Aubry Out

Martine Aubry will not join the new government. She makes it pretty clear that she's miffed:

"Nous avons discuté de cela lundi avec François Hollande. Il m'a dit qu'il avait fait le choix de Jean-Marc Ayrault. Nous sommes convenus que, dans cette configuration, ma présence au gouvernement n'aurait pas de sens."

She describes the choice of Ayrault as both "a political choice" and one that is perfectly comprehensible given Ayrault's closeness to Hollande. So what are we supposed to infer from this? That the "political choice" of the party's candidate is such that the party's leader cannot envision herself as part of his government? Or that Martine is a prima donna who, having already served as no. 2 in Jospin's government, as she reminds the interviewer, will not settle for anything less than no. 1? Neither interpretation is very flattering to Aubry.

So Hollande will have to build his own base of support without any help from the leader of his party. He seems to have chosen his course for accomplishing that goal: he will demonstrate his modesty, eschew the monarchical trappings of the presidency, and reach out to ordinary people. The symbolism is good for now: the press is commenting abundantly on the modesty, sobriety, and seriousness of the new president and contrasting these qualities with the grandiosity, pugnacity, and erratic behavior of his predecessor. But a general needs to be able to keep his troops in line, and Aubry on day two already seems to have chosen her own drummer and headed off in her own direction.

Hollande's First Presidential Speech

Discours de M. François Hollande en hommage à... by elysee

 No one would mistake the new president for the old one. With Sarkozy, the partisan leader was never far from the surface. He could break into fighting mode at the turn of a phrase. Hollande, by contrast, has put his campaign mode aside. He has donned a new persona to signify that he is president of all the people. Gone are the Mitterandian gestures, the hoarse shouts, the hyped-up intensity. As president, he is all sobriety (the TV commentators couldn't help remarking on his gravity), and his first speech as president was intended to consecrate the value of education, which he intends to make a centerpiece of his quinquennat. (Rumor has it, by the way, that Aubry will be named Minister of State in charge of education, youth, and communication, a signal of Hollande's priorities.)

But--how to say this without seeming condescending?--let's be candid. The speech is a bit boring. More than a bit, in fact. It not only celebrates the glory of the Third Republic's crown jewel, l'école gratuite et laïque, it re-enacts a century of fusty school prize speeches. It celebrates education in such a thoroughly pedestrian way that it surely must have reminded more than one former élève of watching the classroom clock and waiting for the hour of liberation to strike. It's a schoolmasterly speech but far from a masterly piece of rhetoric, and it somehow seems fated that Jean-Marc Ayrault, a former German teacher, has been named prime minister.

That said, I'm surely pleased that France has a president who is capable of praising education without attacking teachers, who is capable of praising Jules Ferry and reminding his audience of Ferry's faults in the same breath, who can praise the Third Republic and at the same time denounce the "moral fault" of colonialism. Hollande's intentions are surely good, but somehow I couldn't stop thinking about what it is that good intentions pave the road to. And the speech was only 15 minutes long--much less than five years, and infinitely less than eternity. We may have reason to be grateful that Hollande says he will be a self-effacing president. Too much of such unrelievedly good things as this speech contained could easily become unbearable. And one thing you can say for Sarkozy: he was seldom boring to listen to. Rage at least quickens the heart.

Meunier: Why Foreign Policy Didn't Count?

By Sophie Meunier.

A Normal President with a Normal Bank Account

Arun Kapil debunks the Daily Mail's attempt to paint François Hollande as a wealthy hypocrite. I particularly like this bit:

The Mail then drops this bombshell

Among other assets are three current accounts in French banks – two with global giant Societe Generale and one with the Postal Bank – and a life insurance policy.

Wow, GLOBAL GIANT Société Générale! I guess that really does mean President Hollande is rich. Just like me having an account in the global giant Bank of America must mean that I’m rich… (though if one saw my current balance one would readily understand that I am very, very far from being rich). 

Yes, indeed. In fact, it's a little frightening to realize that I am a good deal wealthier than the president of France, what with my account in (precarious) global giant B of A, not to mention my 401k at (hopefully not precarious) Fidelity Investments. Yes, investments: I am a capitalist, O hypocrite lecteur, mon semblable, mon frère! As untrustworthy as the shifty Hollande with his Postal Savings Account. Geez. You'd think the Mail would have learned something after losing libel suits to Elton John and Tony and Cherie Blair.

The Gods Are Against Him

L’avion d’Hollande touché par la foudre

Lefigaro.fr Mis à jour le 15/05/2012 à 18:14 | publié le 15/05/2012 à 18:07

Touché par la foudre en plein trajet pour Berlin, l’avion de François Hollande, , a dû regagner la base aérienne de Villacoublay (Yvelines), selon une source présidentielle citée par Reuters. Le président a changé d'avion et est reparti en direction de l'Allemagne, où il devrait arriver avec plus de deux heures de retard sur l'horaire prévu.

L'avion qui transportait le chef de l'Etat avait décollé peu après 17 heures de la base aérienne de Villacoublay (Yvelines) à bord d'un Falcon 7X présidentiel pour prendre la direction de Berlin, où François Hollande doit rencontrer la chancelière allemande Angela Merkel en début de soirée.

(h/t TexExile)

Flash! Ayrault is PM

Just announced.

Advice to the President

Jérôme Creel, Xavier Timbeau and Philippe Weil of the OFCE offer economic advice to the new president. Their assessment is quite balanced, I think, and a good point of departure for making policy.