Michel Barnier never stops calling. On Wednesday October 23, the Prime Minister called in the morning the Republican Right (DR) MP Virginie Duby-Muller, unsuccessful candidate for vice-president of the National Assembly. Bickering within the “common base” – the coalition of the right and the center – caused the victory of the ecologist Jérémie Iordanoff the day before. The Savoyard expresses his regrets to the MP, reminds her of his efforts to avoid this hiccup. On election day, didn’t he call on the coalition group presidents to work in harmony?
That wasn’t enough. The resentment between allies was too strong, after the surprise election of the rebellious Aurélie Trouvé at the head of the Economic Affairs Commission a few days earlier. Caused, already, by a quarrel between Laurent Wauquiez and Gabriel Attal. “I am not your back-up force,” said the boss of the DR deputies to his counterpart Ensemble pour la République (EPR), suspected of hegemonism. The Prime Minister had already picked up the phone to express his regrets to his predecessor. Michel Barnier, or the art of crying over spilled milk.
“They learned nothing, nor forgot anything”
The Brexit negotiator claims the authorship of the concept of “common core”. He sees its fragility every day, between personal resentments and ideological differences. A cultural gulf separates the right and the central bloc, irreconcilable opponents for seven years. It leaves traces. LR takes stock of Macronism, when EPR elected officials mock the upstart behavior of their circumstantial allies. When mentioning the DR deputies, a loyal follower of the head of state cites Talleyrand, slayer of noble emigrants returning to France under the Restoration. “They learned nothing, nor forgot anything.” Let it be said: yesterday’s enemies are forced to walk a long way together, without the desire to form a bond of friendship.
No intergroup brings together deputies from the right and the center. Nobody really wants it. Laurent Wauquiez, anxious to embody the alternation in 2027, fears of merging into macronism. Gabriel Attal also values his uniqueness, he who organized a dinner with the EPR ministers and invites them to go to the group meetings of the ex-majority. LR and centrist deputies have just shared a drink on Monday, October 21, at the Ministry of Relations with Parliament. Michel Barnier popped in, chatting with elected officials. Some are urging him to go further. “We need a structuring moment where we are all in the same room,” an EPR deputy advised him. Michel Barnier plans to see the base deputies again, in a format that is still undetermined. A relative smiles: “The insincerity in the treatment bothers him. Inviting MPs for a drink is not his thing.”
“I owe nothing to Barnier”
And then, what can he hope for? Michel Barnier knows his limits. He decided to stay away from the life of parliamentary groups, and not to draw the whip at the slightest hiccup. A strategy: he judges that the deputies who are too playful will be accountable to the French. A necessity, too. The Prime Minister would expose himself to blows and measure his weak authority on the common base. Its members harbor an ambivalent feeling towards the head of government. They cannot overthrow him, under penalty of being put on trial for political irresponsibility. But they feel independent from this head of government appointed by Emmanuel Macron after endless discussions. After all, he did not lead their legislative campaign! “I owe nothing to Barnier,” says a former minister.
This lack of authority is observed in the chaotic distribution of positions in the Assembly. But also in the examination of the budget. Each camp acts in its own lane and pursues distinct political objectives. The Common Core groups have not tabled any common amendments. They sometimes oppose each other, such as on the perpetuation of the increase in taxes on high incomes. They also converge against the government, to eliminate the reduction in reductions in employer contributions.
Presidential candidates outside the government
At least Michel Barnier can take refuge in a haven of peace: his government. Everything is not rosy there. There is indeed this traditional rivalry between Beauvau and Place Vendôme, but it is almost the charm of any executive. And what would a government be without criticism from ministers about their budgets, which are always too meager? But the Prime Minister can exercise his authority over this building. He brought together Bruno Retailleau and Didier Migaud following their mishaps, and refocused the Minister of Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher after her exit on her budget.
The members of the government thus established a cordial understanding. Bruno Retailleau and his counterpart in charge of Europe Benjamin Haddad have built a relationship of trust, while the Minister of Transport François Durovray has the feeling of “speaking the same language” as Agnès Pannier-Runacher. All exchange on a Signal loop. “We exchange information of a collective dimension,” slips a member of the government. Cooking recipes or movie tips will wait.
Assembly, government. Two rooms, two atmospheres. An LR strategist smiles at the discrepancy. “There is no presidential candidate in the government, so things are going well. There are some in the Assembly, it pollutes. Imagine an executive with Wauquiez, Attal and Darmanin. That would be a nightmare!” Before the formation of the government, Nicolas Sarkozy confided to a DR executive the importance of appointing heavyweights, in order to tie their hands. Michel Barnier made the opposite choice. What we gain in tranquility in the Council of Ministers, we lose in the hemicycle.
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