[update below] [2nd update below] [3rd update below]
Here’s my quick reaction to Jean-Marc Ayrault’s first government, which was named yesterday evening (there will be a second Ayrault government after the June legislative elections if the left wins a majority; if not, then there will be a government led by someone else, mais on n’en est pas là). I watched the announcement on TV with a few friends and we were generally impressed, as there is perfect gender parity and more “diversity” ministers than one would have expected. Some of the choices are interesting.
First, PM Jean-Marc Ayrault himself. He was the front-runner since the evening of May 6th and an all but foregone conclusion since the weekend. As he was the head of the Socialist delegation in the National Assembly since 1997—and the minority leader in the Assembly over the past decade—he’s been a well-known personality for anyone who closely follows politics here, though has not aroused strong feelings one way or another. He’s a generally colorless figure, whom one neither likes nor dislikes (quite unlike most other leading Socialists, who tend to provoke sympathy or antipathy). But he’s solid, has been popular within the party, and as mayor of Nantes—France’s sixth largest city—since 1989, he has lengthy executive experience. He’s close to Hollande and a German speaker—he was a secondary school teacher of German before becoming a full-time politico—, both of which are pluses. The sentiment among my friends yesterday evening was that the Hollande-Ayrault tandem is “reassuring.” So good choice.
Foreign Affairs – Laurent Fabius: I thought Hollande didn’t need to appoint Fabius to anything, as he doesn’t owe him and Fabius is hardly indispensable at this point in history. But he’s still an éléphant and with a sizeable coterie in the party. So maybe better to have him inside the tent pissing out (which he won’t do) than outside pissing in (which he could do). And he’s a link to the Mitterrand era, for which many Socialist voters are nostalgic. The Quai d’Orsay is safe for him, as there won’t be any problems or disagreements over policy (and his 2005 non won’t matter—it’s ancient history—, as the MAE is normally not the main man dealing with Europe). Fabius is also well-known in the world and speaks fluent English (he taught a mini course over several years running in the last decade at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy). He’ll be high-profile abroad in the role. So I suppose it’s a good choice. Don’t know why it was made first in the protocol rank, though (I have yet to read the analyses).
Education – Vincent Peillon: A logical choice and that was expected. He was a high school philosophy professor and comes from an academic family. Education is his thing. As he’s been a top-tier figure in the party over the past decade, there was little doubt he would be in the government.
Justice – Christiane Taubira (PRG): A high-profile “diversity” appointment (she’s black, from French Guiana). I thought she would be named to something but not Garde des Sceaux, as she has no background in the law (though this has historically not been a prerequisite for the job; she has a doctorate in economics and agronomy). She’s best known for sponsoring the 2001 memorial law designating the slave trade as a crime against humanity. Also for being the PRG’s spoiler candidate in the 2002 presidential election (if she hadn’t been in the race her 2% would have almost all gone to Jospin, though no one holds this against her today).
Economy/Finance/Foreign Trade – Pierre Moscovici: It was clear Mosco was going to get a major ministry, though I thought this one would go to Michel Sapin or maybe Pascal Lamy. He’s an énarque, strauss-kahnien until last May, knows the dossier, and has been major figure in the party since the ’90s, so why not?
Social Affairs/Health – Marisol Touraine: This was expected. Logical. She’s been up-and-coming in the party since the ’90s. (She’s the daughter of the sociologist Alain Touraine, if one didn’t know).
Egalité des territoires/Housing – Cécile Duflot (EELV): It was obvious she was going to be named to some ecology-type ministry. I think Cécile Duflot is great. She’s smart as a whip and fast as a rocket when debating or interviewed on TV/radio. She’s easily been Les Verts’ most dynamic leader since the party’s inception. Good to have her in the government.
Interior – Manuel Valls: Not surprising. He was either going to get Matignon or Beauvau. I have contradictory feelings about Valls. I like his relative centrism and breaking with PS dogma on the economy but like rather less his somewhat less-than-left stance on immigration-related issues (and which will be his charge at Interior). I suppose this will give him cred with voters on the right—with whom he is popular—and he will definitely be a huge improvement over Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux, not the slightest doubt about that. And he is a naturalized Frenchman himself (from Spain), so has some sensitivity on immigration-related matters. The extent to which he breaks with his immediate predecessors in several key areas will be watched closely (by me at least), notably the police and the politique du chiffre, deportations of sans-papiers (particularly those with family ties in France), and naturalization/citizenship requests (the rejection rate having skyrocketed over the past five years, an outrage that I will come back to later).
Ecology/Energy/Sustainable Development – Nicole Bricq: Don’t know her. She’s not a public figure in the PS. I would have thought this would go to an écolo (the ecology part of the dossier at least). Curious.
