The prolonged uncertainty appears to be working against Le Pen, whose was found guilty last year of illicitly using European Parliament funds to pay for assistants who solely did domestic political work.
A recent survey by pollster Odoxa found that 69 percent of National Rally supporters now believe Bardella would be a stronger candidate than Le Pen. According to the same poll, Bardella also enjoys higher approval ratings than his mentor across party lines — and, unlike Le Pen, is viewed positively by a majority of voters backing the conservative Les Républicains party, whose support the far right would need to win the race.
Over the weekend, as Bardella traveled to southern France to support a candidate in a mayoral race ahead of nationwide local elections next month, he was greeted by a dense crowd chanting “Jordan [Bardella] at the Elysée,” French media reported.
In an interview during the trip with broadcaster BFMTV, Bardella said he would “always remain entirely loyal to Marine Le Pen,” adding that his party would be competitive in the next presidential election “no matter what happens, even though everything is being done to stop us.”
The French far right has long complained that the system is stacked against it, and sees the case against Le Pen as an example of this.
The National Rally faces the added challenge of having to prepare two separate presidential campaigns at the same time. The Le Pen ally quoted above said the party’s strategy for Le Pen’s fourth bid at the Elysée would look significantly different from its approach to the 30-year-old Bardella, who would be taking his first shot at the presidency.
“A new candidate means new storytelling, a new pitch,” the Le Pen ally said. “You can’t just go off what was previously decided upon.”