Le Pen says she may support some Socialist candidates in France's June parliamentary election.
Far right leader Marine le Pen has refused to rule out the possibility of supporting socialist candidates in June’s parliamentary elections. Some accuse her of being ‘incoherent’ but others see it as a canny ploy in her quest to rule the right.
In what marks a change of strategy, Le Pen declared this week that in ‘exceptional’ circumstances she was prepared to lend her backing to not only a conservative UMP candidate but even a socialist nominee in the key second round ballot on June 17.
UMP leaders are clearly concerned by the perceived resurgence of the far right. Earlier this month, the party’s secretary general Jean Francois-Copé warned voters that casting a ballot for the far right would simply allow the left in through the back door.
Far-right specialist Sylvain Crépon from the University of Nanterre, West Paris said Le Pen’s new found pragmatism is simply part of her long term ploy to become the dominant force on the French right.
“The national front is seeking to sow discord,” he said. “Calling on followers to vote for the Socialist Party to oust certain right wing candidates creates panic among the UMP and plays in to the hands of her own party.
http://www.france24.com/en/20120523-le-pen-legislative-elections-france-far-right-national-front-politics
Sounds like Le Pen is as interested in weakening Sarkozy's UMP as she is in getting any National Front candidates elected to the parliament (which would be a first). She apparently wants to become the "Voice of the Right" (rather than someone from the UMP) when conservatives collide with Hollande and the Socialist government in the coming years.
