This decision is considered a strategic step by President Macron to set the stage for a comprehensive cabinet reshuffle, attract the support of left-wing voters as well as prepare for the election. The important National Assembly next June. Will the French leader’s calculations help the Macron administration score points?
Message from President Macron
The fact that French President Emmanuel Macron chose Elisabeth Borne as the new Prime Minister of France sent a lot of messages. The first message, that is the continuation. In his victory speech after the re-election of French President on the evening of April 24 at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, Mr. Macron talked a lot about innovation, promising that the next 5 years will be a completely new term, with New priorities, new ways of governance, not a continuation of the old term, but Emmanuel Macron’s choice of Elisabeth Borne as Prime Minister shows that the French President still does not dare to risk starting a new term. with completely new elements.
Elisabeth Borne is a veteran of Mr Macron’s administration and since 2017 has held the posts of Transport Minister, Ecology Minister and Labor Minister respectively. As a technocrat, Elisabeth Borne is also considered very loyal to Mr. Macron. Therefore, bringing Elisabeth Borne to the seat of French Prime Minister is a safe choice, a continuation of the projects that Mr. Macron was unable to complete during the first five years of his term.
In the coming days, Mrs. Elisabeth Borne will have to form a government, search for titles to appoint to the positions of Minister, Secretary of State and, according to observers and the French media, the new government of France. France will also hardly have many major changes in important positions such as Minister of Economy, Minister of Interior or Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The second message is that Mr. Macron continues to keep his commitments to gender equality. The fact that Ms. Elisabeth Borne became the second woman in the Fifth Republic of France to become Prime Minister is a very remarkable event. In the past, the first female French Prime Minister, Edith Cresson, held this position for a short time, from May 1991 to April 1992, and did not leave much of an impression. Mrs. Elisabeth Borne is expected to stay in office much longer, thereby also having more influence. As for President Macron, Elisabeth Borne can be considered as the second largest female politician that Mr. Macron has helped bring to a position of power. The previous one was the President of the European Commission, Ms. Ursula von der Leyen.
The message that follows, is what the Macron administration sees as a priority for action over the next five years. Ms. Elisabeth Borne comes from the left-wing “Socialist” party and when she joined the center-right “Renaissance” party (formerly known as “Republic of Progress” – LREM) of Emmanuel Macron since 2017. Mrs. Elisabeth Borne is also classified as a leftist group of this party. Therefore, Mr. Macron’s choice of Mrs. Elisabeth Borne as Prime Minister shows that he wants to ease disagreements, wants to dialogue with the left and with trade unions to handle current hot issues of society such as purchasing power, pension or minimum wage reform.
Strengths of the new Prime Minister
Among the candidates for the new French Prime Minister position to replace Mr. Jean Castex, Mrs. Elisabeth Borne is the one who meets almost all the criteria set by French President Emmanuel Macron, that is: being a woman, being attached. and knowledgeable about social, environmental and production issues. French political analysts consider Mrs. Elisabeth Borne a “Swiss knife” of President Emmanuel Macron ie a versatile character, can take on many responsibilities at the same time.
Elisabeth Borne’s career record shows just that. She graduated from the most prestigious Polytechnique in France, which is considered the quintessence of France, and has worked as a consultant in previous generations of French ministers, so she understands the operation of the apparatus. State, once held the position of Governor of the province of Poitou-Charente, so he has relationships and understanding with localities and since 2017 has headed 3 important ministries of the French government, namely Transport, Ecology and Labor.
Overall, Mrs. Elisabeth Borne is considered a high-ranking civil servant, an excellent technocrat, diligent and also very tough. Those who have worked with Ms. Borne in different positions have assessed that the French Prime Minister is an extremely effective person, has a strong grasp of documents and has a fierce style. This is exactly what Mr. Macron is looking for, because in the context of French politics and society deeply divided after the presidential election, Mr. Macron needs a Prime Minister who can quickly start to solve the problems. the most difficult, including improving purchasing power, promoting the implementation of ecological strategies, energy transition, pension reform.
In terms of politics, because she comes from the left-wing “Socialist” (PS) party but is a technocratic figure, Elisabeth Borne is seen as someone who can help Mr. Macron and have a dialogue with the left. but it also does not upset the right wing too much.
Deep down, Mrs. Elisabeth Borne also has three other characteristics that Mr. Emmanuel Macron’s team is pleased with: willing to accept being a shadow for the President, completely following the line set by Mr. Macron and not have great political ambitions. These are also the characteristics of Mr. Jean Castex. These characteristics are consistent with Mr. Macron’s leadership style since coming to power, which has always wanted to limit the role and influence of the Prime Minister’s character, turning the Prime Minister into a kind of French political analysts. called “collaborator”. This is a far cry from the past, when previous French Prime Ministers such as Lionel Jospin, Jean-Pierre Raffarin or even Édouard Philippe during Macron’s first term were influential figures. . Therefore, choosing Mrs. Elisabeth Borne as Prime Minister, Mr. Macron has a character with proven ability, loyal without too much fear of losing power or influence as in the days of Édouard Philippe.
Agenda and the possibility of winning the National Assembly election
On the agenda, Mrs. Elisabeth Borne will have to tackle many of the major challenges ahead quickly. The first is to form a new government soon. This is not simple because Mr. Macron’s ruling party is a gathering place of many figures from different political parties who want to ally with Mr. Macron to take power, so after Mr. Macron’s re-election, the division power among these forces is not simple. In addition, Mr. Macron and Ms. Elisabeth Borne must also consider sharing power to attract other parties and groups of voters in the French National Assembly elections next month.
Regarding specific measures, in the immediate future, Ms. Elisabeth Borne will have to immediately develop a policy package on purchasing power, including maintaining the fuel price ceiling, increasing the minimum wage, and increasing financial support for people. to cope with high inflation, which reduces people’s purchasing power. Next, Mrs. Elisabeth Borne will have to start implementing an ecological and energy transition strategy, including the construction of 6 new-generation nuclear power plants, supporting tens of millions of households in France to transition. change the heating system, study the possibility of imposing an environmental tax. What follows is an extremely complex pension reform profile, with controversies over imposing the retirement age of French workers at 65 or below, building a universal pension system for the entire population. people instead of dozens of specialized retirement systems that already exist. After that, Mrs. Elisabeth Borne also had to develop a roadmap to cut taxes of 15 billion euros for businesses and households from now until 2027… In general, these are all extremely thorny socio-economic issues. .
For the French parliamentary elections, Mr. Macron’s appointment of a figure considered leftist like Elisabeth Borne as Prime Minister is also a move to entice left-wing voters, especially voters. of the Eco Party. However, this may not be enough to secure a major victory for Mr. Macron’s “Renaissance” coalition, led by two other coalitions, the left-wing “New Ecological and Social People’s Union” (Nupes). and the coalition of far-right parties are also gaining momentum after the presidential election.
For Ms. Elisabeth Borne personally, the next National Assembly election will also be a big test when Ms. Borne runs for parliament in Calvados province because in the past, Ms. Elisabeth Borne has never contested and has never been elected. elected to positions such as members of the National Assembly or members of local councils. Therefore, if it fails, Elisabeth Borne’s position as Prime Minister will certainly be greatly affected.
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