Maneuvering

I said the other day that pretty much the whole Jospin wing of the PS had rallied behind Bertrand Delanoë. I forgot Michel Sapin, who served as a minister under Jospin but who has been a backer of Ségolène Royal. But now he has left her, disappointed that she ignored his advice not to "presidentialize" the party. That means he won't go to Delanoë either. Indeed, his statements suggest that he might support Pierre Moscovici.

Meanwhile, Delanoë is coming out with a book of interviews with Laurent Joffrin in which he describes himself as both "socialist" and "liberal" while insisting that the party "must choose" and asserting that "the time for owning up to differences has arrived." OK, we'll wait and see how that line develops. Of his rivale, he offers the familiar criticism that she was neither "credible" nor "coherent."