Redressement productif – Arnaud Montebourg: The ministry of “productive recovery.” Whatever that may mean. There has never been a ministry of this designation so far as I know. If it’s a way for Montebourg to try putting some of his flaky démondialisation ideas into action—to put his money where his mouth is—then it may be interesting. If it’s mainly to give him a platform to run his mouth, then it will be less interesting. Wait and see.
Labor/Employment/Social Dialogue – Michel Sapin: Good. He’s close to Hollande, smart, solid, énarque, knows his dossiers.
Defense – Jean-Yves Le Drian: Not a surprise. He’s close to Hollande, not a top-tier figure in the party, not too well known outside Brittany, but has become one of the PS’s leading defense specialists.
Culture/Communication – Aurélie Filippetti: She was an obvious candidate for a ministerial post. This one makes sense, as she was in charge of culture during the campaign. She’s become high-profile in the party over the past decade. She’s of working class Italian immigrant origin, BTW.
Higher education/Research – Geneviève Fioraso: Never heard of her. Have no idea why she was picked and for such a high profile ministry. She must be an inside operator, or some insider’s candidate.
Womens’ rights/Government spokeswoman – Najat Vallaud-Belkacem: Great. I’ve been predicting a national destiny for her for the past three years. So nice to see an attractive thirtysomething beurette in such a high-profile position. She’ll be on TV a lot. The FN in Lyon, where she’s a vice mayor, has been making a stink about her being a Moroccan dual national. She told the FN in so many words to f— off. Good for her.
Agriculture – Stéphane Le Foll: One of Hollande’s right hand men. A behind the scenes operator, not well-known to the public. I saw him for the first time in a reportage last week. He gave a good impression.
Reform of the State/Decentralization/Civil Service – Marylise Lebranchu: A veteran of Jospin’s Gauche plurielle (was Garde des Sceaux, entre autres). Close to Martine Aubry.
Outre-Mer (overseas departments/territories) – Victorin Lurel: From Guadeloupe. I participated in a speaking event with him five years ago (the monthly dîner-débat of the Paris chapter of Democrats Abroad), so can say we’ve met. He’s smart and well-spoken. I was favorably impressed.
Sports/Youth/Popular education/Associational life – Valérie Fourneyron: Don’t know much about her, except that she’s close to Martine Aubry.
Now for the ministres délégués (second rank ministers, working under a full minister):
Budget – Jérôme Cahuzac: Don’t know much about him, except that this was his file in Hollande’s campaign.
Educational success – George Pau-Langevin: She’s from Guadeloupe (yes, she’s a she) but whose political base is Paris’s 20th arrondissement. She’s been involved in anti-racist associations and with immigrant issues over the years.
Relations with parliament – Alain Vidalies: Don’t know him.
Justice – Delphine Batho: Close to Ségolène Royal. One of the up-and-coming Gen X women in the party. Was a youthful activist in the student movement and SOS-Racisme. She’ll be under Christiane Taubira but not clear in what capacity (as her delegation doesn’t carry a specific dossier).
Ville (Urban affairs) – François Lamy: He’s close to Martine Aubry and has a high-ranking position in the party, though is not known to the larger public (i.e. he doesn’t go on TV).
European Affairs – Bernard Cazeneuve: Don’t know him. He’s a fabusien, which explains the appointment (as he’ll be working under his mentor at the Quai d’Orsay). I would have thought this post would be higher in the protocol rank and with a higher profile appointee. Maybe it signifies that germanophone Ayrault will be playing a leading role himself in European affairs.
Elderly/Dependency – Michèle Delaunay: Don’t know her. She’s a medical doctor (cancer specialist) by profession.
Artisanat/Commerce/Tourism – Sylvia Pinel (PRG): Don’t know her. She’s in her mid-30s. Will be working under Arnaud Montebourg.
Economie sociale et solidaire – Benoît Hamon: I’m surprised to see Hamon—one of the main men on the PS left over the past few years—so low down the list, and only as a délégué. He’ll be under ex-strauss-kahnien Moscovici, on the other side of the PS ideological spectrum. We’ll see what his lefty-sounding dossier will involve.
Family – Dominique Bertinotti: She’s a professor of history at the University of Paris VII. That’s as much as I know about her.
Handicapped persons – Marie-Arlette Carlotti: Never heard of her.
Development – Pascal Canfin (EELV): Another écolo. He was a journalist for several years at the excellent monthly magazine Alternatives Economiques, which is the best lefty publication on the economy (for non-economists) that one will find anywhere (there is no equivalent in the US or UK). So for this alone, thumbs up to the appointment.
Overseas French/Francophonie – Yamina Benguigui (no party): What an interesting and unexpected appointment. She’s a well-known filmmaker of Algerian origin—married to a Jew, also of Algerian origin, thus her last name—, mainly of documentaries on Maghrebi/immigration themes, including the excellent three-hour ‘Mémoires d’immigrés‘ (1997) and ‘Le Plafond de verre‘ (2005), on discrimination against second-generation immigrants. Her major feature-length film was the very good 2001 ‘Inch’Allah dimanche‘.
