PARIS, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Nearly three months after plunging France into political crisis by calling a snap election, President Emmanuel Macron is struggling to name a new prime minister whom rivals will not immediately topple – and who will preserve his pro-business legacy.
The election delivered a hung parliament, with Macron now having to pick a prime minister who can please three similar-sized political blocs – the left, the far right and his centrist grouping – with little inclination to make concessions.
Macron has been meeting with political leaders from across the political spectrum to identify a possible prime minister for weeks, but to little avail. With his hand irrevocably weakened by the election result, he has been left with little choice but to weigh concessions on his hard-won pension reform detested by the left or forswear tax hikes as demanded by conservatives.
“The president is taking his time because he doesn’t want a prime minister who will touch his economic legacy. Tax hikes and retirement reform are his red lines,” Socialist lawmaker Arthur Delaporte told Reuters.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/wanted-pliable-french-pm-who-will-not-torpedo-macrons-legislative-legacy-2024-09-04/
