The French prime minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, has tried to signal by his cabinet shuffle that he is determined to maintain the momentum of reform through the second half of his term in office. It appeared to have been halted by the recent failure to carry through a series of changes in State and public administration. This followed vociferous protests by civil service trade unions and lobby groups, objecting to pension, taxation, educational and health reforms. The setbacks raise the question of whether Mr Jospin's political position has been undermined or reversed.
The appointment of Mr Laurent Fabius as finance minister goes a considerable way to checking such speculation. He was a rival for the job of prime minister when Mr Jospin was chosen, but has supported taxation and bureaucratic reforms as leader of the National Assembly. Following the downfall last November of Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn as finance minister the government has lacked a strong political figure to push through such reforms. It is much easier said than done; many of those directly affected form the base of Mr Jospin's rainbow coalition and are more than willing to take to the streets in protest against reform. Last week two of the ministers removed in this shuffle were humiliated by trade union rejection of their plans for tax and educational reforms. Mr Fabius is not likely to be such an easy target.
It is often said of Mr Jospin that while he talks from the left he governs from the centre. In preparation for local elections next year, and the presidential contest in 2002, he must sustain a political momentum that enables him to attract support from a public that expects and supports such reforms in the structures of the French state. In the first half of his term in office Mr Jospin has several major achievements along these lines to his credit. They include privatisation of large State-owned companies, restructuring of the economy to encourage relatively strong growth with higher productivity, and installation of the 35-hour week in order to reduce unemployment.
To retain his credibility as a reformer, Mr Jospin will be expected to continue his journey towards the centre. But it will be more difficult to talk from the left without a readiness to confront the interests so much in evidence over recent weeks. At the European Union's special summit on employment and economic policy in Lisbon last week Mr Jospin resisted putting firm dates on a commitment to speed up liberalisation in areas such as gas, electricity, postal services and transport; but he made clear after the meeting that this is now a question of when rather than whether. The growing interdependence of European economies affects France's performance and competitiveness just as much as other large member-States, such as Germany and the United Kingdom. France's position as a leading economy capable of maintaining its international position depends on adapting to these realities. Mr Jospin does not accept the full agenda set out in Mr Tony Blair's Third Way model of social democracy, preferring a stronger role for the State and a greater commitment to social inclusion. But such a differentiation has to be earned and made credible by a readiness to adapt State structures, the better to withstand international competition.