France Sebastian Lecornu for Prime Minister - pas de serieux!
Lecornu’s appointment will not fix France or alter the perception of Macron as flailing about as Paris burns.
Lecornu is a traditional right wing (ex Republicain/UMP), solid, stolid politician with a decent track record in local administration and a long term survival record as a minister in successive Macron’s governments, most lately as a defence minister.
He is uncomfortable in EU meetings and skips them.
He previously tried life as a monk.
And he is a reservist gendarme.
His most outstanding feature is loyalty to Macron. But he has no vision and no charisma.
So what’s the Macron idea?
Macron appears to have given up on trying to split the left. Now the plan is probably to consolidate the right wing - ex-Republicains - in his own party and try for elections next year in the hope of reestablishing the centre right of the French political spectrum - even the Gaullist tradition.
Dream on Monsieur le President dream on!
The socialist PS have clearly rejected the option of working with Macron, whom they view as a traitor, because they fear that any move to the centre of the political spectrum would cause a loss of votes to La France Insoumise.
I am sticking to short French Sovereign bonds - 10 yr OATS - and long Italian 10 yr BTPs.