THOMAS COEX / AFP Absent from the Campus des Jeunes LR this weekend of September 3 and 4, Laurent Wauquiez is nonetheless in everyone’s mind, especially those of the candidates for the presidency of the party (illustration photo taken on June 21, 2022 ) THOMAS COEX / AFP Absent from the Campus des Jeunes LR this weekend of September 3 and 4, Laurent Wauquiez is nonetheless in everyone’s mind, especially those of the candidates for the presidency of the party (illustration photo taken on June 21 2022) POLITICS – He wasn’t there, but he was everywhere. Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, ultimately did not come to the Campus des Jeunes Républicains, on this first weekend of September. No matter: the tenors of the party – or those who aspire to become one – are responsible for making his name resonate. Gone are the days when the evocation of Laurent Wauquiez caused upset pouts at LR. The regional president was one of the big favorites to succeed Christian Jacob (who himself had succeeded him)… before taking everyone by surprise by announcing that he would not seek the presidency of the party, to better aim the next presidential election. By 2027, there is still a long way to go. But Laurent Wauquiez already has a support committee: it took shape almost officially when the right returned to Angers, where two of the three declared candidates said all the good things they thought of the former minister. “For me there is only one who can do it, it is Laurent Wauquiez” Saturday September 3, from Angers, Éric Ciotti, deputy for the Alpes Maritimes and candidate for the LR presidency did not go there by four paths: “I say things clearly, in very clear opposition to macronism and in our ability to designate our colors very quickly during the next presidential election. And for me there is only one who can do it, it’s Laurent Wauquiez, ”he said. The next day, in the Journal du Dimanche, the quaestor of the National Assembly gives a layer. “In his territory, Laurent Wauquiez is enjoying extraordinary success. If France were like the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region and the Alpes-Maritimes department, the LRs would have an absolute majority in the National Assembly! “, he boasts, evoking “the courageous vision” of the president of the region. If he wins the party, Eric Ciotti will make the nomination of the candidate for 2027 “the first of his priorities”. And he intends to zap the primary box through which he himself passed in 2021. His champion has already found everything and he intends to propel him from the start of next year. “Gather without denying yourself”, the loan that says a lot Dubbed by Éric Ciotti, Laurent Wauquiez can also count on the benevolence of his rival in the race for the presidency. Bruno Retailleau, group leader of LR senators, is less enthusiastic, but he is nonetheless very courteous towards the former LR boss. Thus, the Vendée senator presents his internal candidacy as “a request from many” to compensate for the absence of Laurent Wauquiez. “I consider that Laurent Wauquiez had all the qualities to preside over our movement”, he wishes to underline in Le Figaro, by making it official. Rebelote in Angers, in front of the militants. This time, Bruno Retailleau claims to follow “Laurent Wauquiez’s motto: gather without denying oneself. “I have never denied myself. (…) But I have always sought to gather, ”he already advanced in Le Figaro. On the other hand, there is no question of making 2027 a goal: the senator is only a candidate “to rebuild his party, not to preside over the country”. Which, in case of victory, would leave the field open to Laurent Wauquiez. Praised by Ciotti and complimented by Retailleau, Laurent Wauquiez, without showing himself or saying a word, took advantage of this comeback from the right to strengthen his image for 2027. Something to annoy those who, like Virginie Calmels, recall that he “n is not the only suitor. The business manager castigates “a well-oiled scenario written in advance, consisting of installing Éric Ciotti as president in order to put Laurent Wauquiez into orbit. “. She sees it as the mark of the “barons” who, according to her, pushed for her candidacy for the presidency of the party to be rejected. Aurélien Pradié, future candidate for the LR presidency, thinks no less: “We have to do things one after the other”, he said on franceinfo on Saturday September 3. “I don’t think the party president is there to warm up anyone’s place. We don’t have to be the little telegrapher of one or the other. See also on The HuffPost: School bus driver and mayor, he tells us about his daily life in two hats You cannot view this content because you have refused the cookies associated with content from third parties. If you want to view this content, you can change your choices.