Bruised French conservatives to pick new leader
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photos
PARIS (REUTERS) - France's conservatives will elect a new leader on Sunday who will determine whether the party ousted in May from a 17-year presidential reign will hold to the centre or move to the right in a quest to regain power in 2017.
Moderate ex-prime minister Francois Fillon, who regularly tops political popularity polls, is tipped to narrowly beat Mr Jean-Francois Cope, a disciple of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy and his hard stance on issues including immigration.
Yet, with two thirds of UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) members wanting Mr Sarkozy to return for the 2017 election, the result will be close, and a Fillon victory would not completely bury an existential crisis in the opposition party.
Socialist President Francois Hollande has a clear majority in Parliament and controls most French regions, but a slump in his ratings is giving the right an audience.
