Francois Bayrou: Revolving door PM

The Prime Ministership of France, currently caught in a revolving door situation, has its fourth entrant of the year in Francois Bayrou. The 73-year-old centrist leader of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) party acceded to the role on December 12 after Michel Barnier was ousted in a no-confidence vote — the first since 1962. Mr. Barnier’s stint had lasted three months.

Gabriel Attal, who had fulfilled the duties before Mr. Barnier, served for nine months until September before his government was dissolved in June by President Emmanuel Macron, who sought a fresh mandate following the EU parliamentary polls. Elections to the 27-member bloc had delivered a shocker to the 46-year-old President whose party could not poll even half as many votes as Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.

Mr. Bayrou calls the challenges ahead of him ‘Himalayan’.

But the start of his tenure has belied the political acumen usually associated with a seasoned leader active since the 1980s. For when the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean was languishing in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido on December 14, the Prime Minister chose to fly off to attend a council meeting in Pau, a small city in Southwestern France, whose mayorship he retains.

Not helping the administration’s cause was visiting President Macron who lost his temper when taking stock. “If it wasn’t for France, you’d be 10,000 times deeper in shit,” the President was caught on camera saying and swearing when residents complained of water and other aid not reaching them despite it being the seventh day since the cyclone struck. While the official death toll stands at 31, thousands are feared dead in France’s poorest territory.

For Mr. Macron, Mr. Bayrou’s appointment is not just a way of addressing the political instability precipitated by his reckless actions, but the two go back a long way. The MoDem leader, who had thrice run for President unsuccessfully in the past, stepped aside in 2017 and lent support to an emerging Mr. Macron. The debt may have been repaid by appointing My. Bayrou as Justice Minister the same year, but the fruits were short-lived as he had to step down over a party funding scandal in just over a month.

It is reported that the President was mulling other candidates such as outgoing Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu and former Industry Minister Roland Lescure for the post of Prime Minister. However, Mr. Bayrou is believed to have strong-armed Mr. Macron into naming him to the position.

Born to wealthy farmers in Borderes, Mr. Bayrou worked as a teacher of Greek and Latin before embarking on a political career in the 1980s. First elected to the National Assembly in 1986, he was Education Minister between 1993 and 1997 and went on to become a member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2002.

Presidential bids

Mr. Bayrou’s first shot for President came in 2002 but proved futile. He ran again in 2007 by presenting himself as the third way between the Left and the Right, with the campaign earning him the moniker of the ‘third man’ of French politics. Despite tripling his vote share to 18.6% compared to the previous time, Mr. Bayrou wound up third in an election that was ultimately won by the Republican Party’s Nicolas Sarkozy. Mr. Bayrou contested once more unsuccessfully in 2012.

A fallout with Mr. Sarkozy notwithstanding, Mr. Bayrou is pally with far-right’s Ms. Le Pen, whom the MoDem leader helped garner sponsors to run for President. The fact that he also lent support to Socialist candidates Francois Hollande and Ségolène Royal in the past makes him palatable to the Left too.

However, the snap polls called My. Macron to arrest the surge of the far-right saw the leftwing securing a maximum number of 182 seats, while falling short of the 289 majority in the 577-strong National Assembly. Mr. Macron’s Ensemble came second with 168 seats while Le Pen’s National Rally came close with 143.

This has spawned a National Assembly where none of the blocs have a majority.

My. Bayrou overcame a stutter in his childhood to scale the heights of politics. The Centrist leader’s challenge now lies in tackling a parliament whose composition leaves him with little teeth to present a Budget that can address France’s ballooning economic woes.