While the President appoints the Prime Minister, Macron must select someone with Parliament’s support, considering negotiations and compromises between parties.While the President appoints the Prime Minister, Macron must select someone with Parliament’s support, considering negotiations and compromises between parties. In Germany, the Chancellor negotiates with parties, while in Italy, the President consults with party leaders. Macron’s ally, Bayrou, suggests the President should select a compromise candidate as Prime Minister. However, Macron’s outsider status and aloof image may hinder his ability to mediate effectively. In a letter to the French, Macron outlined his criteria for a Prime Minister, including a “solid, necessarily pluralist” coalition and a call for dialogue.
While it is up to the President to appoint the Prime Minister, Macron will have to choose someone who can count on the support of Parliament and who must therefore take into account the outcome of negotiations and compromises between parties.
“Legally, there are no instructions” on the president’s role in these negotiations, said Bonnet, the constitutional law professor. In practice, it is “unlikely that Macron will play a mediating role” because he has “little political room for manoeuvre” after losing the election, he added.
In Germany, the Chancellor personally leads negotiations with other parties. In some countries, such as Italy, the President organizes consultations with party leaders to understand which potential prime minister could secure a majority in parliament.
Macron’s ally François Bayrou believes something similar should happen in France: the president, not the parties, should break the impasse by choosing a prime minister who can act as a compromise, he said.
In practice, it is unlikely that Emmanuel Macron will play a mediating role, as he has “little political room for manoeuvre” after losing the election, he added. | Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
The problem is that Macron himself may not be the ideal mediator. He came to the Elysée as an outsider, supported by his own new political movement, and has often been criticized as an aloof figure.
In his letter to the French last week, Macron made it clear that he would only appoint a prime minister backed by a “solid, necessarily pluralist” coalition, while calling for “calm and respectful” efforts to seek compromise.
