God forbid a Socialist, Communist, Green government in France! Could it ever possibly recover from that?
French PM Attal resigns but will remain in caretaker role amid political deadlock
French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Tuesday, the presidential office said, adding that Attal will lead a caretaker government with restricted powers until a new government is named. The leftist New Popular Front alliance has still not managed to name a consensus candidate for prime minister after snap legislative elections earlier this month.
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French centrist Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his government resigned on Tuesday but will stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet is appointed following legislative elections in which no political bloc won an absolute majority.
The caretaker government will run current affairs in the eurozone's second-largest economy but cannot submit new laws to parliament or make any major changes, experts say.
Its role will include making sure that the Olympics, that start on July 26, run smoothly.
This period would also give political parties more time to build a governing coalition after the July 7 election runoff left the National Assembly without an overall majority.
A broad alliance – called New Popular Front (NFP) – of Socialists, Communists, Greens and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) won the most seats, with 193 in the 577-strong lower chamber.
Macron's allies came second with 164 seats and the far-right National Rally (RN) third at 143.
The divided NFP alliance has been scrambling to come up with a consensus candidate for prime minister.
But internal conflicts – notably between the LFI and the more moderate Socialists – have thwarted all efforts to find a personality able to survive a confidence vote in parliament.
'Shameful'
Over the weekend, the Socialists torpedoed the hopes of Huguette Bello, 73, a former communist MP and the president of the regional council in France's overseas territory La Reunion, who had support from the other left-wing parties.
The LFI, in turn, rejected Laurence Tubiana, an economist and climate specialist without political affiliation, who had the backing of the Socialists, Communists and Green party.
Leftist deputy Francois Ruffin on Tuesday called the NFP's infighting "shameful", while Green deputy Sandrine Rousseau said the disagreements made her "very angry".
On Saturday, Attal was voted in as leader of his party's National Assembly contingent, as he eyes his own future outside government, saying he would "contribute to the emergence of a majority concerning projects and ideas".
Macron and Attal, observers say, are still hoping to find a right-of-centre majority in parliament that would keep both the LFI or the far-right RN out of any new coalition.
Once Attal resigns, he and other cabinet members will be able to take their seats in parliament and participate in any coalition-building.
Parliament reconvenes on Thursday and will start by filling the National Assembly speaker job and other key positions.
Cracks have appeared between Attal and his former mentor Macron, whom the prime minister appears to blame for the electoral defeat only six months after being appointed France's youngest ever head of government at 34.
Macron still has almost three years to go as president before elections in 2027, at which far-right leader Marine Le Pen is expected to make a fresh bid for power.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
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Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas resigns to take on new EU post
July 15 (UPI) -- Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas resigned on Monday to take a new leadership position with the European Union, opening up negotiations to form a new government in her country.
Kallas, from Estonia's centrist Reform Party, is set to become the European Union's new foreign policy chief. Estonian President Alar Karis said he will start talks with the other parliamentary parties to form the new government.
The Reform Party, which has the largest representation in Parliament, has already selected Kristen Michal, its minister of climate, to replace Kallas as prime minister.
Kallas was named as part of the European Union's new leadership team last month with Ursula von der Leyen winning a second term as European Commission president.
"The job of prime minister is an extremely challenging job but I have been given such an offer that I can not refuse because Estonia has never been offered such a position before," Kallas said in a translated statement on Monday.
"This proposal has been made to me because of our work in foreign and defense policy has become noticed throughout Europe and this is a great recognition for all of us."
Kallas said despite the recognition, she was disappointed that domestic criticism she considered unfair. Kallas called her approach in adopting reforms "studious and knowledge-driven" and she doesn't like making decisions "shooting from the hip."
Kallas had already faced calls to step down after her party's poor showing in the European elections. The Estonian government had been facing domestic pressure after spending $1.74 billion on ammunition to fill shortages, raising taxes, and pushing through unpopular budget cuts in the private sector.
Kallas faced personal pressure when the local media revealed that her husband continued to work for a company that continued trade with Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine.
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