Boris Johnson Tories' panic move: Boris Johnson moves in
Emil Forsberg
Published 00.09
Boris Johnson. Photo: Carl Court / Getty Images Europe
The Tories are under heavy pressure ahead of Thursday's general election in Great Britain.
Distressed party leaders are already claiming that "it's over".
At the last moment, it has been decided to call in Boris Johnson.
Quick version On Thursday, Great Britain goes to parliamentary elections. All opinion polls indicate that Labor will be the big winners and that party leader Keir Starmer will take over as Prime Minister on July 5.
At the same time, heavy Tory politicians have begun to admit defeat.
"It's over and we have to prepare for the reality and frustration of being in opposition," writes former interior minister Suella Braverman in a comment in The Telegraph.
Rishi Sunak. Photo: Phil Noble/AP
The biggest concern for the Tories is that Labor will get a so-called "supermajority" in parliament.
And at the very last minute they have now called in Boris Johnson to turn public opinion around. Something the Telegraph likens to "pressing the panic button".
BoJo's surprise
Johnson made a surprise appearance in London on Tuesday night, declaring it was not too late to stop Labour.
- Isn't it the height of madness if the polls are right, that we are about to give Labor a supermajority, he said.
Keir Starmer. Photo: Stefan Rousseau / AP
He then backed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak whom he accused two years ago of having caused his resignation.
"Must thank Boris"
Sunak responded by thanking Johnson for the support.
- I have to thank Boris for being here and for his support. It's good, is not it? he said.
According to The Guardian, Sunak has told his inner party circle that he fears losing his constituency of Yorkshire. He would then become the first sitting prime minister to lose his constituency.
- He is really afraid of a defeat in Richmond. He's rattled now and can't quite believe it's this close, says a source to the newspaper.
Source: Democrats are considering asking Biden to withdraw
Dozens of Democratic politicians are considering signing a letter demanding that Joe Biden withdraw his candidacy ahead of the fall presidential election against Donald Trump. This is stated by a high-ranking Democrat for Bloomberg.
The Democrats fear that Joe Biden will have no chance against Trump in the election, which could lead to the Republicans controlling both the Senate, the House of Representatives and the presidency.
So far, only one Democrat has officially called for Biden's withdrawal, Lloyd Doggett of Texas. Many other Democrats in Congress, however, have criticized Biden after his performance in last week's debate against Donald Trump.
- I reject the idea that it was just a bad night and that everything is okay, says Mike Quigley from Illinois to Bloomberg.
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Source: Joe Biden Considers Retiring - White House Denies
Joe Biden has told a close political ally that he is considering withdrawing his presidential bid if he fails to convince the American people of his suitability in the coming days. This is stated by the source in question for the New York Times.
The president is said to remain committed to his candidacy, but recognizes that his next public appearances -- such as his interview with ABC News on Friday and campaign rallies in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- must go well, the source said.
- He understands that if there are two more such events, the situation will be different, says the source, referring to Biden's criticized performance in the CNN debate against Donald Trump.
“The claim is completely false. If the New York Times had given us more than seven minutes to comment, we would have been able to tell them," writes White House spokesman Andrew Bates on X.
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Expert: Dementia from the White House may be insignificant
Leaking anonymous quotes to the New York Times is a well-proven way in American politics to put pressure on someone. That's what journalist and US expert Andreas Utterström says to TV4 Nyheterna.
The White House quickly came out, dismissing the newspaper's sources that Joe Biden is considering retiring as "absolutely false."
- But it is difficult to know exactly what they are referring to that is not correct. So that the White House comes out and denies it doesn't have to mean anything either, says Utterström.
There is a civil war going on right now within the Democrats between the Biden loyalists and those who have always felt doubts because of the president's age, he continues.
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Another Democrat urges Biden to withdraw
Another Democratic member of the House of Representatives, Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, is now openly calling on Joe Biden to withdraw his presidential candidacy. He tells the New York Times.
- If he is a candidate, I will support him, but I think this is a chance to look elsewhere.
Biden must take responsibility for keeping the White House for the Democrats, and that responsibility means stepping aside, he continues.
His announcement comes a day after Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first congressional Democrat to make an open call for Biden.
If Joe Biden were to withdraw his presidential candidacy, there is no doubt that Vice President Kamala Harris would take his place. This is stated by a number of party sources for Reuters and The Independent.
