Following the March election, several candidates launched into political adventure for the first time and lost. But the defeat did not affect their enthusiasm. Above all, they retain a rich experience and are already ready to renew it.
“I experienced an extraordinary human adventure.”This Sunday, March 22, evening of the second round of the municipal elections, Charles Serra knows that he will lose. However, in the hectic atmosphere of the Montady gymnasium, he walks around with a smile on his face. The envelopes are opened one by one, and the stacks of ballots bearing his name are clearly lower than those of his competitors. But nothing seems to dampen his joy in sharing his campaign experience. What if, from time to time, in politics too, the important thing was to participate?
A certain number of front-runners were novices when they embarked on the political adventure of municipal elections. Even if the results were not there, they retain an intimate upheaval, the feeling of having contributed to the general interest. They retain the intact will to continue.
“I discovered resources”
Gone are the certainties that prevailed before the campaign. “Coming from the banking sector, I was focused on finance and profitability. Today, I think about solidarity, sharing, associations. I tell myself that we can leave something different to our children. It’s a pleasant change”, free Charles Serra.
Raphaël Arnaud, candidate for Sérignan, also takes a fresh look: “I had a lot of fun, on a human level, it’s extraordinary. When you project yourself into your life, into your work, you always put yourself in the middle of your choices. But when you project yourself into a community, it’s the opposite, you have to put yourself in each other’s place, and you have to think about the general interest. You get out of your little world, you open up.” This tobacco shop manager never imagined that he would be so comfortable making speeches in public, defending technical projects and reaching out to others. “Intimately, I discovered resources”he confides.
In Servian, Alix du Roure, a child of the village, is still marked by “an incredible human adventure, made of encounters and enthusiasm.”ÂProud to defend a feminine and young candidacy, at 26 years old, she is delighted with a campaign “who made her passionate” et ” Who brought together almost half of the voters”.
The political virus
More interested in the daily life of a village than in ideological speeches, the three candidates presented lists without labels and with running mates with diverse profiles. For Raphaël Arnaud, “the first step was to meet more experienced people, I then made my list with people I knew or not”. He continues: “I learned a lot of skills from my running mates, about the functioning of a town hall and about technical aspects. If you only work with people you know, you limit yourself.”
Before launching, Charles Serra studiously read, “entirely”the 680 pages of the “Mayor’s Guide” published by the general management of local authorities. He looked back at the town hall accounts over ten years and studied the latest deliberations of the municipal council. “My biggest fault is above all that I am not known in Montady. History proves the new mayor right”he says, hilarious and definitely not resentful.
Have they caught the politics bug? “Not in the national sense. It’s really local politics, in my village, that interests me. I learned a lot about the reality on the ground and I want to continue. I have a responsibility towards the people who voted for me, I will be an attentive minority elected official”, details Alix du Roure. And to conclude, enthusiastically: “Of course I’ll be here in 7 years, it’s just the beginning!”. Raphaël Arnaud shares this joy: “Even when you lose, it’s rewarding to put yourself at the service of others. I want to say to everyone, “try, you will experience extraordinary things”!”
