“President normal ne signifie pas president banal”. Normal president does not mean trivial president: it is the rallying cry of the newly elected head of the French Republic, François Hollande, in the very first days of his sensitive five-year mandate, to underline the difference in style - but not for this in energy and impact - compared to its predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy.
And in fact Hollande's mandate begins in a far from trivial way: on Tuesday the socialist leader, standard-bearer of all centre-left (and not only) movements in Europe in the fight against austerity policies, will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. The situation inevitably promises to be a bit embarrassing for both, given that he has made growth – in spite of German insistence – his electoral battle horse, not even hesitating to send a few direct digs at Frau Angela, who in turn comes out quite a bit instead weakened by Sunday's vote in the important state of North Rhine Westphalia, where his party (the Christian Democrat Cdu) has created the worst result ever garnering only 26% of the votes.
The "knife" would therefore seem to be wielded on the handle by monsieur Hollande, given that Merkel's fellow citizens themselves (not all, but those of the most populous and politically significant land) have rejected the exasperation of fiscal rigor desired by Berlin. Reason why the attitude of the chancellor has changed in recent days: after having shamelessly supported the friend of many battles Sarkozy, she recently declared that she welcomes the new president "with open arms", saying she is willing to renegotiate some aspects of the discipline tax imposed on Europe in recent months.
The appointment is Tuesday in the late afternoon: diplomatic polls announce optimism, as does post-war history onwards, which has always seen an axis of steel between Paris and Berlin, culminating in the indestructible friendship between Angela and Nicolas, but on hot topics a few sparks are not excluded. From "Merkozy" to "Merkande", therefore, even if the respective staff insist on remembering that it is - for now - only a "cognitive meeting". We'll see.
Before flying off to the German capital, however, François Hollande will have a no less busy morning: in fact, Tuesday is the day of his settlement at the Elysée, where he will officially succeed Nicolas Sarkozy. The ceremony promises to be sober and without family members in tow (the new president wants to distance himself from the style of his predecessor who too boldly mixed private and public life), and in the speech prepared by the ghost-writer Aquilino Morelle there are tributes to the inspirers: the scientist Marie Curie , the XNUMXth century French politician Jules Ferry, mayor of Paris during the German siege (historical appeals..) and the ever-present memory of François Mitterrand. Then, before being received by the current mayor of the capital, Bertrand Delanoe, Hollande will appoint the prime minister and the government team. The strictest confidentiality is still in force on the names, even if the great favorite for the Matignon armchair remains Jean-Marc Ayrault, leader of the socialists in the Chamber since 1997, mayor of Nantes and trusted man of the president. Alternatively, the mayor of Lille Martine Aubry and the Catalan-born special adviser Manuel Valls.
For Aubry, in the event of failure to be appointed prime minister, there is still the certainty of obtaining an important ministry: we are talking about the one that will bring together Education, Culture and Policies for young people. For Foreign Affairs, on the other hand, Laurent Fabius and Pierre Moscovici are in pole position (the latter perhaps even in the running for Matignon): the "defeated" will be entrusted with the Defense. In Bercy, the seat of the Ministry of the Economy, 99% of Michel Sapin should instead be seated, initially thought of as the head of Justice, an office which in all probability will instead be assigned to the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe.
