First choice of Emmanuel Macron, Elisabeth Borne had become the second in the week preceding his appointment. A volte-face which did not please the barons of Macronie. A beginning of a sling that pushed back the re-elected president.
Definitely, this second five-year term begins oddly. It took twenty-two days for the re-elected president to appoint Elisabeth Borne as Prime Minister. Twenty-two days to return to his “first intuition” according to Richard Ferrand, the first grognard of Emmanuel Macron. But in Macronie, we like to take our time. The name of the Minister of Labor had been circulating for more than a month as the favorite to succeed Jean Castex. Emmanuel Macron does not like the obvious, so he decided to find a different profile from the endless CV of a senior civil servant. Spurred on by the tandem Thierry Solère (political adviser) and Sébastien Lecornu (Minister of Overseas France), pushed behind the scenes by former minister Jean-Louis Borloo and even encouraged by Jean Castex, the president believed he had found the rare pearl with Catherine Vautrin, a local elected official (Reims), minister of Jacques Chirac twenty years ago then treasurer of Nicolas Sarkozy. The case was almost in the bag until the moment when the Macronist barons said “niet”.
Barely re-elected, Emmanuel Macron therefore suffered his first slingshot. Incredible but true. “Jupiter” has given up on its audacious choice that would have been that of naming this right-wing woman pro-marriage for all, rallied to the walkers last February. Catherine Vautrin triggered a triple no: from the centrist François Bayrou to the macronist pillar Richard Ferrand via the boss of the European deputies Stéphane Séjourné. Not to mention the hostility of Alexis Kohler, powerful secretary general of the Elysée. The president finally returned to his “first intuition”. A rather unexpected “no” front. It all ended late Monday afternoon with a press release from the Elysée announcing the appointment of Elisabeth Borne as Prime Minister. End of the episode. Of course, all that goes over the heads of the French who will generally be delighted with the appointment of a woman, the first for thirty-one years. But this designation with forceps risks leaving traces. She’s already inherited a nasty “Plan B” moniker like Borne.
Mitterrand and Chirac, problems with their majority after their re-election
For Emmanuel Macron, the episode could leave a bitter taste. For the first time, its reputedly docile walkers have rebelled. The solitary decision of their leader, who had promised a new governance, is no longer enough to automatically trigger unanimity. Some of his predecessors experienced similar mishaps. We remember François Mitterrand. In 1988, “Tonton” had just been re-elected hands down only to lose it almost immediately. First in the legislative elections, the socialist president obtained only a relative majority. At the head of the PS then, he failed to impose his favorite Laurent Fabius as first secretary, which went to Pierre Mauroy. The prelude to a ruthless war of succession between Laurent Fabius and Michel Rocard.
In 2002, Jacques Chirac had just been re-elected to everyone’s surprise. He decides to place his men: Jean-Pierre Raffarin at the head of the government while Alain Juppé, his “favorite son” takes the reins of the UMP. Exit Nicolas Sarkozy, the man who goes up on the right. Relegated to the Ministry of the Interior, the turbulent mayor of Neuilly will use it as a launching pad for his ascent to the Elysée. Recent history shows that re-elected presidents find it very difficult to delay wars of succession. The hesitations of the last few days show that Emmanuel Macron, who cannot run for re-election in 2027, will have to reckon with his political friends who will not be fooled. New president and new mandate certainly, but also new political deal. An unprecedented situation under the Fifth Republic.