LThe conflict which led to the fall of Michel Barnier’s government was the result of
persistence of the reflexes of customary party leaders of a majority system within a
Fragmented and divided National Assembly. If they want to emerge from the current crisis, leaders of all parties must learn to adopt a more conciliatory tone and develop a taste for coalitions and a culture of compromise.
The appointment of centrist François Bayrou as prime minister offers the opportunity to achieve this. The experience of other European countries allows us to identify three measures to achieve a stable, efficient and reliable government. In the short term, a new minority government should first include the agreement it concludes with its parliamentary allies in a formal and transparent government pact.
This will avoid the tensions observed between the government and its supposed parliamentary ally, the National Rally (RN), by forcing them to focus on the implementation of their program, rather than their electoral prospects. Drawing up a government agreement is a usual, if time-consuming, practice for political parties in Belgium and Germany.
In search of stable government
But the time spent preparing the agreement helps avoid major conflicts between parties later. The conclusion of a «government pact» is also a convention in Spain before the inauguration of a minority government by its parliamentary allies. Such ideas are currently being put forward by President Macron in the form of a “non-aggression pact”and by the leader of the Socialist Party (PS) with the principle of a motion of « non-censorship ».
But this proposition must be developed to produce a stable government. A “government pact” should define the conditions under which the government and its parliamentary supporters would govern together, in particular: the main principles of action, the specific legislative program and a clear distribution of roles within the parliamentary committees.
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