Politics

Bloomberg Swedish opposition leader Ulf Kristersson, the man most likely to be asked to form a new government after Stefan Lofven’s second defeat in parliament, is calling for a quick resolution to the country’s political stalemate, warning that the chances of a snap election are now rising. “Ultimately, we are heading at quite a high speed toward a new election,” ...

Bloomberg Theresa May was expected to face a vote of confidence in her leadership of the Conservative Party as the embattled UK prime minister warned the rebels who want her out that they will be putting Brexit at risk. Tory members of Parliament were expected to vote on Wednesday evening on whether they have confidence in May. If she loses, ...

Bloomberg Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to deploy national police to the restive Catalonia region, as tensions escalate between Madrid and Barcelona. The central government sent three letters to the pro-independence Catalan administration this week warning that the regional Mossos police had failed to ensure basic security during recent protests, which paralysed several highways for hours with impunity. Sanchez ...

Bloomberg Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s long march towards one-man rule in the heart of the European Union hit a new milestone. Shrugging off the threat of sanctions from Brussels, Orban’s lawmakers approved a law that will further tighten his hold over the country’s court system. Opposition lawmakers tried to prevent the opening of the parliamentary session and then whistled ...

Bloomberg North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is not expected to visit the South before the end of the year, South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s office said. Kim may still travel to Seoul in January for what could mark the first trip by any North Korean leader to the South’s capital, presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan said in a text message. Yonhap ...

Bloomberg The top leaders of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters, famous for abrasive politics and brawling in parliament, have become embroiled in a string of scandals that has dented the party’s efforts to portray itself as a voice of the poor ahead of elections in May. Deputy party leader Floyd Shivambu allegedly secured funds looted from the failed VBS Mutual ...

Bloomberg As Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte prepared to present his budget in Brussels, one of the main powers behind Italy’s government, League leader Matteo Salvini, may be looking beyond the crisis a failed spending plan could trigger and toward new elections early next year, la Repubblica reported. With both Salvini and fellow Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio of the ...

Bloomberg In a whirlwind 24-hour span, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has seen his main opponents seize back momentum ahead of the 2019 national election. First came the abrupt resignation on Monday night of Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel, which sent stock, bond and currency markets tumbling when they reopened on Tuesday. Then Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party faced ...

Bloomberg US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo criticised the Russian government for sending “bombers halfway around the world” to Venezuela. “The Russian and Venezuelan people should see this for what it is: two corrupt governments squandering public funds, and squelching liberty and freedom while their people suffer,” Pompeo said on Twitter. It’s “absolutely inappropriate” for Pompeo to call the Russian ...

Bloomberg At least four people died in clashes between Togolese police and opposition supporters before controversial parliamentary elections this month. Three people died in the capital, Lomé, over the weekend, while the body of another person was found in the northern town of Sokode, Security Minister General Yark Damehame said on state television. Opposition spokeswoman Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo put the ...