Raffarin the stopgap premier a safe choice for Chirac and France

Yesterday's election results mean that Jean-Pierre Raffarin, seen as an interim figure when he was appointed Prime Minister by President Chirac six weeks ago, is likely to head the French government for far longer than he, or Mr Chirac, probably expected.

Mr Raffarin, 53, was the little-known candidate chosen by President Chirac last month, after the resignation of the Socialist incumbent and failed presidential candidate, Lionel Jospin. His anonymity and general lack of definition in the minds of the French public were seen as factors in his favour. Mr Chirac needed someone who was a "safe pair of hands" and who would not upset the voters by stirring up controversy as the legislative elections approached.

Mr Raffarin fulfilled that brief – and more. The French public knows little more about him now than they did when he was appointed. He comes across as pleasant, competent and uninspiring. Whether he canpush his policies through a National Assembly where the Socialists are set to have a strong presence, if nothing like the majority they had hoped for, is another matter; it remains to be seen how long he survives in a job often regarded as a political, condemned cell.

Mr Raffarin, who has spent most of his life in marketing and provincial politics, is a strongly pro-European centrist who has promised to bring the often aloof French national government apparatus closer to the people.

His election programme was based on Mr Chirac's presidential election pledges to crack down on crime and slash taxes. In fact, though, Mr Raffarin barely campaigned at all, content to surf on a personal approval rating of more than 60 per cent and the determination of many French voters to avoid another "co-habitation" between a president and prime minister from different political "families".

Hailing the centre-right's victory yesterday, Mr Raffarin promised to keep the campaign promises made by Mr Chirac if the second round of voting next Sunday gives the centre-right a clear victory. But he made no reference to specific pledges, such as combating crime or easing labour regulations to reduce costs for employers.