By Laure Bretton
Reuters Tue Nov 25, 2008
Paris - France's opposition Socialist Party confirmed Martine Aubry, the brains behind the 35-hour working week, as its new leader on Tuesday in the latest twist of a power struggle that threatens to tear the party apart.
Segolene Royal, the losing candidate in last year's presidential election and Aubry's rival for the party leadership, had demanded a re-run of last Friday's ballot of party members, alleging vote rigging by Aubry supporters.
"I want to tell Segolene that together we will win for the French people," Aubry told the party's governing council moments after it confirmed her razor-thin victory. In a first attempt at reconciliation, she gave Royal a quick peck on the cheek.
The Socialists have been bogged down in an acrimonious leadership contest for months, allowing right-wing President Nicolas Sarkozy to pursue an ambitious reform program almost unopposed. The Socialists' woes culminated in the disputed vote.
Initial results on Saturday said Aubry won the poll by just 42 votes, but a committee called to verify Royal's accusations of ballot rigging announced on Tuesday that Aubry's winning margin was actually 102 votes -- out of 134,800 votes cast.
Aubry, the daughter of former European Commission President Jacques Delors and author of the controversial 35-hour working week law when she was a minister, was backed by a coalition of party leaders united only in their intense dislike of Royal.
Aubry has promised to anchor the party on the left of the political spectrum, which would please hardcore Socialist supporters but is no guarantee of election success.
THREATS OF LAWSUITS
The once-mighty Socialists, whose late leader Francois Mitterrand ruled France for 14 years until 1995, have lost the last three presidential elections and seem unable to extricate themselves from endless internal rows and personality clashes.
The glamorous Royal, who suffered a heavy defeat to Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential poll, arouses conflicting passions in her party. Supporters see her as capable of rejuvenating the party, but critics say she lacks depth and consistency.
Even after the party's governing council ratified Aubry's victory, several of Royal's senior supporters continued to threaten legal action over alleged cheating by the Aubry camp.
The first woman to lead the Socialists, Aubry will face an uphill battle in trying to unify the party and rebuild its battered credibility before the next presidential poll in 2012.
An opinion survey by pollsters BVA published on Tuesday found most left-wing voters thought Aubry's election as party leader was a good thing. But 30 percent of them said they wanted Royal to be the candidate in 2012, versus 20 percent for Aubry.
Sarkozy's supporters have barely concealed their glee at the Socialist infighting, which is likely to keep distracting the left for months if not years.
Some Socialists have warned the party might break up, unable to overcome personal loathing between its leaders, but Royal signaled she had no intention of abandoning ship.
"We managed the exploit of convincing half, and maybe a little over half, of the Socialist Party even though we had the entire party establishment against us," she told reporters.
"We have waged a fine battle to renovate the party and that battle continues."
(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, writing by Estelle Shirbon and Crispian Balmer)
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4AO8WK20081125
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