Nearly 20 days after the second round of the presidential election, Emmanuel Macron has still not named his next prime minister. According to information from franceinfo, Jean Castex should not resign before Sunday evening and his return from the Vatican. “The torture becomes long”quipped on franceinfo Friday, May 13, Patrick Kanner, former Minister of the City, Youth and Sports under François Hollande.
“The secret is well kept”, believes the former socialist minister. Few people seem to be in the confidence. “Everything goes through him, explains the senator from the North. He must know who he wishes to appoint, the person in question must know it, it is often said that his wife also and surely Alexis Kohler, the secretary general of the Elysée. “But it’s true that no one else knows.” A method denounced by Patrick Kanner. “The President of the Republic announced that he would change, that he would be more collective, more transparent: this is not yet the case”, does he regret. “The isolation for which it is accused, the verticality, the Jupiterian character of this government management: I have the impression that it continues and I hope it will not get worse”he adds.
“Emmanuel Macron was first elected on May 7, 2017, and on May 17 the government was fully appointed. That is ten days later, reminds the senator, “For the government of Jean Castex, the distance has doubled”, highlighted Patrick Kanner, now president of the socialist, environmentalist and republican group in the Senate. A duration that he considers too long “for the French, who need to know who is going to govern them, for the ministers and for the collaborators”.
This period, Patrick Kanner experienced it in 2017, weeks punctuated by boxes “to move, for the National Archives”. Then comes the long time. “You can no longer commit to important things for your ministry even if you manage current affairs”, he explains. “There are decrees to be taken, decrees to be signed, arbitrations of everyday life, appointments to minor positions but which make sense for the ministry concerned”.