Emmanuel Macron appoints Élisabeth Borne, a technocrat from socialism, as Prime Minister

the president of Francethe centrist Emmanuel Macronappointed this Monday as Prime Minister the current head of Labor, Élisabeth Borne, the second woman to access the position, less than a month before the legislative elections.

“The President of the Republic appointed Elizabeth Borne Prime Minister and commissioned her to form a government. announced the French presidency in a concise official note, after the expected resignation shortly before of his predecessor Jean Castex.

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Borne is the second woman to serve as prime minister, after the socialist Édith Cresson (1991-1992)who in an interview on Sunday in Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD) wished him “a lot of encouragement” with a “macho” political class.

This exalted official, 61 years old, will have to apply Macron’s program, re-elected in April for five years, as long as the ruling party and its allies achieve a majority in the next legislative elections.

To promote his reforms, the president must achieve a majority of deputies in the June elections, in which he will face an alliance of leftist parties, headed by the radical wing, and a strong extreme right.

Although the polls predict a new majority for the ruling party, the election of Borne is not trivial. It represents a wink to socialist voters unhappy with the alliance led by leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

In addition to being a woman, an option that 74% of French people support, according to a recent Ifop poll, this former chief of staff of the socialist Ségolène Royal also belongs to the center-left wing of the ruling party.

“social mistreatment”

His career in the French government, where he held the portfolios of Transport, Ecological Transition and Labor, meets the only criteria advanced by Macron: a “social”, “ecological” and “productive” profile.

The third prime minister of the centrist, after Castex and Edouard Philippe, also knows first-hand the main reform that the president hopes to carry out: the unpopular delay in the minimum retirement age from 62 to 65 years.

“Let’s go for a new season of social abuse!”, Mélenchon tweeted, after recalling measures adopted by Borne such as reducing benefits for a million unemployed or postponing the end of nuclear energy for 10 years.

However, it is expected that among the first measures of the new government will be an aid package to face the consequences, especially in energy and food prices, of the war in Ukraine.

With the election of Élisabeth Borne, Macron turns the page of a first term marked by social protests such as the “yellow vests” and by the coronavirus pandemic, that he had to manage Jean Castex.

“For almost two years, [el gobierno de Castex] has acted with passion and commitment in the service of France. Let us be proud of the work done,” Macron tweeted, alongside an image of his and his former prime minister.

According to several executive sources, the transfer of powers between Castex and Borne is scheduled for this Monday around 7:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. GMT). The first Council of Ministers could be held next Wednesday.

Source: Elcomercio

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