What do Philippe Brun, Valérie Rabault, Stéphane Le Foll and Laurent Wauquiez have in common? All four refused a ministerial post in Michel Barnier’s government, but only the latter does not have a Socialist Party membership card.
On the evening of Thursday, September 19, the leader of the Republican Right group announced to his deputies that he had rejected the Economy portfolio: “I said from the beginning that entering the government was not my obsession.” But to add an exception: the Ministry of the Interior, where the deputy of Haute-Loire thought “to be able to be useful”. The parliamentarians connected remotely did not experience the announcement as a revelation. They are all aware of their leader’s ambitions.
A recent ambition. The start of the 2024 school year should mark a very gradual break with the scarcity strategy of the president of the Les Républicains (LR) in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The surprise dissolution on June 6 accelerated the schedule of the pretender to the Elysée between the legislative elections, the return to the National Assembly and the capture of the group. Initially opposed to any coalition government, Laurent Wauquiez perceives the response from the field. People on the right are in favor of the participation of LR personalities in a Barnier government.
Wearing the suit of “father of rigor”
This is a good thing, there is no shortage of volunteers. As is often the case, the former Minister of Higher Education underestimates all the options before setting his sights on the interior. Looking ahead to 2027, Beauvau is seen as the least slippery launching pad. There he will be able to embody (right-wing) authority, follow in the footsteps of Nicolas Sarkozy between 2005 and 2007 and avoid diluting his political offer too much in the Macronist “at the same time”.
But Mr. Wauquiez can always warn that that “It will be inside or nothing”, Michel Barnier has another project for the man whose help proved invaluable in beating Xavier Bertrand in the race for Matignon. Last week, the Prime Minister proposed the economy, without a budget, but with an extended scope to finance and employment, like Christine Lagarde between 2007 and 2011. Others would have signed with both hands, but accepting Bercy also means putting on the “father” costume. “The usual” is not the most comfortable team with an expected public deficit of 4.6% of gross domestic product by 2024.
On Thursday, nothing had yet been decided when Laurent Wauquiez crossed the Matignon courtyard alongside Bruno Retailleau to meet the other members of the new majority. From the start, Michel Barnier noted for the Interior the name of the senator from Vendée in which he was to be the first to vote. “He has total confidence,” says a relative. Despite his often flamboyant anti-Macronism, Macron considered Retailleau to be a reliable ally during the pension reform.
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