If you thought Obama vs Clinton was bad...

[Donald Ian Rankin]

French Socialists in disarray after bitter leadership battle

Party counts the cost after Aubry becomes its first female leader by only 42 votes amid claims of cheating and manipulation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/23/france-socialist-party

The divided and demoralised French Socialist Party appeared on the brink of implosion yesterday after a bitterly fought contest to elect its first female leader descended into open warfare between rival political clans.

After a night of high drama, bitter recriminations and thinly veiled threats, Martine Aubry, the no-nonsense Mayor of Lille, emerged bloodied but triumphant from the election by a wafer-thin margin of 42 votes. Official results gave her 50.02 per cent of the vote and her rival, former presidential candidate Ségolène Royal, 49.98 per cent.

Immediately denouncing the figures as 'contested and questionable', Royal's team cried foul and vowed to use every available means to fight the result and hold a fresh vote. 'I am not going to take this,' the candidate told journalists early yesterday. Issuing a series of allegations of electoral manipulation, her entourage accused the opposing clan of 'stealing victory' through a campaign of dirty tricks. 'There was fraud, there was cheating,' said Royal's close ally, Manuel Valls. 'The results of last night are profoundly in doubt.'

Aubry, however, remained defiant, insisting there was no need for a second vote to be held despite the narrowness of her victory. The party old-timer claimed she had received the backing of outgoing leader François Hollande - Royal's former partner and father of her four children. Her advisers rejected all calls for a re-run, accusing the telegenic Royal of being a bad loser. 'No one can deny the situation is complicated, but no one can deny that Martine Aubry is the new first secretary of the Socialist Party (PS),' said François Lamy. 'Just because you don't like the result doesn't mean you can change the rules.'