Michel Barnier : The Task Ahead

After several months of consultation, French President, Emmanuel Macron on September 5, 2024 appointed Michel Barnier, as the new Prime Minister. The 67- year-old has held several high profile positions within and without the country. Since his appointment, the French veteran conservative has been crisscrossing the country strategizing on how to seek solutions to the pending issues that are plaguing the nation. Some of the challenges as he settles into his new office are; 
Forming A Government
The political veteran's first order of business will be to come up with a new government. With President Macron's lack of a parliamentary majority, Michel Barnier will need to carefully weigh who gets what ministerial portfolio as opposition parties will be unforgiving towards any casting errors. By tradition, soon after forming a government, the new Prime Minister delivers a speech to the National Assembly outlining policy priorities, such as possible reforms. If the new premier does not then seek a vote of confidence in the lower house of Parliament, then opposition parties can seek one instead. A vote of no-confidence against Barnier's government would require 289 votes in favour in the 577-seat lower house. With leftist parties set to vote against, Barnier's political survival is likely to hinge on the far right National Rally abstaining from a vote against him. They have said they would wait and see first what he has to say about immigration and changing France's voting system.
Drafting A Budget 
If Prime Minister Barnier makes it past the government formation hurdle, the other major policy challenge he faces is drafting the 2025 budget, which must be handed over to lawmakers by October 1, 2024. Though there is still little time for Barnier’s team to finish off work already prepared by the outgoing government, passing a budget that puts France’s public finances back on track will not be an easy task for Barnier, a conservative from the right-leaning Les Republicains party with slim support in France’s fractious Parliament. Analysts and economists say, Barnier is facing brutal first few weeks in office as he confronts a deep fiscal crisis with the most fragile government in recent French history. The great unknown would be how far Le Pen will be willing to address the most immediate crisis facing country. If Le Pen’s far right joins with the left to support a censure motion, it is more likely for now, that Le Pen will “passively support Barnier’s government if he advances her priorities on migration, the cost of living, and proportional representation. But Le Pen’s strategy will remain fluid and opportunistic and could change weekly, making it a painful choice to prevent France from plunging into a destructive fiscal crisis.
Reconcile The Political Class
Barnier’s appointment has provoked mass protests in France with the New Popular Front, a left-wing coalition made...