Why former Brexit negotiator Barnier may be a useful partner for Starmer
The man who wrestled with Brexit negotiations for long, tortuous years may prove to be a useful partner as France’s prime minister as Sir Keir Starmer pushes to reset UK-French relations.
Michel Barnier clearly loves a challenge.
The man who wrestled with Brexit negotiations for long, tortuous years, is now tasked with rescuing France from political gridlock and crisis.
The veteran politician accepted the appointment as prime minister with the French parliament gripped with an impasse in the wake of parliamentary elections.
Emmanuel Macron called the elections as a gamble to see off the threat from the far-right National Rally after its stunning success in European elections in June.
In a sense it paid off. The far right was neutered, but no party emerged with an outright majority and the horse trading and wrangling that has followed has paralysed French government.
Far-right politicians had sounded opposed to the idea of a Barnier premiership.
They had described him as a fossilised relic from the past, but in the wake of his appointment, Marine Le Pen has sounded more cooperative, saying he meets at least her “first criterion” as a prime minister.
If all sides can do business with Barnier he has a chance of resolving an increasingly pressing crisis, not least because of its impact on French public finances. The gridlock has held up crucial budget negotiations.
Barnier’s appointment clearly will have implications for British-French relations.
As a former EU negotiator, he was the bogeyman of the British right but the process gave him a deep understanding of the UK’s post-Brexit relations with Europe.
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Barnier also presented a surprisingly hard line on migration as a former presidential candidate. That didn’t win him friends on the left on either side of the channel.
But it may make him more prepared to work with the UK on the cross-channel migrants’ boats crisis.
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Most of all he is a seasoned operator steeped in the workings of both French and European politics and government.
Sir Keir Starmer has made it clear he wants a reset in UK-French relations.
If he can build a good working relationship with Michel Barnier, he will have found himself a useful partner in Europe.
