If this nomination, born in pain, since the country has remained more than 50 days without a fully functioning government due to fruitless negotiations, has provoked the revolt of the left-wing coalition which is rallying its ranks for a protest demonstration starting this Saturday, it has been well received in the camp of the right, even the extreme right.
Indeed, Michel Barnier’s political family “Les Républicains” has expressed its support for him and will even have to recommend some ministers to him. The other centrist parties, notably “Horizons”, even if they have assured that they will not give the new tenant of Matignon a blank check, will also support him in his quest for a unifying government.
As for the National Rally, a far-right party, it does not view with disfavor the nomination of this last baron of Gaullism at the head of the French executive.
Accustomed to rhetorical figures mixing eloquent force and pamphleteering violence, the party of Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen was this time very courteous and promised not to automatically censor the new government if it were to be formed.
Mr Barnier “seems to meet at least the first criterion that we had requested, that is to say someone who is respectful of the different political forces”, reacted Ms Le Pen, when his nomination was announced.
Moreover, the Elysée press release announcing the news made it clear that “this appointment comes after an unprecedented cycle of consultations during which, in accordance with his constitutional duty, the President ensured that the Prime Minister and the future government would meet the conditions to be as stable as possible and give themselves the chance to unite as broadly as possible.”
With these guarantees from the political parties and the confidence of the President of the Republic, Michel Barnier, known for his talents as a great negotiator, promised, at the end of the transfer of power with his predecessor, “changes and ruptures”. He also committed to “responding to the challenges, anger and suffering” of the French.
To this end, he immediately set as priorities for his action, the reform of the school, the improvement of the public service, the control of immigration, security and purchasing power. Which projects require, according to him, “a lot of listening” and “respect for all the political forces that are represented” in Parliament.
To succeed in his mission, his entourage says that he needs “solid, competent and efficient” ministers that he will have to choose from the ranks of his party first, then from the former presidential majority, the centrists, or even from among some of his acquaintances on the left who stand out for their experience of service to the State and the Republic, because according to the vocabulary used in the Elysée press release announcing his appointment, it is a question of “forming a unifying government in the service of the country and the French people”.
According to French media, the new Prime Minister has already begun his consultations and everything suggests that he will succeed in forming a government of consensus around France’s priorities, in particular the 2025 budget and the country’s multiple socio-economic emergencies.
In any case, his friends in Brussels, who recognise in him his finesse and his composure as a great negotiator for having succeeded in getting the European Union out of its divorce with the United Kingdom with a minimum of damage, are convinced of it.
“He has a listening ability that surpasses that of others and he knows how to speak to others to convince them,” said the former president of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker from Luxembourg, about him.
As for the current head of the European executive, Urusla von der Leyen, she recognizes in him his interest in Europe and in France, which are “close to her heart”.
“In all the positions he has held, Michel Barnier has demonstrated leadership, vision and method. I am convinced that he will make the best use of his experience and skills as the new French Prime Minister,” said the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, on her X account.
2024-09-06 16:23:28