Discussions to agree on a candidate for prime minister continue at a rapid pace on the French left, which won Sunday’s legislative elections but is not strong enough to ensure a stable government on its own. There is no shortage of candidates, but it is not a purely nominal question: the agreed figure that emerges will be an indicator of the willingness of the New Popular Front (NFP), the union of the left, to open itself to potential alliances with other forces, whether in a coalition government or for tacit support. Without allies, it will risk succumbing in the first vote of no confidence, as the NFP lacks a hundred seats to be able to breathe – and govern – without surprises.
But it is not easy to draw a line. The Macronist bloc, especially the right-wing wing, is beginning to feel its way to see if it can muster enough seats to make a counter-proposal for a government. This is despite the fact that the parties in the bloc affiliated with President Emmanuel Macron have even fewer deputies than the 182 of the NFP in a National Assembly where power is more evenly distributed than ever. Neither bloc is close to an absolute majority of 289 seats.
While the leaders of the left are meeting in secret places all over Paris to continue their discussions, there are growing voices within Macron’s party that openly call for an attempt at an alliance with the conservatives of Les Républiques (LR) and the rest of the so-called “diverse right” (those who have run outside of those acronyms) of the Republican arc, which together have around 66 seats. A weight that could balance the scales and even tip it in favour of Macron, who has 168 deputies. This would avoid Macron a cohabitation with the left which, although less conflictive than that of the extreme right that everyone feared, would also be uncomfortable for the centrist leader.
In any case, what practically all of Macronism agrees on is to push for any government arising from the NFP to be formed without taking into account its most radical force, La France Insoumise (LFI) of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
“I will be in opposition to an NFP government and I will vote in favour of a motion of censure against any government that includes LFI,” Macronist MP Benjamin Haddad warned in the National Assembly on Tuesday. This MP is one of those who advocate the “neither-nor” formula: neither LFI nor the far-right National Rally. Instead, he is proposing a rapprochement with traditional conservatives to explore whether they can join forces to try to form a government. “Let us lend a hand to the Republicans, for the general interest of the country,” he demanded. This approach is supported by the most conservative wing of Macronism, such as the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, or the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, and former political figures such as former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
The left-wing parties “cannot claim to govern alone”, said the outgoing president of the National Assembly, the Macronist Yaël Braun-Pivet, one of those who advocate a “common roadmap” from LR to the social democratic left. In this regard, one of the heavyweights of the Socialist Party (PS), the mayor of Nantes, Johanna Roland, has declared herself open to a coalition with some “left-wing Macronists”. However, she has stressed that the NFP programme must be the “compass” that guides any agreement to govern.
Knowing what’s happening outside means understanding what’s going to happen inside, so don’t miss anything.
KEEP READING
The search for an alternative majority among the Macronists could be an incentive for the NFP to speed up its already hasty search for a prime ministerial candidate, which has already taken about a week. The issue is so complex in an alliance full of internal rivalries that the left-wing bloc relegated it to after the elections. After all, off the record, many of its members declared themselves convinced that the dilemma would not arise, because almost no one really expected that they would end up with the most seats on Sunday.
“Solemn warning to Macron”
Faced with potential competition from the centre-right on the left, and following Macron’s decision to temporarily keep Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in office, the NFP issued a statement on Tuesday recalling that they are the main force and that the president must therefore invite them first, and quickly, to form a government. “We solemnly warn the president against any attempt to misuse the institutions,” the statement said. If Macron “persists in ignoring Sunday’s result, it would be a betrayal of the spirit of our Constitution and a blow to democracy that we would oppose with all our strength,” they warned, and assured that they are ready to govern “from tomorrow.”
The problem is that the NFP has not yet proposed even a candidate for prime minister to Macron. The main battle is between the LFI and the Socialist Party, which, although it still has a few fewer MPs than the rebels, has doubled its seats and is very close to those of the radical left. Together with the other forces of the NFP, ecologists and communists, many of whom are willing to open the alliance to MPs from the Macronist centre-left, they have the largest group in terms of seats. However, there are those who expect that there will be defections within the LFI, after a tense campaign in which, more than ever, there has been disagreement with the dominant figure of Mélenchon. Something that has already resulted in the definitive divorce of former firm allies such as François Ruffin and Clémentine Autin, who, despite having been repudiated by the rebels, have managed to renew their seats.
Despite all this, the rebels insist that the name of the candidate for prime minister should come from their ranks. And although they refuse to rule out Mélenchon altogether – totally rejected by the other forces – they say they have enough candidates who meet the conditions. The names that are most frequently mentioned are those of the national coordinator of LFI, Manuel Bompard, and Clémence Guetté, a 33-year-old MP who is less known to the general public but popular among the rebels and who is considered less divisive than her boss Mélenchon.
Other women in the running are Clementine Autin and Marine Tondelier, the leader of the Greens who has gained a lot of popularity during the election campaign. Known for always wearing a green jacket, this MP from Hénin-Beaumont, Marine Le Pen’s fiefdom in northern France, is one of the most heard voices in the current negotiations to find a prime minister. She has said she is not actively seeking the post, but she has not rejected it outright either. What she has stressed, and in this she has the support of socialists and communists, is that whoever it is, it must be a figure who can “pacify” the country (ergo: the volcanic Mélenchon is out of the question). The name of MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, whose strong advance in the European elections boosted the left-wing alliance, is also on the table.
But it is the PS that is putting the most pressure on the nomination of the candidate. Alongside the name of the deputy and number two of the PS, Boris Vallaud, the name of the secretary general of the party, Olivier Faure, is being heard loud and clear. On Tuesday, he declared himself “ready to accept” the post if the other partners accept it. The race against time continues.
Belgian instruction manual for negotiating a coalition
A coalition government, that great unknown in France, is an old essential instrument for governability in neighbouring countries such as Germany, Italy or even the great forgotten by the French: Belgium. The small neighbour to the north, which just a month before its own general elections is still without a new Executive after the defeat of the alliance of the liberal Alexander De Croo, has the absolute world record for days without a Government: 541. It is not strange, therefore, that the main French-speaking newspaper in the country, The eveningallows himself to humorously propose to France a “little tutorial on coalition governments.” The main thing, he says ironically, is to “stay zen” and be aware that at the beginning of any negotiation, the “never” and the “us or them,” which are so common these days in the French blocs, seem irrevocable, although they are not. And since “there is no good coalition without drama,” he recommends that French politicians “learn to count the days” of negotiations. “They can count up to at least 541, which is a bit scary at first but always ends up being fixed,” he assures them before wishing them “good luck.” The neighbors are going to need it.
Follow all the international information at Facebook and Xor in our weekly newsletter.
/financial-express-hindi/media/media_files/QaiZq3JtCkRvmwFECu7u.jpg "Stocks in News: These stocks including Infosys, Adani Ports, ONGC, RVNL, Delta Corp will remain in focus, action will be seen today"){kind=small}
