British Journalist Andrew Neil to Newsmax: 'Bad Time for West'

British journalist Andrew Neil, chair of the American edition of The Spectator magazine, told Newsmax on Monday that it's "a bad time for the West" after surprise elections in France that left the country with no clear path to form a government.

"It's a shambles," Neil said on "Newsline." "France doesn't have a government and the Parliament will be divided between the extreme right, the extreme left, and a group in the middle. And between them, they won't come together to be able to form a government. So, France is in for a period of deep uncertainty, endless coalition building.

"At a time when the West needs leadership, France will not be providing it. … So, be fearful for France. It is not a good time. It's a great country, a great democracy, but this is a bad time for French politics and France."

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday rejected the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal after a stunning election outcome that left none of the parties with a majority in the National Assembly.

While the left-leaning coalition New Popular Front swept most of the seats in Sunday's runoff, it fell short of holding a majority. Macron's centrist party took the next largest share of seats, coming in ahead of the National Rally.

Despite high voter turnout, the outcome leaves France facing the possibility of a hung Parliament and political paralysis less than three weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics.

"In France, power has moved from the president to the Parliament and that's never a good thing," Neil said. "When Parliament is powerful in France, nothing ever happens. It was a disaster and took General [Charles] de Gaulle to sort it out. But that's happened again, and Mr. Macron will just now be in the sidelines."

Neil added that the heads of Western government left much to be desired in terms of leadership and that Russia was likely celebrating in the face of so much uncertainty.

"But if you stand back and look at what's happened in these dangerous times, you've [the United States] got a president who can barely finish a sentence," Neil said. "Britain has a new prime minister that is a novice when it comes to international affairs. Germany has a chancellor who is on the way out.

"Now, France has a lame duck prime minister. It is a bad time for the West, and we need leadership. And I have to say, the sound you can hear are champagne glasses being clinked in the Kremlin tonight."

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