Michel Barnier Seeks To Form New Government Amidst Threats Of Vote Of No Confidence (image @MichelBarnier)
Michel Barnier, the new Prime Minister of France, continued negotiations with potential ministers while he struggled to form a government and to call an end to the political deadlock his country has been stuck at. Barnier, the veteran politician and EU Brexit negotiator, promised to form a new administration this week after “listening to everybody.”
Barnier was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month. With the threats from the far right and hard left to call a vote of no confidence in any ministerial team that fails to meet their approval, sources close to Barnier say he is unlikely to put names to posts until the end of next weekend, said The Guardian.
Also Read: France: Failure To Agree On New PM Makes Left-Wing Coalition More Fragile
Barnier promised to seek ministers from all political spectrums. The left-wing candidates have been reluctant, while the far-right National Rally (RN) has been perceived as a behind-the-scenes arbiter.
A spokesperson for the centre-right Republicans party (LR), which Barnier represents, Vincent Jeanbrun, said the PM had “a complex equation to solve” and he did not expect an announcement before then.
Macron’s decision to call for a snap election left Paris in political turmoil with the left, centre, and far right—all the three roughly equal political blocs—coming to the top, with none winning the absolute majority to form the government.
Out of the three, the left-wing coalition, New Popular Front, won most seats, followed by Macron’s centrist alliance that includes Macron’s Renaissance party. The far-right RN emerged as the most powerful single political party. The party is now in a position to make or break any government unless the NFP and centrists ally to oppose it.
RN is banking on a new general election being called next year. Macron cannot dissolve parliament and call another general election until 12 months after the last dissolution.
Also Read: Left-Wing Eclipses Far-Right In France; Hung Parliament As No Absolute Majority
Marine Le Pen, the RN chief, told party leaders that she hoped Barnier’s tenure as head of the government would be “as short as possible.” “We find ourselves in a situation where the party that got the fewest votes is in charge of forming a government. It cannot hold,” she said, as quoted by The Guardian.
Fabien Roussel, the national secretary of the French Communist Party, one of four leftwing parties that make up the NFP, also warned Barnier it was ready to use a censure motion and called on the new PM to repeal the contested pension law that raised the official retirement age from 62 to 64.
“He [Barnier] is a veteran of 50 years of right-wing politics… The censure motion is on the table. It’s ready, we’re working on it,” he said.
(With inputs from The Guardian)
