PM Barnier: the right choice for France?
Two months after the French parliamentary elections, President Emmanuel Macron has appointed former EU Commissioner and Brexit chief negotiator Michel Barnier as his new prime minister. In the run-off election on 7 July, the left-wing alliance NFP received the most votes, while Barnier's conservative Les Républicains came fourth with just 5.4 percent. Europe's press discusses whether his appointment is nonetheless a good decision.
He managed Brexit so he can manage this, too
The new prime minister will face a difficult task, L'Opinion believes:
“Michel Barnier has a lot going for him, not least his undisputed ability to reconcile opposing views. In a political era where excesses and caricatures have replaced programmes, he has never offended his opponents. He is true to his principles, but also flexible in expressing them. He has a stable right-wing stance and yet is open to negotiation. His success in climbing the Himalayas of the Brexit negotiations is a technical and diplomatic tour de force that makes him well qualified to avoid the pitfalls of an unstable and vindictive National Assembly. ... Now the Savoyard is at the foot of another 8,000-metre mountain. No doubt the challenge of his lifetime.”
Disregarding the will of the people
Macron is letting the RN dictate the agenda, the left-wing Mediapart complains:
“The president has chosen to rely on the Rassemblement National (RN) when it comes to appointing his future prime minister. The message of 7 July was clear: on that day, a majority of French people rallied to prevent the far right from coming to power. But two months later, it was Marine Le Pen who stipulated her conditions for avoiding a vote of no confidence in the future government. Unable to imagine any choreography other than this continual pas de deux with the RN, Emmanuel Macron has finally let himself be led by it.”
At Le Pen's mercy
La Repubblica complains:
“Barnier will lead a centre-right and minority government that can only survive thanks to the more or less constructive abstention of Marine Le Pen's parliamentary group. After criticising several names - Bernard Cazeneuve on the left, Xavier Bertrand on the right - Le Pen effectively gave the green light for Barnier's appointment and averted the threat of an immediate vote of no confidence. ... With her 126 [146 according to the original text] deputies, Le Pen can tip the scales for future no-confidence motions. Which in Barnier's case have already been announced by the left.”
He represents the majority
Commenting on centrulpolitic.ro, Valentin Naumescu considers the decision to be correct:
“Most of the votes (over 73 percent) in the elections to the National Assembly went to the right: to the far right, the moderate right and the Macronist centre. Only 26.4 percent of the French voted for the left-wing electoral alliance NFP, even though it won the most seats because it formed an anti-RN alliance with the centre in the second round of voting. ... They backed each other in the second round, but that doesn't change the actual picture of a predominantly right-wing French political scene. We don't know how stable the Barnier government will be. But Macron has taken the right direction.”
A clever move
LB.ua sees this as a pragmatic decision on Macron's part:
“A representative of The Republicans has the chance to win if not the support, then at least the tolerance of the far right (Barnier has spoken harshly on the subject of migration in recent years) and the moderate left. ... Secondly, Barnier is seen as a diplomat. The French media describe him as a very experienced negotiator and communicator with excellent contacts in all of the country's political camps. He also has good relations with Brussels, which is extremely important for France right now. Thirdly, Barnier is old. This means that he has no presidential ambitions and that no one sees him as a potential rival in the 2027 presidential elections.”