Sources told the New York Times, CNN and ABC News on Wednesday that Biden has privately said he is open to withdrawing, depending on the outcome of this week's scheduled campaign meetings and the interview with ABC on Friday.
Both he himself and the White House, however, have spent the day categorically dismissing these claims and trying to calm concerns in the party.
What speaks against Harris is that she is not very popular, says political analyst Alex Lange to SVT Nyheter.
- The opinion figures are tough for her and there are many in the party who are worried that she cannot win in November against Trump. .....................................
Biden: I'm running - no one is forcing me out
Joe Biden denies reports that he is considering withdrawing his candidacy, several media outlets report.
The announcement came as he and Vice President Kamala Harris surprisingly joined a group call several leading Democrats were holding on Zoom.
- Let me say it as clearly as possible: I am a candidate. No one is forcing me away. I'm with you all the way and we will win, the president said.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre confirms at a press conference that Biden is "absolutely not" considering withdrawing, according to AFP.
- Everything else that we hear or that is reported is completely false.
The announcement comes after a source close to Biden told the New York Times earlier on Wednesday that he is considering pulling out if he fails to gain more confidence from Americans in the coming days.
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Measurement: Trump's lead increases after the debate
Donald Trump is increasing his support, gaining 49 percent, compared to 43 percent for Joe Biden, in a recent New York Times/Siena poll. That's a three percentage point increase for Trump since Joe Biden's criticized performance in last week's debate.
It's the biggest lead Trump has had in the NYT/Siena poll since 2015. The new poll also shows 74 percent of voters believe Biden is too old for the presidency — five percentage points more than before the debate.
The poll was hotly anticipated - rumors about the result have spread within the Democrats in the past 24 hours, and therefore the campaign staff issued an internal announcement to preempt it, writes Politico.
"We should all remember that just last week the NYT itself admitted that its poll results stand out from the crowd," they wrote.
The China-Russia relationship Xi and Putin in a new meeting - celebrating the countries' relationship
On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, AFP reports.
- Russian-Chinese relations, our comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, are experiencing their best period in history, Putin said in a televised opening speech.
In his opening speech, Xi said Russia and China should strive to maintain their friendship "for generations."
The presidents are participating in a meeting of the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which, in addition to China and Russia, includes India and Iran. The SCO has been described as an "anti-NATO" with the aim of acting as a counterbalance to the USA's influence on the world stage.
At the same time, the SCO is also a forum where Russia and China's partnership may be tested, as both countries want to expand their influence in Central Asia, writes The Guardian.
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Political situation in Belarus Belarus grants rare amnesty to five political prisoners
Belarus dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko has, in a rare move, released five political prisoners, the BBC reports.
It was at a press conference on Tuesday that Lukashenko announced that he intended to release five "seriously ill" prisoners. They are three men and two women, of which only one has been identified - 67-year-old Ryhor Kastusev, Lukashenko's rival in the 2010 election.
- When we saw each other, everyone got so happy and started crying. We saw that he was at home and that everything was fine, says his daughter Galina.
There are over 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus, according to the human rights group Viasna. Many of them were arrested after the protests that followed Lukashenko's election victory in 2020 – a victory the opposition and much of the world accuses him of cheating.
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The election in Great Britain Labor is heading for its biggest majority since 1832
Social Democratic Labor is headed for a total landslide victory in Thursday's British parliamentary elections, according to Sky News' latest poll by the polling institute Yougov.
The party is predicted to win a majority of 212 seats - the largest by any British party since 1832.
In total, Labor is expected to get 431 seats, compared to 102 for the Conservative Tories, 72 for the Liberal Democrats and 18 for the Scottish National Party.
If the result stands, Keir Starmer will be the most successful Labor leader in history in terms of mandate. Under Jeremy Corbin in 2019, the party received 202 seats, less than half of what they are estimated to receive now.
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Details: Israel and the UN in talks about Starlink in Gaza
Israel
and the UN are discussing the possibility of establishing Elon Musk's
Starlink satellite system in Gaza, reports Axios, citing sources. The
call is part of the plan to increase security for UN employees in Gaza.
The
UN has emphasized in talks with Israeli representatives that a
satellite system is a requirement for the organization to be able to
help with aid in Gaza, according to the sources.
Israel is
concerned that the system risks ending up in the hands of Hamas and thus
making it more difficult for the country's intelligence services to
monitor the terrorist group's communications.
