“We could have claimed six ministerial positions” confirms MoDem deputy for Gard Philippe Berta

Le député MoDem du Gard Philippe Berta, à l'Assemblée Nationale. MAXPPP

Le député MoDem du Gard revient sur la semaine agitée de son parti, après la décision de leur chef François Bayrou de ne pas participer au nouveau gouvernement annoncé ce mercredi.

Wednesday, after François Bayrou's refusal to enter the government, MoDem executives and parliamentarians met for dinner. In what atmosphere?

We found ourselves at Marc Fesneau's Ministry of Agriculture, a meeting scheduled for some time. It had this effect of surprise when we understood that things were not going very well between the Democratic Movement and the Presidency of the Republic. This meant that we had entered into a power struggle. In which the MoDem weighs close to a quarter of the deputies.

There has never been a question of the MoDem not participating in the majority to which we belong since 2017. And we remember the contribution of François Bayrou to the ;election of Emmanuel Macron.

No one has considered leaving the majority ?

No one, not for a single minute. And in my opinion, this is not the time to bring forward any dissent whatsoever. Today, the political game is clear: it is either democrats and democracy, or the entry into something that could be a great dark period in our history. We must open this majority to all democrats, the notion of right and left no longer matters. But we must accept the differences. The MoDem is not Renaissance.

François Bayrou was therefore expected to defend the ministerial positions of outgoing ministers. Afterwards, we heard everything and anything. As rumored François Bayrou at the Ministry of Education, left even before his acquittal. Frankly, I didn't see him as Gabriel Attal's Minister of Education.

By certain statements, however, he showed that he seemed interested, no ?

No, he never said he was interested in the position. Interested in changing the provisions of recent weeks, such as the college by level groups, which he has had little taste for, for example, not on the principle, but on the human support . Even if he shares, with the Prime Minister as with all of us, the need to put Education back at the center of the village.

On the other hand, he confirmed to us that what had been offered to him after the acquittal was the Ministry of Defense. He immediately refused, he is not someone who chases positions, he does not want to be a minister for the sake of being a minister.

During this Wednesday evening, was the choice of François Bayrou contested ?

No, except by Jean-Louis Bourlanges. We needed an explanation, we got it, and they reassured us. Jean-Louis is the only one who disagreed a little. But due to his build, his background, his seniority, he did not appreciate at all being put in preliminary discussion before French Bayrou's decision-making. But we had absolutely no control over this calendar. And then Jean-Louis is Jean-Louis, and that’s how we like him! There’s no problem, it’s a cornerstone of our movement.

You finally have four representatives in this government. Satisfied ?

Four representatives as in the previous government. But I'm not completely satisfied. If we calculate the ratio with what we actually weigh, we could have at least claimed six ministerial positions. But I am not satisfied because I demanded, as I have done for a long time, the creation of a large ministry which covers the whole of education, including higher education.

Afterwards, having preserved Agriculture is important, especially for our region, which concentrates all the difficulties. It’s also good that the Minister for Europe is MoDem. The same goes for Family and Digital, two major issues, which we have kept

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