Emmanuel Macron asked his Prime Minister “to widen the majority”. An almost impossible mission for Elisabeth Borne … So behind the scenes, some are pushing to replace her. Jean-Rémi Baudot’s political brief.
Exactly 10 days ago, the Borne government escaped a motion of censure. Since then, the executive has been looking for a way out of the crisis. If the consultations are multiplying, one thing is clear: in the period, instead of closing ranks behind Élisabeth Borne, those who imagine themselves succeeding her are positioning themselves.
>> Pension reform: agenda, slots… tensions around the announced meeting between the Prime Minister and the unions
Remember that in the Fifth Republic, you do not apply for the post of Prime Minister. We are not elected to Matignon either, whatever some people think. It is therefore Emmanuel Macron who has the hand. An obvious fact that puts the nerves of some to the test. The President has always taken his time in appointing his prime ministers. We also know that he has a habit of covering his tracks, letting rumors circulate and that, sometimes, in the end, he pulls an unexpected name out of his hat. There are a lot of uncertainties, especially since nothing says that he will really want to separate from Élisabeth Borne in the medium term.
Media candidates… or discreet
Relaunching the five-year term may require a reshuffle. With this famous specification of expanding the majority, understand finding a government agreement beyond Macronie for future reforms. In this little game, the most obvious suitors for Matignon remain the heavyweights of the government from the right: Gérald Darmanin, Bruno Le Maire… They are media. They could maneuver text by text, but would they know how to form a coalition? Nothing sure. More daring: Sébastien Lecornu, the current Minister of the Armed Forces who observed a media diet. It is currently reappearing in the press. He is a fine politician, but his entourage promises that he does not want to.
On the women’s side, Emmanuel Macron had almost appointed Catherine Vautrin to Matignon, a woman of experience, field and right. Rather discreet normally, Tuesday, she was on television declining a quasi-political program. She too also emerges from the shadows…
“Not decided yet”
In reality, there is no need to make a list that is too long: “If it was settled by a simple personality at Matignon, it would be known“, confirms a macronist. We must rather ask ourselves what reshuffle for what policy. What project for the end of the five-year term: social, sovereign, green shift? “It is not yet decided in the head of the President”, believes a minister knows. Between now and the decision of the Constitutional Council on pensions, nothing should happen.
But, just a little advice: beware of rumours. If you are told that Jean-François Copé or Manuel Valls are arriving at Matignon, remember that the 1er April is Saturday…