On Tuesday, Bardella again fueled speculation over a growing rivalry with Le Pen, when he appeared to favor an early presidential election.
“In reality, only a presidential election, even an early one, would enable us to emerge from the current democratic crisis,” said Bardella on French radio.
But an early presidential election would de facto exclude Le Pen, who currently cannot run for public office, and who has already lost a local mandate.
While French President Emmanuel Macron has categorically denied he could resign and trigger an early presidential election before the end of his mandate in 2027, political opponents regularly call for one as a way out of the parliamentary impasse.
Le Pen’s supporters have since tried to downplay Bardella’s comment. One ally described it to POLITICO as an “unfortunate turn of phrase” while another said the party leader, who is only 29 years old, was “shooting from the hip.”
But faux pas such as these will necessarily remind voters of both Le Pen’s legal woes and Bardella’s inexperience, which could become a liability on the campaign trail — particularly if he’s up against experienced right-wing presidential hopefuls such as the former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe or the popular hard-hitting Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.
