This morning, quite early, the Élysée organized a phone call between Emmanuel Macron, Gérard Larcher, President of the Senate, Laurent Wauquiez, head of the group of Republican Right deputies, and Bruno Retailleau, leader of the LR senators. On the agenda: the nomination of the future Prime Minister.
If in recent days, Bernard Cazeneuve and then Thierry Beaudet, president of the CESE, were holding the rope, the head of state indicated that he was now rather in the mood to appoint Xavier Bertrand, according to our information. Without specifying the timing. He did not mention the Beaudet track again during this conversation. In his eyes, Bernard Cazeneuve does not meet two criteria. First, he would not be supported by his political family, and therefore would risk censure. Second, Cazeneuve wants to go back on the pension reform. Which the head of state refuses. Hence Emmanuel Macron’s preference now for Xavier Bertrand, even if relations between the two men have always been complicated.
Hands off pension reform
Gérard Larcher, Laurent Wauquiez and Bruno Retailleau unanimously responded that the appointment of the Prime Minister was the prerogative of the Head of State but that they would not oppose the appointment of Xavier Bertrand, a member of the Republicans, to Matignon. The three political leaders nevertheless asked for two guarantees, according to our information. That the President, as he did for Lucie Castets, ensure with the political parties that such a scenario was viable since he claims to be the guarantor of “institutional stability”. “We want to be certain that such a government is not censored,” they repeated to him.
Then, as they always told Emmanuel Macron during the consultations, beyond the personalities, what matters is the policy conducted. The three elected officials therefore wanted to know more about what the political orientations of a Xavier Bertrand government would be. Nothing would be worse for them, they repeated, than a right-wing Prime Minister who would serve as an alibi to conduct a left-wing policy. For them, touching the pension reform is a red line.
Emmanuel Macron told them that on the first point (the hypothesis of censorship) he would indeed make sure to tour the political parties in the coming hours. On the second point, he confirmed that it was up to the potential future Prime Minister to contact the different political groups, particularly the right, to say what his intentions were.
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