Israel takes the largest area in the West Bank in 30 years
Israel's government has approved the annexation of 12.7 square kilometers of land in the occupied West Bank - the largest in 30 years, according to the Israeli peace movement Peace Now, according to AFP.
A document provided to the news agency by Peace Now shows that Israel's West Bank Territorial Affairs Authority declared the Jordan Valley area "state property" in June.
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Israel seizes a record amount of land in the West Bank
Israel has taken a large area of land in the occupied West Bank, several news agencies write. It is the Israeli organization Peace Now, which critically examines settlers, that states that authorities in the country have approved the seizure of 12.7 square kilometers of land in the Jordan Valley.
It is the largest area Israel has taken in 30 years, according to the organization.
After the war between Israel and Hamas broke out last October, violence in the West Bank has increased. Over 550 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to Palestinian authorities.
98 percent of Grenada's buildings damaged by Beryl
Hurricane Beryl has caused complete devastation on the Caribbean island group of Grenada, with 6,000 inhabitants, the New York Times reports.
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell describes the destruction as "total" and "unimaginable". 98 percent of the archipelago's buildings are damaged or destroyed, and on the second largest island, Carriacou, no vegetation remains.
- We have to build everything from scratch, says Mitchell.
None of the islands have electricity anymore, the crops have been destroyed, and fallen trees and power poles lie across the roads. Many have also become homeless. So far, three deaths have been reported.
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Jamaica prepares for deadly Hurricane Beryl
Residents of Jamaica are rushing to prepare for Hurricane Beryl, which has killed at least seven people as it barreled through Grenada, Venezuela and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the AP reports.
In the capital Kingston, residents nail their windows, pull boats out of the sea and put down advertising signs by the roads.
Life-threatening storm surges and floods are expected to hit the island on Wednesday. The US Hurricane Center says it is very concerned about Jamaica as the island appears to be in the path of a Category 4 hurricane.
- I urge all Jamaicans to see the hurricane as a serious threat. However, it is not time to panic, says Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness in a speech to the nation.
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Unusually high temperatures in the ocean drive the hurricane
Hurricane Beryl is the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in nearly 100 years, the BBC reports.
Unusually high sea temperatures for the time of year are seen as a key factor. Typically, hurricanes this strong don't occur until later in the hurricane season.
- We know that when we heat up the planet, we also heat up the sea surface. These warm ocean waters are a driving factor in hurricanes, says Andra Garner, assistant professor at Rowan University in the US.
As global warming increases, more and more hurricanes are expected to reach the highest possible strength.
The Israel-Hamas war|The negotiations Sources: IDF generals push for ceasefire
High-ranking generals in Israel's military want to initiate a cease-fire in Gaza even if it means that Hamas retains power for the time being, contrary to Prime Minister Netanyahu's wishes, a number of sources told the New York Times.
According to the sources, the generals are concerned about the lack of equipment, and also want to give the soldiers a chance to recover in case another major war breaks out against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The generals also believe a truce is the best chance to get the hostages released, and could appease Hezbollah, which has vowed to continue attacking Israel until the war in Gaza ends, according to the reports. ..................................
Israel has received a new proposal from Hamas
Israel has received an updated ceasefire proposal from Hamas via the mediator countries Qatar, Egypt and the United States, the Times of Israel reports.
"Israel is examining the proposal and will respond to the mediators," Prime Minister Netanyahu's staff wrote in a statement.
Hamas confirms that it sent "some new ideas" to the mediators. No details are given.
The terrorist group submitted its latest proposal on June 11, but it was rejected by the United States. Since then, the mediators have tried to get Hamas to tone down its demands.
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The Israel-Lebanon conflict Hezbollah leader killed - 100 rockets fired at Israel
Senior Hezbollah commander Mohammad Naameh Nasser was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, a Hezbollah spokesman told the AP.
In retaliation, Hezbollah fired 100 rockets at Israeli military positions in the afternoon, according to Reuters.
Nasser is the highest-ranking commander killed since Taleb Sami Abdullah on 11 June. Israel's military confirms the attack, calling Nasser and Abdullah key figures in Hezbollah's attacks on Israel.
It is taking place in a situation of intense diplomatic attempts to pour oil on the waves of the Israel-Lebanon conflict. US mediator Amos Hochstein, who shuttled between the countries, will meet France's Lebanon envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian for talks in Paris on Wednesday.
