2024-10-01 10:00:00
THE TRIBUNE – Why do Prime Ministers issue a general policy declaration, when nothing obliges them to do so under the Constitution?
JEAN DE SAINT SERNIN – To answer this question, you should know that the Prime Minister can make two types of declarations. The first is done in application of article 49 paragraph 1 of the Constitution. Since 1958, this article has been implemented 41 times. It can only be used before the National Assembly. If the declaration is approved, which has always been the case, the government remains in place. Otherwise, the government resigns immediately.
The second is done in application of article 50-1 of the Constitution. Since 2008, the government has been able to “ on a specific subject » a declaration which gives rise to a debate, and can, if he decides, be the subject of a vote. This article has been used around twenty times. He can be used in the National Assembly and the Senate. It does not engage the responsibility of the government.
There are four reasons why the government makes a general policy speech. The first is to associate national representation with important choices. The second is to show public opinion that the government has a majority in Parliament. The third is to force a divided majority to get its act together. The last is, for a weakened Prime Minister, to consolidate his position vis-à-vis public opinion or the Head of State.
Fifty-five years ago, President Pompidou was surprised by the avant-garde tone of the speech of his Prime Minister Chaban-Delmas, focused on a project for a New Society. Have other speeches been synonymous with tensions between the two heads of the executive?
The 1969 New Society policy statement revealed a diarchy within the executive branch. The Prime Minister made three mistakes that his successors were careful not to repeat. The first is that he was the instigator of an economic and social policy which was not planned in the presidential program. The second is that he did not inform the head of state of his intention to hold the government accountable. The third is that he did not communicate his speech or at least the content of it to the President of the Republic.
Since then, except during periods of cohabitation, there have been no real tensions between the Prime Minister and the Head of State. The decision by the Prime Minister to issue a general policy declaration is always made in close consultation with the President of the Republic. In addition, the services of the Presidency often lend their assistance in drafting the declaration, which removes any form of tension between the two heads of the executive.
Michel Barnier’s speech takes place in a context where Parliament tends to become the center of gravity of political power. How does this change the situation?
Since 1962, there has always been a clear and consistent majority supporting the government. The Fifth Republic experienced an absolute (1968), coalition (1981), narrow (1967), relative (1988), plural (1997) and cramped (2020) parliamentary majority. Following the legislative elections of July 2024, the National Assembly chamber is divided into eleven parliamentary groups, eight of which have declared themselves in opposition. In an unprecedented way, the parties supporting the action of the Head of State total 165 seats out of 577. There are 124 seats missing for the government to see its texts calmly voted on.
The Prime Minister will therefore have to build majorities to have his bills adopted, while avoiding a motion of censure being passed. Never has a Prime Minister had so little room for maneuver. Parliament then becomes again at the center of the debate. Still, it is up to the opposition to prove that it is in the majority.
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