Nigel Farage fawns over ‘fit’ Marine Le Pen but doesn’t think she will win the French election against Emmanuel Macron tonight
NIGEL FARAGE has fawned over French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen, saying she is "fit" and has "lost weight".
But the ex-Ukip boss said he didn't think the far-right leader would win tonight's final round of voting.
She's up against pro-EU candidate Emmanuel Macron who is tipped to sweep the floor and secure the top job.
Today Mr Farage, who has decided not to run to be an MP in June's snap election, said that she was his French fancy.
He gave her his backing and she was the "real deal... a proper, genuine Eurosceptic".
When asked about whether it was true she could drink him under the table, he told ITV's Peston on Sunday: "That was true, but she has cleaned her act up.
"She's lost weight, and she's looking pretty fit. But there was a time where that was true."
And he denied that she was an extremist, but that she would be better for Brexit than Macron would be.
Mr Farage speculated that she would be the French President - but not until 2022.
Voters are taking to the polls today to elect their next leader.
It's the first time neither of the two major parties - the Socialists and the Republicans - will have a candidate in the final round since the end of World War II.
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And the Ukipper today said the party could be pointless in two years time if the PM delivers “the type of Brexit people want”.
The ex-chief said the troubled party “has to survive” to keep pressure on the PM - but there would be “questions” about its future when our EU divorce is complete.
He claimed that Theresa May was swiping all Ukip's votes right now because the PM had stolen all of HIS policies.
After only securing ONE council seat on Thursday, leader Paul Nuttall said he was "prepared to pay" the price of a wipe out because Britain would finally be leaving the EU.
And Douglas Carswell, a former Ukip MP who has now left the party, said he was "delighted" Mrs May was doing so well.
Asked if he was backing the PM to get a good deal, Mr Farage said: “”It all looks and sounds fantastic but, as I say, we have got a career politician here whose record of delivery in the past has been very poor, so let’s see.”
He warned the Brexit party must carry on while Brexit is negotiated to avoid any “backsliding.”
But he welcomed the fact Theresa May was “using exactly the same words and phrases that I have been using for 20 years”.
Probed on Ukip’s poor results at last week’s local elections, Mr Farage blamed the fact “the British Prime Minister was running on exactly the same ticket” as Ukip had previously and “swept the board”.
But he warned Ukip’s future existence would depend on the outcome of the Brexit process.
He said: “If, in two-and-a-half years’ time, Mrs May has delivered the kind of Brexit that voters wanted, then I think you could ask the question ‘what is Ukip’s future, where does it go from here?’.”