The Russian invasionUkraine's response Details: Zelensky wants to fire the prime minister
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is likely to fire his Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, several sources in his staff told Ukrainska Pravda.
- The president is tired of Sjmyhal, it is obvious during meetings. He barely listens to him anymore, says one of them.
It is not clear exactly why. The source only adds that Zelenskyj "always wants creative solutions and proposals" and that Sjmyhal "cannot change his mind".
The sources highlight Julija Svyrydenko, Minister of Finance and First Deputy Prime Minister, as a possible replacement. Oleksiy Chernyshov, CEO of the national oil and gas company Naftogaz, is also singled out as a candidate.
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The Russian invasion. The outside world's response Stump: One phone call from Xi and the war is over
Russia has become so dependent on China that Beijing could end the war in Ukraine if it wanted to, according to Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
- A phone call from President Xi Jinping would solve this crisis, he tells Bloomberg.
Beijing dismisses him. Russia and China are independent countries, and China did not start the war, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.
Frustration with China has been growing among Ukraine's allies, who accuse Beijing of supplying Russia with technology and weapons parts and helping it circumvent international trade restrictions.
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The Russian InvasionThe Battles Measurement: Europeans do not believe in Ukrainian military victory
Most Europeans do not believe in a Ukrainian military victory against Russia, according to a survey conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations in 15 countries.
Overall, the most common position instead is that the war will end in some type of compromise agreement between the countries.
Apart from the Ukrainians themselves, the Estonians are the most positive - there 38 percent believe in a Ukrainian victory, and eight percent in a Russian victory. The most negative are the Greeks – there 31 percent believe in a Russian victory, and only three percent in Ukrainian.
Sweden generally follows the trend. 17 percent believe in Ukrainian victory, 15 percent in Russian, and 37 percent in a compromise agreement. Others are unsure or believe in a different outcome.
France's far-right National Assembly looks set to win between 190 and 220 seats in Sunday's second round of elections - well short of the 289 seats required for an absolute majority.
This is according to an opinion poll conducted by Harris Interactive for three French media houses, according to Reuters.
The left-wing alliance NPF comes second in the poll with 159 to 183 seats, and President Macron's center alliance gets 110 to 135 seats.
Over 220 candidates from the NPF and Macron's alliance have withdrawn from the election in districts where there are more than two candidates on the list, with the aim of uniting the opposition to the National Assembly
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The Prime Minister: A right-wing majority can be avoided
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is calling on the French to unite to prevent the far-right National Assembly from gaining an absolute majority in Sunday's second round of the new election. This is reported by AFP.
National Assembly is the only party that has a chance of getting its own majority, but that can be avoided by voting for the opposing candidates regardless of who they are, says Attal.
- It is not fun for many French people to have to block (National Assembly) by voting for someone they don't want [...] but it is our responsibility, he says.
223 candidates from the left-wing alliance NPF and President Macron's center alliance have withdrawn from the election in districts where there are more than two names on the ballot, with the aim of unifying the opposition to the National Assembly, writes Bloomberg.
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Macron's father: The decision on new elections was made before the EU elections
Emmanuel Macron's decision to dissolve parliament and call new elections in France was announced after the EU elections. According to the president's father, Jean-Michel Macron, the decision was made long before that.
- The decision did not come because of the result in the EU election. He had already talked to me about it two months earlier, he says in an interview with the French daily newspaper Le Dauphiné ahead of Sunday's second round of the election.
In the interview, which was noticed by several French media, Jean-Michel Macron also says that Emmanuel Macron talked about the parliament becoming impossible to govern.
Boris Johnson Brexit stabs the Conservative Party in the back
Wolfgang Hansson
This is a commenting text. Analysis and positions are the writer's.
Updated 15.03 | Published 15.02
Johnson's broken promises and scandals appear to be costing the Conservative Party dearly. Photo: Matt Dunham/AP
Brexit was the Conservative Party's great success and blessing.
The same Brexit is now coming back and stabbing the party in the back in what is expected to be a historically disastrous election loss.
But Labor doesn't really have a plan for how to handle its expected electoral success.
Quick version It is not Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's mistake of going home early from the D-Day celebrations or the flaring scandal involving Tory MPs who gambled the election that is behind the historic defeat that looks set to await the Conservative Party.
The elephant in the room is Brexit, the exit from the EU.
The same Brexit as in 2019 saw the party under then party leader Boris Johnson win a landslide victory.
