Gifts from Macron

On May 18, the new cabinet of ministers of France, selected by the new president, gathered for the first meeting. He is already showing himself to be a cunning and perspicacious politician

The new cabinet was headed by Edouard Philippe, the mayor of Le Havre, a representative of the main opposition force, the right-wing Republican Party, which built the entire election campaign on arguments about the need to alternate left and right in power. By appointing a man from the heart of the right-wing headquarters as head of the cabinet, the new centrist president thus deprives the Republicans of the main goal for 2017 - victory in the June parliamentary elections, which would allow them to win a majority and appoint their own prime minister. Moreover, Emmanuel Macron gave the right the entire economic bloc of the government: the ministries of economy and budget. The leadership of the "Republicans" has already announced the exclusion of "defectors" from the party. However, 173 ordinary deputies signed a letter in support of cooperation with the president.

Macron also did not ignore the socialists, giving them the main political departments - the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Foreign Ministry. The 69-year-old mayor of Lyon, Gerard Colomb, will be responsible for internal affairs. With him, the left can be calm: France will not change its migration policy, will not encroach on the rights and freedoms of the French under the pretext of fighting for security. In foreign policy, one should not expect changes either: Jean-Yves Le Drian, the same age as Colombe, who moved to the Foreign Ministry from the Ministry of Defense, is an old friend of his two predecessors, fellow party members Laurent Fabius and Jean-Marc Herault. The socialists who have received posts in the new government are not yet expelled from the party, but the split in the left camp is even stronger than that of the right.

The Greens were not left without “gifts”. The Ministry of Ecology was headed by a well-known environmentalist, popular TV presenter, special envoy of the President of France for the protection of the planet Nicolas Hulot.

However, a truly revolutionary act for Macron was the decision to rid culture, science, education, medicine and sports of party functionaries. The reaction in society and in professional circles is mostly enthusiastic. The head of the well-known progressive publishing house Actes Sud, Francoise Nissen, headed the Ministry of Culture. The eminent jurist and educator Jean-Michel Blanquet will take up education. A talented physician, oncologist, specialist in childhood leukemia, Agnès Buzin, became Minister of Health. Responsible for the sport will be the Olympic champion in fencing Laura Flessel.

Thus, for the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic, representatives of different political forces entered the government: right, left, centrists. At the same time, half of the cabinet of ministers generally consists of representatives of civil society, and not of professional politicians. Following the tradition introduced five years ago by François Hollande, gender parity is observed in the new Cabinet: there are 11 women ministers for 11 male ministers. Macron did not forget about age diversity: the three youngest members of the government are 33-34 years old, the three oldest are 69 years old.

So far, it seems that Macron has managed to kill two birds with one stone: to please public opinion and cut the ground from under the feet of the opposition, opening the door to the government for it. But for the new president's political innovation to succeed, such diverse ministers must now, despite all political differences, demonstrate the ability to unite for the future.