Meet the new prime minister, same as the old prime minister.
This time, the president is giving Lecornu “carte blanche” to do whatever necessary to pass a budget.
“The president of the Republic has appointed Mr. Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister and tasked him with forming a government,” the Elysée Palace announced Friday evening without further elaboration.
“I accept — out of duty — the mission entrusted to me by the president,” the prime minister said in a trepidatious statement following the announcement. “We must put an end to this political crisis that exasperates the French people and to this instability that is harmful to France’s image and its interests.”
Lecornu offered a short list of “necessary conclusions” based on conversations he held with various party leaders throughout the past weeks.
Specifically, Lecornu demands all issues currently dividing the National Assembly into three factions be brought to parliamentary debate.
“Deputies and senators will be able to take on their responsibilities, and the debates must be seen through to the end,” he wrote in his statement.
Additionally, Lecornu demands all factions within the National Assembly to put aside their political aspirations for the offices of prime minister and president until the budget is comprehensively addressed.
The right-wing National Rally — currently leading in French political polls — has already signaled no interest in cooperation of any kind.
“I vote against everything,” National Rally leader Marine Le Pen said Wednesday, vowing to oppose any prime minister Macron puts forward.
“The problem with our political leaders today is that they get on the horse not to go somewhere, but for a rodeo,” Le Pen told supporters at a livestock fair this week, claiming the government’s mentality is instead “how long can I hold on while the horse tries to throw me off?”
One option remains open to Lecornu for him to completely circumvent the political turmoil of the broken National Assembly — Article 49.3.
The constitutional article states that the government is empowered to push legislation through the National Assembly, the lower chamber of the French Parliament, without putting it to a vote.
It is a legally legitimate tool of the national government, but has been scorned by lawmakers for decades due to accusations that the article runs contrary to democratic rule.
Intentions to use Article 49.3 are often met with threats of a no-confidence vote to depose the prime minister — but after four failed heads of government in the last year, the threat of yet another no-confidence vote is losing its venom.
MACRON FACES GRIM DECISION AS CALLS FOR SNAP ELECTION AND RESIGNATION ABOUND
As the elected president, Macron is under no threat of being forced out of office. He has promised to see out his final term, which is set to expire in 2027.
That has not stopped his critics from calling on him to resign, claiming the chaos of the current government threatens to undermine the credibility of his centrist party, Renaissance.
