It is not certain that this speech will go down in history. Short, applied, jerky sentences: pno oratorical effect, no hard-hitting metaphors, nor a sharp look at France today. But Elisabeth Borne appeared square, relaxed, often smiling, ttaking the helm despite the swell and the heckling on the benches of the Assembly.
>> Pension reform, renationalisation of EDF, purchasing power… What to remember from Elisabeth Borne’s general policy speech
At the end of his speech, all the deputies of the majority rose and applauded him for a long time,Satisfied with Elisabeth Borne’s speech and no doubt relieved. Because the Prime Minister, described as technocratic and without depth, appeared combative and determined,with enough authority to already impose herself as patroness of the majority.
This is also the paradox of the day: before reaching out to opposition groups, Elisabeth Borne knew that she had to already succeed in imposing herself as Prime Minister, so thatthat his legitimacy at Matignon is no longer contested by the pillars of the majority and some of his own ministers.
What should be remembered?
Elisabeth Borne above all showed the vigilance of the government on all fronts. Jumbled up, on that of the Covid epidemic, on the level of the budget deficit, on the need for radical transformations in terms of the environment, dialogue on the territories to avoid medical white zones, attention paid to overseas territories of respect vis-à-vis the forces of order… And I forget some. A catalog, therefore, but few announcements, with the exception of the renationalisatrion of EDF and the reform of the Disabled Adult Allowance. Revealing oneself too much is also risky to break this thread of dialogue with the opposition it calls for, this imperative need for compromise.
One question remains: with this speech of the method, has it managed to trace the path that will allow it to govern with a relative majority? In fact, she has less sketched out a method than underlined her desire to work with all the parliamentary groups. She hammered out the adjective “together“nearly ten times. She also cited all the leaders of parliamentary opposition groups, with the exception of Marine Le Pen for the National Rally and Mathilde Panot for France Insoumise. If the string is a little big, it is a flattering way of emphasizing that it intends to associate the opposition to succeed in building a majority of compromise. It is moreover unew approach because under the Fifth Republic, the parliamentary opposition was always ignored, marginalized.
But beyond these winks supported, Elisabeth Borne remained vague. When she points out, “the need for a sustained dialogue” that she assures that the unions will be listened to on the very sensitive pension reform, she never says when, in what form and to what extent. It is therefore necessary to transform the test for Elisabeth Borne: to pass from the stage of the display to real compromises.