What is a Prime Minister for? It happens to the Presidents of the Republic, those of yesterday as that of today, to ask themselves the question. Nothing, even now think Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, who advocate the abolition of the post. Emmanuel Macron also made his ranges, giving the impression of evolving on his conception of the function. The spirit of the Fifth Republic has long wanted the tenant of Matignon to be, depending on the image, the fuse or the shield of the host of the Elysée. But is this reading still valid, when so many contrary winds are blowing on our institutions?
A sentence deserves to be noted, pronounced by the leader of the CFTC Cyril Chabanier: “There can be no other democratic outcome than the withdrawal of the text.” Who sets the framework of our democracy and determines its outcomes? We thought for a long time that elections were made for this, it seems that we have changed times…
A problem called “relative majority”
This Wednesday, April 5, Elisabeth Borne therefore received the inter-union. It did not prevent the inevitable on pensions. The meeting happened, of course, but it went badly. Everyone did exactly what was expected, it’s called role play. The surprise came from elsewhere. Effect of jet lag, chance or will to harm? In the wake of slamming doors, there were ringing ears. BFMTV reported a statement from Emmanuel Macron’s entourage, visiting China: “The president will see the unions in the coming weeks.” If the objective of the moment was to help the Prime Minister, it is missed.
In the executive couple, the head of government must be complementary to the head of state. Elisabeth Borne necessarily did not appreciate the words of Emmanuel Macron during his last television interview, but she kept her moods to herself. She has already narrowly escaped forced resignation the day after the June 2022 legislative elections: she fought to stay, she won. This time, she has a mission sheet. Build a government program, enlarge the majority. Basically, nothing has changed since day one. Already at the time, we were promised shorter, simpler, more consensual texts. Back to square one. This is the problem of this five-year term that goes around in circles, and it is called less “Elisabeth Borne” than “relative majority”.