Bringing back Barnier is proof that Macron loathes Britain

The appointment of the former Eurocrat-in-chief as France’s prime minister indicates the nation’s turbulent political situation

It seems to be an iron law of European politics that if a country is facing a populist upsurge it will have a Eurocrat put in charge of it to try and keep a lid on things.
It happened in Italy, when the former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi was made prime minister in 2021. Before that, it also occurred in Greece, with the establishment-minded former MEP Antonis Samaras taking the reins at the tail end of the euro crisis. Now it’s happening in France.
Step forward the silver fox Michel Barnier, who was selected to take up office as PM today as the surprise choice of embattled Emmanuel Macron, putting an end to two months of political gridlock after a parliamentary election that went badly wrong for the French President. 
To British audiences it is obviously Barnier’s role as the European Commission’s Brexit negotiator which comes first to mind. Keir Starmer’s attempt to cozy up to EU member states might well be complicated by this appointment, especially at a time of heightened Anglo-French tensions over migration.
After gaining the upper-hand over weak and nervous British negotiators from the Theresa May administration, Barnier turned his gaze back home: a sign of just how tumultuous the domestic situation in France has become. 
He has long been prominent in the centre-right Republican party which has lost so much ground to the populist Right over the past decade or so. He sought – and failed – to become its presidential candidate in 2022 by taking a leaf out of the Brexit playbook, emphasising his determination to bring immigration numbers under control.
Macron cannot command a parliamentary majority even by incorporating Barnier’s party. But Barnier as PM does give Macron the semblance of a chance of steadying the ship just long enough to steer through an austerity budget that will cement in place his money-saving reforms of public sector pensions.
The parties of the populist Left will have daggers drawn with silky smooth Barnier straight away. But the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen is more likely to sit out an early no confidence vote, allowing a Barnier interregnum to run for a few months.
Everyone expects fresh parliamentary elections in France to take place in mid-2025. The task facing Le Pen is to choose the optimal moment and issue on which to join forces with the far-Left to unravel the new minority regime.
At 73, this domestic political preferment has come late for Barnier. It seems highly unlikely he will even match the 22 months in office that Draghi managed in Italy. He might not even last till Christmas.
As he sets about helping Macron during a time of multiple economic and social crises, we should wish him well. But equally on this side of La Manche we should be forgiven for reminding him every now and again that “the clock is ticking” on his caretaker incumbency. Should that Bryan Ferry hairstyle become a tad more unkempt and the power smirk disappear from his still-handsome face it will take a heart of stone not to laugh.