At the heart of the Covid-19 crisis, would government spokesperson Olivier Véran point the tip of his nose in view of a candidacy for the next presidential elections in 2027? This Sunday April 9, 2023, this was the high-stakes question posed by Le Parisien.
Succeeding Olivia Grégoire (current Minister Delegate in charge of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Trade, Crafts and Tourism), Olivier Véran is omnipresent, particularly in the media. Admittedly, accustomed to talking to journalists since the pandemic during which he held the post of Minister of Health, he has been stalling somewhat lately, as a Renaissance parliamentarian recounts: “It is one of the most prominent jobs, but also among the most annoying. Olivier Véran, like those who held the position before him, sometimes learns it at his expense”.
Last Wednesday, April 4, he denounced the problems of drug trafficking in Marseille in the cities where “the enormous towers inherited from the 1970s from the architect Le Corbusier” are located. However, the district he mentions is one of the most affluent in the city of Marseille and that it has never hosted the slightest dealer. Suffice to say that he has had recent difficulties with the media, to whom he confides twice a week for a year and a half. He tries to reassure public opinion by swearing that he will not be taken back again.
Known for his communication in times of crisis (during the Covid crisis and that of the pension reform), he is not unaware of the difficulties of his current position. This requires a perfect knowledge of all the subjects associated with the many government departments.
Recently, the former regional councilor of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes received, 72 rue de Varenne, various visits, which he justified by: “I do not see what is surprising that, when we do politics, we are interested in the subjects of social transformations. That’s what politics is for.” Among them, he receives a sociologist, a philosopher, an economist and even a psychologist.
Politically speaking, Olivier Véran notably had the right to meet the former socialist Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault or even a presidential candidate, Benoît Hamon. Former socialist, these interviews reviving these PS origins but still surprise. More surprisingly, he also welcomed environmentalist Sandrine Rousseau to, in his words, “discuss activism”.
What is Olivier Véran preparing with these interviews? Some personalities of the majority admit to thinking that he is cultivating his ambitions for 2027. The person concerned defends himself. Nevertheless, the astonishing public nature of these meetings does not calm the rumours.
On the horizon of a very likely reshuffle, this would necessarily help the spokesperson in his quest. Some of his collaborators would even agree to him taking the head of the government.
During “his free time”, the spokesperson goes once a week to the heart of public opinion in order to understand why some have given up giving their vote to such and such a candidate: “We discuss at random to find out why they no longer believe in politics”. He also returns to the key themes of the five-year term and in particular that of immigration for which he wishes that “fear does not turn into anger and then vote RN, we must work on the question of integration”.