In the choice between an extreme left-wing Labor and the chance to leave the EU, a large majority of Labor voters also chose to vote for the Tory party.
But Brexit did not turn out to be what they envisioned or were promised.
Instead of Boris Johnson's promises of gold and green forests and greatly reduced immigration, the British experienced empty store shelves and a record number of boat refugees across the English Channel.
On top of that came a pandemic in which Boris Johnson gave orders for a more or less total shutdown. Except for himself and the government. There they partied together while ordinary Britons were locked in their apartments without the opportunity to see loved ones.
Labor leader Keir Starmer is very careful not to take any victory in advance. Photo: Stefan Rousseau / AP
Can be quite expensive
When the British voted to leave the EU in 2016, 52 percent were in favor and 48 against. A slim majority. Today, opinion polls show that a clear majority of Britons, 55 percent, think it was wrong to leave the EU. Less than one in three think it was right.
Johnson's broken promises and scandals appear to be costing the Conservative Party dearly.
The chaos of Johnson being replaced by first Liz Truss, who was ousted in record time, and then Rishi Sunak has not helped.
Opinion polls show that the conservatives are almost wiped out. From today's 365 seats in the House of Commons to 53.
Labor can get its own absolute majority in parliament. A result that may even surpass Tony Blair's legendary victory in 1997. Leader Keir Starmer is busy tempering high expectations and not claiming victory in advance.
He knows that the British do not suddenly love Labor or him. Rather, it is about a widespread dissatisfaction with the way the conservatives have managed the country in the last 14 years.
Plus the fact that Labor under Starmer has become more of the center party it was under Tony Blair. He is a far more palatable candidate for Conservative voters than the radical left former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Sunak is trying to scare voters that Labor will raise taxes. Photo: Thomas Krych / AP
One-way ticket to Rwanda
But above all, it is about the fact that the working-class voters in England's industrial areas who abandoned Labor five years ago for Boris Johnson have now found their home again.
Sunak is trying to scare voters that Labor will raise taxes. His problem is that half of Britons want taxes to be raised (for the rich) to fund the old flagship NHS. The health care system that to some extent collapsed during the pandemic and after all the cuts that the conservatives implemented.
Prime Minister Sunak had hoped that the issue of immigration would become a lifeline for his party.
The Conservatives have a plan to put asylum seekers who enter the UK illegally on a plane to Rwanda in Africa. With a one-way ticket. The idea is that they should be able to search for awl there. If they are judged to be in need of protection, they can stay in Rwanda. They must never set foot in Britain.
Sunak had hoped that the first plans would have taken off in time for the election. Unfortunately for him, the outsourcing of the asylum process to Rwanda is still largely an untested paper construct.
Perhaps the method will never be tried. Labor says no to Rwanda flights and instead wants to stop the flow of boat refugees by forming a special force and working more closely with France.
Labor generally wants to mend some of the broken ties with the EU. It is far too early to talk about Britain becoming part of the Union again, but Starmer wants to bury the hatchet in order to try to improve conditions for the British Isles.
Nigel Farage, the man who effectively forced the Brexit referendum, is back as leader of the Reform UK party. Photo: Alex Brandon/AP
Scattered across the country
Because what the divorce showed more than anything else is how dependent the UK is on the rest of Europe and the EU on the UK.
The threat to the conservatives also comes from the right. Nigel Farage, the man who effectively forced the Brexit referendum, is back as leader of the Reform UK party.
His populist message, not unlike that of the French National Assembly, attracts voters from both the Tories and Labour. In the opinion polls, Farage's party is third with 16 percent, just a few percentage points behind the Conservatives.
But because the party's voters are spread across the country, the electoral system means that Farage is poorly paid for the votes he pulls in.
But by taking votes primarily from the Conservatives, he contributes to increasing the size of Labour's presumed election victory.
It is not just in jest that he is mentioned as a possible successor to Sunak as leader of the Conservatives. If the expected fallout is realized, Sunak's days as party leaders are numbered.
Opinion polls show that he even risks losing his seat in parliament.
- I hope that he will make the painful and difficult decision to resign, he said then.
Now a source close to Biden states that the president is considering withdrawing his candidacy, the New York Times reports.
Biden plans an interview with NBC News on Friday and will then make campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that must go well, according to the New York Times. Otherwise, he can thank himself. Even CNN has similar information.
- The president is well aware of the political challenge he faces, says an anonymous adviser.