Transportation/Maritime economy – Frédéric Cuviller: Don’t know a thing about him. He’ll be under Nicole Bricq. Usually this dossier is ranked higher.
Small and medium enterprises/Innovation – Fleur Pellerin: A Gen Xer, graduate of ESSEC and ENA. She was born in South Korea and adopted as a baby by a French family.
War veterans – Kader Arif: I started to hear about him in the ’90s. He was close to Lionel Jospin. Born in Algeria, left in ’62 at age three. Is a fils de harki, which will give him cred in this post.
There are no Front de Gauche ministers, as Mélenchon and his PCF allies announced that they would not participate in the government. I was hoping for at least one symbolic centrist appointment but guess that was not in the cards. Martine Aubry made it clear that for her it was Matignon or nothing, so she got nothing. And she’s being petty and vindictive as a result (see here), confirming that Hollande did well not to name her PM. The sooner she leaves the First Secretary post, the better. Grosso modo I give this government a grade of B, maybe a B+ for parity and diversity. Pour la suite, on verra.
UPDATE: Mediapart has a lengthy dossier on the new government (behind the subscriber wall, unfortunately), with informative biographies of all the ministers and explanations of the significance of their appointments. I learned things about a number of the personalities, e.g. Geneviève Fioraso, who is a recognized specialist in the area of nanotechnologies and has participated in high tech start-ups (she sounds quite dynamic), and Dominique Bertinotti, who is mayor of Paris’s 4th arrondissement—which includes the heavily gay Marais—and is an outspoken supporter of legalizing gay marriage. After reading the dossier I will give the government an unambiguous grade of B+.
2nd UPDATE: Libé has analyses of the new government by political scientists Rémi Lefebvre and Yves Surel (here and here). Among the observations: most of the ministers have a specialized knowledge of their dossiers, the Socialists according high importance to technical expertise and hard work in the constitution of their teams; the government was clearly constituted to last beyond the legislative elections, as a signal to the electorate of Hollande-Ayrault’s priorities but also that the PS expects to win in June; Laurent Fabius is n° 1 in the protocol order on account of him being a former prime minister.
3rd UPDATE: Art Goldhammer, after having read the above Mediapart dossier, disagrees with my B+ grade (here), asserting that he would sooner give Ayrault 1 a B–, as the government “fails to articulate a clear position on the major issue of the day, which is the ‘euro crisis'”… I find Art to be a particularly severe grader. First, a government is made up of a whole range of ministerial posts that are not directly concerned with finance or European affairs. No matter how preoccupying the current situation in Greece and its possible short-term consequences for the EU and France, PM Ayrault still has to name ministers of education, culture, justice, etc. And as to “how to enhance the competitiveness of French firms,” well, I think it does matter that a dynamic nanotechnologist who has launched start-up firms has been named to higher education and research (domains in France that have not been closely associated with the competitive sector of the economy but need to be). (As for gay marriage, questions de société are still out there and cannot be ignored; if they are, then vocal constituencies in the government’s electoral base will remind it). Second, the government—and with Hollande in the lead here—will be taking positions on all aspects of the euro crisis in short order. Geez, it hasn’t even been 24 hours—and today’s a public holiday to boot (Ascension)—and Ayrault 1 is already getting dumped on for all the things it hasn’t done. One expects this from Jean-François Copé & Co but one would hope that observers outre-Atlantique (and outre-Manche, outre-Rhin, etc) would cut Hollande and Ayrault a little slack, at least until next week. Third, Art sniffs that the government represents “a meticulous distribution of rewards among competing currents with no attempt to make a judgment about the ultimate purpose of the power that is so carefully subdivided… [and that t]his idea of politics as fine-tuning, careful calibration, and sage counterbalancing is, I submit, what kept the Socialist Party out of power at the national level from 1995 to 2012.” To this, I say GMAB and poppycock. Tell me a single government in a mature democracy—or even immature one—that does not involve delicate balancing among factions and competing currents? A government that does not do this—i.e. that is headed by political boneheads—gets into trouble with its own base from the get go. Not to calibrate and counterbalance is generally not a smart thing to do, particularly when a party has to wage another national election campaign right away. As for why the PS was out of power over the years, the reasons had little to do with Hollande-like synthesizing and fine-tuning. Fourth, if Art and others are not impressed with the composition of this government, what is their alternative? What is their ideal cabinet? Let’s play Fantasy Government here. And please be specific with names and portfolios. Chiche !
(photo credit: AFP/Pascal Rossignol)
This is a handy overview, especially for outsiders (I’ve had trouble sorting out the newspaper profiles), for which thanks. I can’t help, however, wondering why on earth it matters that Vallaud-Belkacem is “attractive”? We didn’t get any aesthetic assessment of the other new ministres.
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