Now that the Prime Minister’s general policy declaration, Tuesday in the National Assembly and Wednesday in the Senate, has been passed, the rest of the composition of the government is awaited. The date of Friday February 2 held the rope, but it is no longer so certain.
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When will the government be complete? Behind the scenes, we are now talking about an announcement between the end of the week and the beginning of next week. It must be said that in recent days at Matignon and at the Élysée, between Gabriel Attal’s general policy speech, Emmanuel Macron’s trips abroad and especially the agricultural crisis which was invited to the emergency summit, finalizing the government was clearly not at the top of the priorities.
Thursday February 1, the Attal government beats Jean Castex’s record. In 2020, 20 days had passed between the announcement of ministers and secretaries of state, now we are on the 21st day. “With Castex, there were all the ministers delegated in the first wave: housing, transport, health, notes an advisor. All that was missing were the secretaries of state. This is a sketch!”
Painful wait also for substitutes and advisors
This wait is not necessarily well experienced by those who hope to return to government. The situation is almost simpler for those who are sure of not winning again. Some people had informal assurances several weeks ago, but without guarantee and it’s starting to take a bit of time. Ex-ministers want to be philosophers: “no news is good news”, “just wait.” Others, on the contrary, worry about “Nothing” know, or are working on new files, in case their “portfolio would widen thanks to the tightened government”. The ex-advisors, who, remember, are no longer paid, are more direct. Some speak of “little hell”. “The date keeps moving back, I can’t take it anymore”, blurted out a counselor.
These former members of Élisabeth Borne’s government, who are awaiting a possible return to the Assembly, are 21 who have a deputy seat awaiting them, all groups combined (Renaissance, Modem and Horizons). The return to the Palais-Bourbon will be next Friday, February 9, or more probably the following Monday. A former minister prepares for it unless he is recalled to a ministry. The substitutes are also waiting to know their fate. “My substitute doesn’t know if he should look for work”confides a minister.
The president of the Renaissance group, Sylvain Maillard, spoke with the ex-ministers to see which commission they want to sit on. But it is impossible to have an overview at this stage because there will undoubtedly be some crossover: those who actually return and those who leave the Palais-Bourbon to enter the government.