The White House denies the information.
“The claim is completely false. If the New York Times had given us more than 7 minutes to comment, we would have told them," writes the White House spokesperson on X.
NBC News' new opinion poll shows that ex-president Donald Trump sailed past Biden with 50 percent to 48 after the much-publicized debate. In the key states, the number is 51 to 48 in favor of Trump.
- He is raging in the surveys, the fundraising is drying up and the interviews are going badly. He is not unaware of it, an anonymous source told CNN.
Later in the evening, Bloombergreported that a dozen or so Democratic lawmakers are considering starting a petition to demand that Biden withdraw.
Tonight, Biden will have a meeting with concerned Democratic governors at the White House.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the controversial debate. Photo: John Bazemore/AP
Joe Biden Democrat source on Biden: Isolated and angry
Martina Karpmyr
Updated 13.28 | Published 13.12
Joe Biden is protected by a small group of advisers from bad news and advice from outsiders, according to White House aides.
The president is described as increasingly isolated and easily irritated.
- People are terrified of him, says a source to Politico.
Quick versionThat Joe Biden is negatively affected by his age and health was known in the White House long before last week's high-profile debate with Donald Trump, according to a high-ranking source in Biden's administration.
During Biden's presidency, his closest advisers have built a protective wall around him.
Any information that associates bring to the president is tailored by senior officials to avoid negative reactions from the 81-year-old, reports Politico.
- It's something like: "You can't bring that, then he gets angry" or: "Bring that, he likes it," says the source.
Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Employees are "terrified"
Politico's source describes it as Joe Biden only taking advice from a few top officials and becoming increasingly isolated from the media and advice from outsiders.
- It's like a Rorschach test, not a review. Because he is not a nice person to be around when he is informed.
- It is really difficult. People are terrified of him.
Democrat top: Should resign
Joe Biden's political opponents have long questioned the president's state of health. But after the debate with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, discussions about Biden's health took a new turn.
During the performance, Biden lost the thread several times and stumbled over his words.
Now voices are also being raised from within his own party that Biden should resign.
"I hope he will make the painful and difficult decision to resign," Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett said Tuesday.
Julián Castro, Democrat and former housing secretary under Barack Obama, is on the same track.
- It would be wise to find another candidate, he told MSNBC.
Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Biden: "Almost fell asleep"
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre understands the concerns about Joe Biden's health, she said at a news conference on Tuesday.
- He had a cold. It was not a good night for him to debate. He himself has said that he is no longer a young man.
Joe Biden himself says that the faltering effort in the debate was due to Jet-lag, reports the BBC. It was "not very smart" to "travel around the world a couple of times" before the debate, according to the president.
- I didn't listen to my staff, and then I almost fell asleep on stage.
Photo: Gerald Herbert/AP
The inner circle decided on the debate
The decision to have Joe Biden conduct the debate was made by a small group of advisers in the president's inner circle, three anonymous sources told Politico.
- Everyone was told that it was best that way, an employee at the White House tells Politico and adds:
- Now it has become the worst possible outcome. Everyone is trying to understand why the people who know him best and make all the decisions didn't seem to be able to foresee that this could happen. Send feedback
Analysis: Biden's debate crisis has become a real threat
Joe Biden's weak debate against Donald Trump has led to concern within the party. The crisis after the president's effort is developing into a real threat to his chances of winning against Trump in the election, writes Stephen Collinson on CNN in an analysis.
"President Joe Biden must do much more to quell concerns within the Democrats after his poor performance during the debate with former President Donald Trump, and quickly," he writes.
Collinson also believes that there is a risk that Biden has squandered his best chance to gain an advantage before the election.
Tyler Pager and Ashley Parker write in the Washington Post that the president's inner circle has chosen to dismiss parts of the criticism as "underestimation of Biden's ability".
To pay too much attention to the lackluster debate would be to "acknowledge what many Democratic voters have long feared and what some officials and strategists have long whispered: that Biden is too old to run for a second term," the reporters write in their analysis.
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An increasingly confused Biden worries the president's entourage
Several current and former officials who worked with Joe Biden testify that the president seems increasingly confused behind the scenes, the New York Times reports.
The newspaper has spoken to people close to the 81-year-old who say that the president is mostly sharp and engaged, but that misstatements and other mistakes have become more common.
New questions about Joe Biden's health appeared in connection with the debate against Donald Trump last week, both from the Democrats themselves and the Republicans.
