear majority, Macron will have the right to dissolve the National Assembly again once 12 months have passed.
“The party has a future,” Igounet said.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
