When he judged the government's action on the health crisis, Xavier Bertrand recently gave the feeling of having eaten the lion.
But Monday morning, on RTL, the president (ex-LR) of Hauts-de-France suddenly made voice and paws of velvet.
“We will have to unite together, the government and all elected officials.
That we stop looking at each other doggedly, […] We have to stop this, it is a matter of national interest, we will only succeed in this acceleration of vaccination if we all work together.
[…].
We can not give the feeling that everyone is on their side, in their corridor, "said the one who, on January 4 in our columns, denounced the" serious fault "of Emmanuel Macron on the slowness of the vaccine.
In politics too, there are changes.
That of the boss of Hauts-de-France could be explained by the prospect of a third confinement.
"I felt last week on the ground that people are at the end of the line, including controversies," slips to the Parisian the probable future presidential candidate.
"Sticking together, that makes sense as we are going to experience hypercomplicated moments," he adds.
What to be vaccinated against any clash with the executive?
Not really.
Referring to Macron's little phrase on the "66 million prosecutors", Xavier Bertrand promises that he "will come back to it later, in a few months".
"We are at a tipping point in the country"
For now, he "awaits the green light from the government" to organize vaccination in his region.
"If I organized on my own, that would add confusion", he slips again, regretting that some of his counterparts, like Renaud Muselier in Paca, have expressed their wish to order doses of vaccines directly from laboratories.
Its model of state-region collaboration is more geared towards Germany where Chancellor Angela Merkel recently spent seven and a half hours in videoconference with the presidents of the Länder: "She is not pretending ..."
"Xavier Bertrand is only reiterating again and again what the regions have always said: we simply want to be associated", assures Jean Rottner, head of the Grand Est.
He nevertheless evoked a "state scandal" in early January.
“I had strong words which corresponded to the situation of the moment, he assumes, but things have improved since…” Could this change of tone in Hauts-de-France be the emergent face of discussions in progress on regional?
Neither discussions nor negotiations, certify the macronists as the friends of Bertrand.
“It is a speech of general interest.
We feel that we are at a tipping point in the country with a very anxiety-provoking climate.
In such a climate, political brawl has no place.
This is what makes the difference between the populists and the others, ”assures someone close to Xavier Bertrand.
"By being cartoonish, he left feathers there"
But on the executive side, we are more skeptical.
"It is rather a way for him to correct the shooting because he was able to see that by being caricature in the attacks lately, he left feathers there", observes a framework of the majority.
"After a year, it is tasty to see that Xavier Bertrand is finally thinking of the general interest", tackles a close friend of the President of the Republic.
“The very aggressive attitude, which has been that of the opposition, is not popular.
That the French have grievances against the executive is clear.
But people also say:
we would not like to be in your place,
"says a deputy LREM.
Even though a majority of French people take a critical look at the management of the epidemic, the popularity of Emmanuel Macron does not collapse in opinion polls.
“Everyone is wondering if he would do better if he was in government.
The population does not accept exaggerated remarks ", abounds the president of the Assembly of the departments of France (ADF), Dominique Bussereau for whom Xavier Bertrand thus adopts a" position of statesman ".
That's good, Xavier Bertrand met Nicolas Sarkozy last Wednesday.
Would the former President of the Republic have advised him not to get lost in the electoral controversies?
"Bertrand must have noticed in any case that Sarkozy could not be blamed for the slightest lack of national unity," said another regional president.
Suddenly, he was afraid to pass for the guy who thinks only of his face!
"