London Consular Council: alliances that hold a few surprises
Let's go back a few months to the election for the Chair of the Consular Council...
At the consular elections last May, our ENSEMBLE! list came first with almost 23% of the votes cast, or more than 4,000 votes, winning three seats out of nine.
On 26 June, the newly elected Councillors for French Citizens Abroad met to elect the Chair of the London Consular Council. Patricia Connell, who had previously chaired the body, stood for a further term.
The result was as follows:
- Charlotte Minvielle: 4 votes (left-wing alliance of the PS, the Greens and LFI)
- Patricia Connell: 3 votes (Ensemble!)
- Blank ballots: 2
Charlotte Minvielle, a Green councillor, therefore became Chair.
The elected members of the Libres et Indépendants group, who are close to Senator Olivier Cadic, had said they would remain neutral and did not support Patricia Connell's candidacy. But neutrality can also have political consequences: in a vote where every ballot counts, choosing not to support one candidate can help the other to be elected. In this case, that position contributed to a situation in which a Green Chair was elected rather than the previous Chair being re-elected.
It is nevertheless important to remember that the vote was secret, so it is not possible to attribute individually the four votes won by Charlotte Minvielle, or the two blank ballots.
A few months later, at the AFE, Senator Cadic's Libres et Indépendants took part in a broader alliance with the left-wing PES group, whose members range from the moderate left (PS) to the far left (LFI), and with DeFIA, made up mainly of LR members.
These alliances illustrate the difference that can exist between national political positions and the agreements reached within the bodies representing French citizens abroad. We believe it is important that voters have clear information about the positions and commitments of their elected representatives, beyond election time.
For our part, we will continue to work with all elected members who want to move the issues affecting our community forward. The commitment of the ENSEMBLE! Councillors remains undiminished.