In search of a new Prime Minister, Alassane Ouattara has already ticked off several names for this post. The president would also think of Tidjane Thiam, in a role that remains to be defined.
For several weeks now the President of the Ivorian Republic Alassane Ouattara prepares the post-Hamed Bakayoko. In critical condition for a long time, the Ivorian Prime Minister died on March 10, when the legislative elections had just delivered their verdict. The ruling party in Côte d'Ivoire, the Rassemblement des houphouëtistes pour la democratie et la paix (RHDP), won the majority in the poll. What to consolidate Alassane Ouattara in his choice of a new Prime Minister. With a few nuances ...
On the RHDP side, Alassane Ouattara is no longer really spoiled for choice: the President of the Republic has, in recent months, been isolated to the point of no longer having a large panel of support at his disposal. Logic would want Patrick Achi, appointed interim head of government, to retain his post for years to come. Other names that have circulated in the media: that of Fidèle Sarassoro, chief of staff of Alassane Ouattara, or that of Jean-Claude Brou, president of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS). Ally Coulibaly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, also holds the rope.
A Prime Minister from an enlarged majority?
Except that the popularity of Alassane Ouattara, in Côte d'Ivoire but also internationally, is not really at its peak. After a presidential election in October 2020, boycotted by the opposition and a candidacy for a third term deemed illegitimate, the RHDP did not obtain such an overwhelming majority, winning only 137 seats out of the 255 in the National Assembly. The successive deaths of relatives of the president - Gon Coulibaly then Bakayoko - weakened Alassane Ouattara a little more, especially as his Prime Minister was renowned for his grip and for his efficient way of holding the Ivorian street.
Although he is entitled to appoint a Prime Minister from his camp, Alassane Ouattara knows that he is in an unstable position. At any time, the street can ignite. And to avoid this, the Ivorian president has several solutions, including that of composing a government of national unity. To do this, he could count on ministers halfway between his RHDP and the PDCI-RDA, which came second in the legislative elections. Besides Kouadio Konan Bertin, already Minister of National Reconciliation, Ouattara should try to convince PDCI-RDA executives to join him.
And to satisfy both the street and the international community, Alassane Ouattara would have another idea in mind… In April 1990, while Félix Houphouët-Boigny was President of the Ivorian Republic, “ADO” was appointed President of the Interministerial Committee for coordination of the stabilization and economic recovery program. Responsible for resolving the crisis, financial this one, crossed by the Ivory Coast, he was then appointed Prime Minister. The Ivorian presidency is reportedly currently considering the possibility of creating an interministerial committee similar to that of 1990.
Tidjane Thiam, 2025 in the viewfinder?
If this interministerial committee were created, Ouattara would think of a name in particular to chair it: Tidjane Thiam. At the beginning of last October, the Ivorian First Lady, Dominique Ouattara, had met the former banker. Not really on good terms with the President of the Republic, Thiam had reconnected indirectly. Problem: Tidjane Thiam has positioned himself in a “wise” role and will therefore not accept a risky political post. " Above all, I denounced and contributed to reducing human rights abuses surrounding the elections in Côte d'Ivoire. But what I like above all is spending time with clients, doing business, ”he explained to L'Opinion recently.
Tidjane Thiam has, for the moment, put aside his political ambitions by launching an investment fund. Today he says he wants to "create activity, jobs and develop businesses that make a positive contribution to society at large". Does national politics still attract him? By making contact in turn with Henri Konan-Bédié, Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, Thiam shows that he must always be counted on. He is obviously aiming for a candidacy for the Ivorian presidential election in 2025. Alassane Ouattara still has to hold out until then. A political post in this politically fragile period in Côte d'Ivoire can be, for him, a double-edged sword. But if he accepts it and succeeds in his mission, he opens a highway for 2025. It remains to be seen whether Ouattara and Thiam can get along. Nothing is less certain, so much Thiam wants to play his personal card. "JI want to be my own boss today, ”he said, moreover, a few weeks ago.