The field of energy appears more pacified

Saturday, February 25, 2006, full day, Dominique de Villepin announces a decision just kept confidential: the GDF-Suez Merger. Formally, the process is rider, since the Board of Directors of Suez has not yet met. But the presence of two CEOs, Jean-François Cirelli and Gérard Mestrallet, seems to guarantee the required agreements. Villepin plays his favourite score: he decides, shows that he knows decide and announces itself decision. At the same time, it reveals its solitary decision on PBS. The social field will be undermined. The field of energy appears more pacified.

Of course, should privatise GDF and head-on contradict the strong commitments made by Nicolas Sarkozy at the opening of the capital, two years ago. But political combat, including parliamentary, presents itself as classic: a left clinging to the social acquis against a liberal right; a developed economic patriotism implement to thwart attempts to OPA engineered by Italian Enel on Suez; and above all, the constitution of a large gas group able to cope with the opening of the market imposed by Brussels. This big decision will leave the mark of Villepin in our economic history. Even if we know, in advance, that shareholders will challenge the assessment of the respective actions, that Brussels will require a few sales to avoid abuse of dominant position and that need to go through an inevitable parliamentary guerrilla.

Regardless, the decision is beautiful and execution monitor. To paraphrase the voice of his master, I decide, they run. Except that, in project management, it failed a few decisive steps, as had the novice practitioners trained in project management software. It is never easy to become CEO of a complex company following a cabinet: Louis Schweitzer, in his time, had wished to do his apprenticeship in Renault before taking the reins. In any decision, the men play a major role: the success of Alstom (sea-Sarkozy) cannot make us forget the constitution of Safran (rejected by sea), or highways, or posturing on the Sogerma or Mittal triggering. It would quickly attacking once more to the State when it comes to human decisions.

Acknowledge however that, in the GDF-Suez Merger, Pierre Mazeaud has played a good round to all the stakeholders: specialists of industrial economy, the Socialists in their action, the leaders of the undertakings concerned, or quick to irony, nor the vociferous unionists journalists, in other words, neither support or the contradictory of the GDF-Suez Merger failed to see a notice thatAfter the fact seems to be the obvious! In other words, a decision must explore all fields affecting, without omitting the calendar imposed by positive law. It's as if a man and a woman decide the date of their marriage, did work contract by notaries and competent lawyers, sent the invitations, would reserve a room, an orchestra, a caterer: at the last moment, the Mayor of the municipality they are reminded that they cannot marry unless the previous marriage divorced!

Indeed, the GDF-Suez case shows well that the variety of roles played by the public authorities, parliamentarians and members of the Government should be exploited to improve the decision-making process and give it its full effectiveness. In the aforesaid case, the Constitutional Council, the Tribunal de grande instance of Paris, the parliamentary committees involved, by nature, below the announced decision. The Guillet report that the full version comes out this week , "energy and geopolitics", offers more education, more democracy and more quality in the public decision. The energy is well worth a debate. The energy is well worth the solicitation of parliamentary work. The decision of the Prime Minister has reduced the merger issues to a simplistic and caricature, left-right confrontation even if members of the majority fought to the end to avoid (Paillé).

It is not more common citizens than energy, vehicles, housing, household appliances. Information rustle constantly of the brent course, belligerent evocations. Ecologists are concerned, EDF introduced a subsidiary of wind turbines on the stock market, nuclear power is less maligned, Russians threaten us they The light bulb in the world war, through a large sudden failure, we know more where we are, or where our country is: are we indifferent or apathetic and anesthetized by ambient comfort

Report Guillet is located upstream of the tactical decisions of such merger. Indeed its contents cannot exclude an Enel-Suez Merger, nor a GDF-Suez Merger. Energy security is not the same order as the economic patriotism. But, to understand, grasp the future issues: current energy consumption differentials or 1 for an Indian, 2 for a Chinese, 12 for a European and 27 for an American , the respective dependencies, planned no policy European, the essential distinction between energy independence and energy security.

In other words, rather than a solitary pleasure, public decision cannot make sense as a good understanding of the global context. The report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs thus, awareness, and is a fine example of parliamentary work often ignored our citizens with only matter, at the time of the JT, thundering decisions and the recantations that make their procession.

If she manages to, if all candidates are determined to debate and to take risks without consider constantly to protect themselves, the presidential campaign can be a great opportunity to make consistent the intelligence of the economy and the meaning of public decision. Also its success will depend on of the requirements of citizens, the practice of journalists and the strategy policies. In all cases, tensions will be high, because it is, always and everywhere, to impose long-term concern when the horizon lends itself shortly. We are at the crossroads of paths, between image, icons and the living of a side show, democracy, and democracy of discussion, argument and the citizen on the other hand. Coming democracy is based on a pascalien bet...