You should keep an eye on successful friends. Especially if they are more popular than you are. And so on Saturday the leaders of the French ruling party La République en Marche (LREM) drove to Le Havre and applauded Édouard Philippe. The 50-year-old Philippe is on the one hand one of the most popular politicians in France, on the other hand he is not a member of LREM. From 2017 to 2020, Édouard Philippe was Prime Minister, and before and after that, Mayor of Le Havre. On Saturday he presented his new party in front of 3,000 invited guests, including many conservative mayors and local politicians. The name: “Horizons”. Because France needs, according to Philippe, “vision until 2050”. The line: conservative-liberal. And contrary to Macron’s current policy of the open wallet, Philippe advocates a return to frugality. For a pension from 67 and for a reduction of the national debt.
If one considers the growing confusion of French politics, it does not seem as if another party is absolutely necessary from the electoral point of view. From a power strategy point of view, i.e. from Philippe’s perspective, things look different. It is precisely because the voters have lost their firm anchoring in party politics that so many new formations are emerging. He wants to create a “new political offer”, says Philippe, using the same wording as Macron in 2017.
At that time, Macron filled the void that had arisen because the socialists could hardly walk upright because of their outgoing, unusually hapless President François Hollande. And because the conservative Républicains missed the runoff election with the affair-fed François Fillon. The party system is outdated, Macron said at the time. Four years later, Macron has undeniably demonstrated presidential stature, but he has not stopped the fragmentation of the party landscape. On the contrary: it remains their symbol. As a president without a party.
What he doesn’t want: an online participation club
And so Édouard Philippe’s new party stands for two things. On the one hand for the weakness of its competitors: Macron is dependent on new partners in order to win the election again. And the Républicains, the ex-party of the conservative Philippe, could face dissolution if they fail again in the first round of elections in 2022. On the other hand, Philippe shows the ease with which political movements can be founded today. And with which they can also dissolve again. It is true that Philippe attaches importance to the fact that he wants to found a party with clear hierarchies and not an online participation association like Macron’s LREM movement. But his party will not be based on the great identification of its members or on a distinctive programmatic line. Just like LREM or, on the left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s “France Insoumise”, it will live from the fact that a man sees himself as a clear leader and needs a structure that enables him to win elections. France has not yet known women who build a party in this way.
Even if Philippe’s party could develop a disruptive force in the long term, its consistently high popularity ratings tell of something rather unspectacular: that politicians can be popular for the same reasons as everyone else. Philippe is not considered the best speaker in the republic, and as prime minister he did not attract attention with visionary maneuvers. The conservative politician is popular because he is seen as having integrity, as straightforward and sovereign. Philippe is also fortunate that a school friend of his has been making a very benevolent long-term documentary about him since 2014. “Mon pote de droite”, my buddy on the right, is the name of the three films in which you see Philippe boxing, talking, humming and constantly eating. The films show a hardworking, friendly, humorous man.
His beard grew whiter with every speech
Affection for Édouard Philippe grew as the confidence of the French dwindled. Spring 2020: President Emmanuel Macron spoke of the country being at war against the coronavirus and imposed one of the strictest curfews in Europe. Philippe was then responsible for all explanations. And also for the good news like announcing the gradual end of the lockdown. In addition, it just happened that Philippe’s beard changed its color at the same time as the pandemic broke out. As if the burden of responsibility had turned the Prime Minister into an aged statesman, his beard grew whiter with every speech. At some point, Philippe made it clear that the new white was simply due to a pigment disorder. Philippe had vitiligo.
When normal life slowly started up again in June 2020, 50 percent of the French said they were satisfied with their Prime Minister Philippe, while only 38 percent of those surveyed said this about their President Macron. And at that very moment, when Philippe had established himself as the silent helmsman of the crisis, he had to leave. On July 3, 2020, Philippe was replaced as Prime Minister by Jean Castex. Since then, neither Philippe nor Macron have said a single bad word about each other, but it is rumored that Macron felt threatened by Philippe’s success.
For Macron, Philippe’s new party is actually more of a support than an attack. The ex-prime minister will call on his supporters to vote for Macron in April 2022. In return, he should try to win previous LREM voters for his party in the parliamentary elections in June 2022. Philippe’s party will then be part of the alliance that Macron supports. From the position of partner and party leader, Philippe could then prepare his own project. For example, the 2027 presidential election. Even though he says it is “absurd” to speak of 2027 now, he writes on Twitter that “you have to look far ahead to achieve good”.