PARIS: For the past seven years, President Emmanuel Macron has basked in the largely undivided attention of the French nation, enjoying freedom in shaping the country’s foreign and domestic policy.
The appointment of Michel Barnier, a 73-year-old traditional conservative, as Macron’s new prime minister on Thursday marks the beginning of a new era for a president who once famously said he wanted to rule like Jupiter, the Roman god of the sky and thunder.
Under the new power-sharing arrangement that the Elysee presidential palace calls an era of “demanding coexistence”, Macron will cut a diminished figure both at home and abroad.
“We won’t have the same presidency,” said Anne-Charlene Bezzina, an expert in public law.
“It’s up to the prime minister to get his hands dirty, to build alliances and coalitions. He’s the one who’ll be caught in the National Assembly’s crossfire.”
The appointment of Barnier marked a potential turning point following two months of political chaos in the wake of snap elections called by Macron that left no group close to an overall majority in the National Assembly lower house of parliament.
Barnier, a former foreign minister who acted as the European Union’s Brexit negotiator, quickly indicated he would be his own man.
“The president will preside and the government will govern,” Barnier, the oldest premier in the history of modern France, said on Friday evening.
Macron is expected to be the “guarantor” of France’s institutions and no longer dictate government policy.
Having been known for his top-down leadership style since coming to power in 2017, observers say Macron will have to learn humility. APP
