On the Right: A Duel of Images

Without introduction, the tall, lean candidate in his dark-rimmed glasses and conservatively cut pin-stripe suit, appearing more like a professor than a politician, strode toward the podium. Only a huge photo of him and his 14-year-old daughter decorated the former chapel of a convent in Colmar. Then quickly, his hands clasped behind his back, Finance Minister Valery Giscard d'Estaing, 48, broke into the pedantic delivery that has become a trademark in his campaign to succeed the late Georges Pompidou as President of France.

Although ten men and one woman are running against him, Giscard's most important rival in the May 5 balloting is former Premier Jacques Chaban-Delmas, 59. Yet neither Giscard nor Chaban will come in first in that voting. The latest public opinion polls show that the unity candidate of the Socialist and Communist parties, Francois Mitterrand, 57 (TIME, April 29), still holds a commanding lead. Polls late last week gave him 42% of the vote, Giscard 28% and Chaban 24%. But unless Mitterrand wins an absolute majority, which is not likely, he will be forced into a runoff on May 19 against the candidate with the second highest vote.

Since both Giscard and Chaban are courting the votes of the right and center, there is scarcely any difference in their platforms. They promise to make France a "more just" society by increasing welfare payments and old-age benefits. In foreign policy they pledge fidelity to the Atlantic Alliance but not subservience to Washington. One of Chaban's top aides observed, "Both Chaban and Giscard are against sin and inflation. In the end, the whole thing will be decided on the basis of image."

Image, in fact, is Chaban's greatest liability and probably the main reason why, despite the endorsement of the Gaullist Party, he trailed Giscard last week. Throughout his 29-year political career, Chaban has striven to appear youthful, athletic and energetic--and succeeded all too well. Many Frenchmen regard Chaban, who was a national tennis finalist in 1965, as a "playboy," not serieux enough to be President. Married three times, in a Catholic country where divorce is still a political handicap, he has become saddled with the nicknames "Beau Jacques"and "Charmant Delmas." Moreover, he still has a slight scent of scandal about him. He was dismissed by Pompidou in 1972 partly because it was found he had used loopholes to avoid paying taxes.

Gaullist Mantle. Chaban's major campaign tactic has been to wrap himself in the Gaullist mantle. In the halls in which he speaks, his photo is flanked by those of Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou. As the symbol that will appear beside his name on the ballot, he has chosen De Gaulle's emblem, the cross of Lorraine--a reminder of Chaban's key role during the Resistance. After attending a Chaban rally outside Paris, TIME Correspondent George Taber noted: "Over the auditorium hung an aura of nostalgia and past triumphs. The audience was made up of a generation old enough to respond enthusiastically to Chaban's frequent references to the glories of le General and the Resistance. Yet a new generation has grown up in France in the 30 years since the Resistance, and it has been five years since French voters ousted De Gaulle. Chaban's campaign seems to be running out of steam."

Although Chaban and Giscard at first agreed not to attack each other, Chaban last week warned his fellow Gaullists that Giscard will not be able to beat Mitterrand in the runoff. Chaban exhorted: "I say that I can defeat Mitterrand. You cannot joke on the May 5 ballot. Vote wisely! Vote Chaban-Delmas, who can keep us from the peril of Mitterrand!"

Giscard's strength in the polls has been the biggest surprise of the campaign. In part this results from the "stop Chaban" movement among the Gaullists in early April, when nominations were still open. It failed, but many Gaullists are still unenthusiastic about the former Premier. Also, Giscard's image is that of a man who is brilliant, aristocratic and cool; no one has ever accused him of not being serieux. The audiences at his rallies, considerably younger than those at Chaban's, thoroughly enjoy it when Giscard drops his professorial mien to demolish a heckler with cutting repartee. His resonant voice and poise before a camera make him come across well on television. The use of a campaign photo that prominently includes Giscard's daughter projects the image of a family man. Although Giscard has served as the Fifth Republic's Finance Minister for nine years, he never joined the Gaullist Party, preferring to remain the leader of the small Independent Republican Party, which is close to the center. His speeches make only a passing reference to De Gaulle.

Two Ideas. In an interview with TIME's Taber, Giscard noted last week, "In my campaign I have two fundamental ideas: to make France a fair, democratic society and to contribute to European unity. While the latter can be done through monetary and political cooperation, the organization of European institutions is not yet ripe for rapid initiatives. [In domestic affairs] French presidential elections are the beginning of change. The style of French politics will, I think, be profoundly modified. It seems indispensable that the center parties be represented in the government. President Pompidou modernized economic life, and I want to modernize political and cultural life."

If Giscard maintains his momentum and outruns Chaban, the Gaullist Party will suffer a serious and perhaps fatal setback. "Then we will bury General de Gaulle for a second time," says Gaullist Minister of the Interior Jacques Chirac. In the runoff, as the sole candidate of the center and right, Giscard would be favored to top Mitterrand. The current campaign, however, has had several surprises. Thus, no one rules out the long-odds possibility that Mitterrand may just get a majority on May 5, winning the presidency and making the Giscard-Chaban duel on the right an empty exercise.

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