Still no leader for Socialists

THREE candidates are continuing to vie for the leadership of the Socialist Party.

Ségolène Royal, Martine Aubry and Benoît Hamon will put themselves forward to party members, who will vote on November 20.

Over the weekend at the party conference in Reims, the Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë, who had long headed polls as the most popular contender among the general public, dropped out of the competition.

"The Socialist Party is gravely ill," he said before announcing that he would not be standing "to avoid creating further confusion."

Former presidential candidate Ségolène Royal finally threw her hat into the ring after days of behind-the-scenes talks.

She had previously pulled out of the race after trailing in the polls but reignited her bid after party members chose her manifesto ahead of six other proposals.

Her two rivals are the Mayor of Lille Martine Aubry, daughter of Jacques Delors and architect of the 35-hour week, and MEP Benoît Hamon.

Both candidates are looking to protect the left-wing integrity of the party while Royal has promised reform.

Following the collapse of talks to find a consensus candidate Royal said: “Party members will now have their say.

"They will have to choose between a return to outdated methods or a new Socialist Party."

A spokesman for the governing UMP party said the congress had been a "fiasco" and that such a “circus” in Reims showed the Socialists had "no plan for France and no programme to offer the French people."

Centrist MoDem party leader Francois Bayrou, who finished third in the
2007 presidential election said the congress was a "tragicomedy or distressing, depending on whether you're close to or far from the PS (Socialist Party)."

Photo:Marie-Lan Nguyen