The host is not alone. This Friday, September 6, Michel Barnier receives the Republicans’ general staff at the Hôtel de Matignon. Senate boss Gérard Larcher and parliamentary group presidents Laurent Wauquiez and Bruno Retailleau are surprised to discover a surprise guest. The new Prime Minister is accompanied by former LR MEP Arnaud Danjean, a close friend. This recognized specialist in defense issues, former collaborator of the Savoyard at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, supported his candidacy for the presidential election in 2021.
The appointment of a right-wing Prime Minister by Emmanuel Macron offers the Republicans a strange victory, a source of endless questions. Should we participate in a government under permanent threat of censorship? Under the paternalistic gaze of an omnipresent head of state? With 47 deputies, the right will have a hard time putting its doctrinal purity into practice.
“Nothing is decided”
Between friends, we speak frankly. The trio asks for guarantees from the new Prime Minister. Michel Barnier assures them that he intends to be at the helm of government policy, as promised by Article 20 of the Constitution. He will be the boss! Including for government appointments, a prerogative that he intends to exercise. Good point. Bruno Retailleau just suggests that he not wait too long to form his team, since the president has procrastinated so much.
We come to the heart of the matter. In July, the right built a legislative pact, a series of proposals. From this document, the LR general staff identified three priorities for Michel Barnier: recovery of public finances, valorization of work and tightening of the screws on sovereign issues. No opposition, the Prime Minister himself mentions decentralization. Between members of the same party, negotiation is always easier! The LR bigwigs finally mention the architecture of the future government. It should reflect the priorities of the right. A left-wing Macronist at the Ministry of the Interior, no thanks.
So, is it good? Calm down. At the end of the interview, Wauquiez and Retailleau quickly calm things down. “Nothing has been decided and it is based on this program that decisions will be made,” Laurent Wauquiez told the press. We will assume our responsibilities but […] than on a program that guarantees to respond to the concerns of the French.” In the entourage of the former minister, the air conditioning is turned on. Michel Barnier must deal with a heterogeneous parliamentary base, in which the right is in the minority. No question of doing “at the same time”, as some LR deputies fear. Right or nothing.
No individual poaching
No white smoke, but a shape is emerging. On Thursday, September 5, the leader of the Droite Républicaine (DR) group gathered his troops. Here again, the return to business is in the air. Of course, Laurent Wauquiez insists on the legislative pact. A WhatsApp loop of information from DR deputies is open to comments, so that each elected official can mention their programmatic priorities. When a deputy asks his leader about participating in the government, the latter dodges. But declines his doctrine. No more individual poaching. Appointments will have to be made in good understanding with the LR leadership bodies.
Here is the right at the gates of power. How far away it seems on July 7, when Laurent Wauquiez curtly refused any “coalition” or “compromise” with Macronism in his victory speech in the legislative elections. The man has come a long way, in a mixture of skill and constraint. The fear of a left in control and parliamentary paralysis made him leave his comfort zone. Just like these DR deputies, some of them with stars in their eyes at the idea of a return to power. What does the executive’s limited room for maneuver matter? The right, governing by divine right of the Fifth Republic, cannot remain in the shadows for so long! And then, the choice of Michel Barnier obliges LR. How can we let its representative fend for himself? “We have been criticized for being a party of government that no longer governs, it is fortunate even if we do not have a clear majority in Parliament,” judges one leader.
At the beginning of the week, Laurent Wauquiez spoke with a loyalist. No one imagined the right wing settling into Matignon. The former regional boss was then reserved about the opportunity to return to business. A recent interview with Nicolas Sarkozy was mentioned. “I do not understand the position of proposing a minimum program to the President of the Republic while affirming that he wanted to remain outside the government team that would be in charge of implementing it,” the ex-president complained in The Figaro. The argument is obvious. “The analysis is strong because it is simple and understandable,” says Laurent Wauquiez’s friend. The person concerned agreed.
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