- You don't have to sit in a meeting with Joe Biden in the Oval Office to realize that there has been a slowdown in the last two years, says historian and presidential expert Douglas Brinkley.
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Biden: Fatigue after travel was behind the weak debate
It was intensive travel to several countries that was behind Joe Biden's weak performance during the debate against Donald Trump last week. Biden himself said that during a campaign meeting in Virginia, Reuters reports.
- I didn't listen to my colleagues and almost fell asleep on stage. It's not an excuse but an explanation, Biden said.
The White House has previously explained Biden's performance by saying he had a cold, something he himself did not mention.
Rishi Sunak has not yet wanted to admit defeat ahead of tomorrow's British election, despite almost all opinion polls pointing to a victory for Labour. But two high-ranking politicians within the Conservative Party have now thrown in the towel.
"You have to see the obvious: it's over and we have to prepare for the reality and frustration of being in opposition," wrote former Home Secretary Suella Braverman in The Telegraph yesterday.
Mel Stride, Minister for Work and Pensions, has also commented on the upcoming election.
- I fully accept that the opinion polls at the moment mean that tomorrow we are likely to see the largest majority this country has ever seen, he says to the BBC's radio program "Today".
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Analysis: Starmer reaps the benefits of Sunak's gamble
Almost everything points to Keir Starmer and Labor winning the British election. That's what Sky News' Beth Rigby writes in an analysis before the residents of Great Britain go to the polls on Thursday. According to her, Labour's progress and performance is "amazing".
"Mr Sunak took a gamble in May by calling a summer election, and now it looks like Sir Keir will reap the rewards," she writes.
Chris Mason at the BBC writes that the entire Conservative Party has prepared itself for defeat of catastrophic proportions. At the same time, he believes that the smaller parties Liberal Democrats and the Green Party can achieve good election results.
"We stand on the threshold of what looks to be a historic election," he writes.
Ishaan Tharoor writes in The Washington Post that previous analyzes that the Tories are "on the brink of extinction" are unfair. At the same time, it is not possible to turn a blind eye to the fact that everything points to a historic defeat for Rishi Sunak, he writes.
"Imminent Labor majority arrives in wake of Tory disaster".
On Tuesday evening, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared during the Tories' election campaign at the Army Museum in London. He directed criticism at Labor and the party's leader Keir Starmer.
- They cannot achieve anything in this election except to form the most left-wing government since the war, he says according to The Guardian.
The British newspaper also notes that Johnson avoided talking about current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Sunak bets everything on one percent to stop "supermajority"
In the run-up to the election, Rishi Sunak is doing everything he can to win back one per cent of the vote - 130,000 voters - and thus prevent Labor from achieving a 'super majority' in Parliament. That's what The Times writes.
It has long been clear that Labor will win the British election on Thursday, and the votes that went there consider the Tories lost. Now the Prime Minister turns to his disaffected voters who intended to vote for the right-wing populist Reform UK.
- You have the power to use your votes to stop an uncontrolled Labor government, he said at a campaign meeting on Tuesday, according to The Times.
If the Tories manage to win back votes in 75 constituencies where the numbers are even, Labor will not get its own majority in parliament and will have to form a minority government or seek a coalition.
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Second defection from Reform UK - "the majority racists"
Georgie David is dropping her candidacy for the right-wing populist Reform UK ahead of Thursday's election, she writes in a statement quoted in British media. She thinks that "the vast majority" of the candidates are "racists, misogynists and prejudiced" and therefore switches to the Conservative Party.
"More desperate corruption from the Tories," writes Reform UK chairman Richard Tice on X, accusing the Conservative Party of bribing Georgie David with jobs and secure political posts, according to the BBC.
At the weekend, Liam Booth-Isherwood also defected from Reform UK to the Tories. He also cited racism among his colleagues as a reason, writes The Guardian.
In recent days, the party has been shaken by revelations about racist statements from several of the candidates, writes Sky News. Many disillusioned Tory voters have gone to Reform UK, which taps into the Conservative Party.
Senior Democrat first to call on Joe Biden to drop out
Lloyd
Doggett of Texas becomes the first Democratic politician to openly call
on Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race against Republican
Donald Trump, AP reports.
- I hope he will make the painful and difficult decision to drop out, says the congressman in a statement.
He adds that Joe Biden should drop out because he has always "unlike Trump prioritized the United States and not himself."
