The disastrous rollout of the Lecornu government has ignited a crisis of competence, with serious doubts swirling around the political judgment of President Emmanuel Macron himself. The amateurish handling of the cabinet appointment has led many to question whether the President is still fit to lead.
A key measure of a leader’s competence is their ability to make sound judgments, particularly in high-stakes situations. The decision to approve and announce a “largely unchanged” cabinet in a climate of intense political hostility was, in retrospect, a catastrophic error of judgment. Macron failed to anticipate the obvious and violent backlash.
This was not a complex, unpredictable event. The opposition’s likely reaction was clear to most political observers. The fact that the President and his team either did not see it coming, or saw it and proceeded anyway, points to a fundamental failure of political competence at the highest level.
This perceived incompetence is incredibly damaging to a president who built his brand on being a sharp, intelligent, and strategic operator. The image of “Jupiter,” the all-knowing president, has been replaced by that of a leader who is perpetually miscalculating and being outmaneuvered.
Lecornu’s resignation is the direct consequence of this presidential incompetence. He was the victim of his leader’s poor judgment. This crisis of competence will now hang over the remainder of Macron’s term, eroding his authority and making it even harder for him to govern effectively.