Opposing the General Of the candidates standing against General de
Gaulle, M. Francois Mitterand is likely to clean up most of the opposition votes. If he collects less than 25 per cent he will have done surprisingly badly. His candidature, however, seems to me futile and harmful. M. Mitterand is the opponent of 'personal power'; that is the main reason for his standing, and why the Communists support him. But he himself is the candidate of per- sonal impotence. His left-wing alliance has no platform and no real unity. He is playing the General's game of turning the elections into a contest between the fourth and fifth republics, which only the General can win.
The real challenge to this game comes from the Christian Democrat M. Jean Lecanuet. He may be lucky to pick up more than 10 per cent of the votes, but if it comes to a second ballot (I am not saying it will) it is M. Mitterand who should step down. It is doubtful if Mitterand could pick up a single extra vote in the run-off. Lecanuet could. He would still be far short of winning, but his support comes from the centre as does so much of the General's. Gaullists may loathe Lecanuet's guts at the moment, but they will need to turn to such men after the General. If the centre is not encouraged now, I do not see a very happy future for France.
QUOODLE
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