Mitterrand wins reform mandate

Press, 23 June 1981, Page 8

Mitterrand wins reform mandate

NZPA-Reuter Paris France entered a new political era yesterdaj' after voters gave President Francois Mitterrand a Socialist parliamentary majority supporting his reform programmes for the next five years. As a result of the final round of elections to the National Assembly, parties of the Centre-Right and Right lost their grip on the levers of power for the first time in more than two decades. After Mr Mitterrand won the presidency from Valery Giscard d'Estaing on May 10; the Socialists and their Leftradical allies swept to power in the Assembly with about 283 of the 491 seats.

Eleven seats, including three in the Pacific territories of French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna, remained to be declared but they could not -change the outcome of the two rounds of parliamentary voting on Sunday and June 14. The electoral losers were not only the Centre-Right Union for French Democracy led by Mr Giscard and, the Right-wing Rally for the Republic, but also the Communists.

The Communists lost exactly half their previous 86 Assembly seats and most of their top leaders were overtaken by Socialists in the first-round voting and compelled to withdraw under'an electoral pact between the parties.

But the Communist leader. Georges Marchais, who held his own seat despite mounting critism in the party of his leadership, insisted yesterday .that Communist Ministers should be taken into a new government. Mr

Mitterrand's Prime Minister (Mr Pierre Mauroy). who said he would hand his resignation to Mr Mitterrand today and his Interior Minister (Mr Gaston Defferre) declined to say if there would be Communists in the next Cabinet. Mr Mauroy. 52-year-old Mayor of Lille whose moderate image was credited with playing a large part in the Socialist parliamentary triumph, was certain to be reappointed along with most of his Ministers. French political sources said. Both he and Mr Defferre. a 70-year-old Socialist veteran who has launched a major project to decentralise government authority, said theGovernment’s main task would be to reduce unemployment. But the Socialist triumph, which reduced the two main Centre-Right and Right parties from 274 seats in the old Assembly to about 145 with possibly half a dozen more to come, means Mr Mitterrand has a strong base to launch other projects he promoted in the months of electioneering. ' '

These included the nationalisation of 11 big industrial .companies and most private banks, a reform of the taxation system, a cut in nuclear-energy programmes, and abolition of capital punishment.

On many aspects of foreign policy Mr Mitterrand has indicated through his External Affairs Minister (Mr Claude Cheysson) that he wants to move closer to the mainstream of the Western alliance.

The main obstacle to Communist participation in the new Government is Socialist

insistence that Mr Marchais and his colleagues must disthemselves from Moscow. particularly Soviet policies towards Afghanistan and Poland. Unlike Mr Giscard. who kept silent on the topic, Mr Mitterrand has supported the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation decision to deplov new American missiles targeted on the Soviet Union in Western Europe as a response to Soviet deployment of SS2O missiles aimed" westwards. The Communists argued that, although many of their supporters voted Socialist in both the presidential and parliamentary elections. Mr Mitterrand could not have been elected of won his Assembly majority without their support. After Mr Marchais won only 15 per cent in the initial presidential contest. he switched his voters to Mr Mitterrand and helped him to a 4 per cent victory over Mr Giscard. ‘Before the parliamentary poll, the two parties agreed that whichever of their candidates finished ahead in the first round would be the only Left-wing representative in the second and thus have the support of both Socialist and Communist voters. Poll analysts said first indications were that while Communist voters had largely switched to Socialists after their own candidate withdrew, only two-thirds of first-round Socialist votes went to Communists. Political sources said a decision was likely Within the next 48 hours on the composition of the new Government which was expected to . hold its first Cabinet meeting tomorrow.