Since
last week's debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, there have been
media reports that many Democrats want Biden to drop out. Doggett, who
served in Congress for 15 terms, will be the first to say so openly.
...................................
One in three Democrats think Biden should drop out - wants Obama
One
in three Democratic voters think Joe Biden should drop out of the
presidential campaign — but there's no one else they think would stand a
chance against Trump. This is according to an opinion poll from Reuters
and Ipsos.
Michelle Obama was the only hypothetical candidate in
the poll who received stronger support than Biden. She was also the
only one to defeat Trump in a hypothetical election by 50 to 39 percent.
The crux is that Obama, married to ex-president Barack, has said
several times that she is not interested in running for office.
More
and more people are questioning Joe Biden's suitability for the
November election after his poor debate against Trump last week. On
Tuesday, the first Democratic congressman openly said that Biden should
drop out.
British politics Soon we will learn what it means to win through the failures of others
Owen Jones
This is a cultural article that is part of Aftonbladet's opinion journalism.
Published at 05.00
Labor is heading for a historic victory in the general election. Photo: Aaron Chown/AP
Here are two extremely revealing facts about the UK general election. First: the opinion polls unanimously indicate that Labor is heading for its biggest ever victory, while the ruling Conservative Party is heading for its worst election since 1832, when the system was given the modern guise used today. Second: Labour's Keir Starmer is the most unpopular opposition leader since the 70s, when such polls began.
How can these factors coexist? One of the most convincing victories in modern times - for the least popular future Prime Minister ever?
The answer is simple: no government in modern history has imploded with such self-immolating single-mindedness as the latest one. During the pandemic, Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his officials broke the rules they themselves had set up and communicated. In some cases, they partied until they vomited down the government's own walls, while ordinary citizens were not allowed to hold the hands of their dying family members.
You might think this should be enough to bring down a government - and you'd be right - but there's more to come.
Because of his consistent denial of this filthy hypocrisy - along with the Torie's sexual harassment, abuse and corruption scandals - Johnson was forced to step down. This alone would have been enough to bring down most governments. That turned out to be the least of Tories' problems.
Britain has now suffered the biggest decline in living standards since the Napoleonic era. A poor household in the UK has an average of £4,300 less per year than their German or French counterparts. Real wages have barely changed since the Tories came to power, when the party used the financial crash as an excuse for government withdrawal.
The result: a crumbling public sector where healthcare – once described by Margret Thatcher's finance minister as "the closest the English get to a religion" – is paralyzed by record long queues. A fragmented infrastructure, especially outside the capital – the country's privatized, expensive, unreliable and congested railway is a standing joke – creates a sense that this is a country that no longer works.
Then came Liz Truss. Boris Johnson's successor wanted to immediately introduce tax cuts for the rich, contrary to the mandate her party had secured in 2019. Her stated reason: to break the trend of dismal economic growth. The diagnosis was indeed correct, although the truth is that it is a result of the legacy of Thatcher. Growth was at its strongest during the post-war period and associated nationalisation, government intervention, strong trade unions and tax increases for the well-off. After privatisations, tax cuts, disbanded unions and the deregulations of the 80s, growth had both declined and become more unevenly distributed.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under intense pressure. Photo: Phil Noble/AP
But Truss's shock therapy triggered the great disaster. The market crashed, mortgage rates and rents soared, forcing her to backtrack so far that she was eventually swept from power, remembered as Britain's shortest-serving prime minister ever.
You might think this should be enough to bring down a government - and you'd be right - but there's more to come. The Tories have done their best to reinforce prejudice against immigrants, with the aim of gaining partisan advantage. This played a decisive role in the 2016 Brexit referendum, where free movement and immigration were central arguments.
Public attitudes towards immigration have actually softened markedly since then. But immigration is higher than ever – positive for those with a progressive bent, traumatic for those who voted to leave the EU for this very reason. The Tories have mixed toxic rhetoric with a number of anti-immigration measures. But it has only bitten the core voters, and they have not managed to satisfy that anger. The supporters have instead jumped over to Nigel Farage's radical right Reform Party.
Labor will therefore win a landslide victory for lack of alternatives. But then?
If Rishi Sunak had been a competent Prime Minister, he would probably have perished in this toxic wreck. Unfortunately, he is perhaps the most overrated leader in history. His crisis-ridden leadership culminated in the decision to call an unnecessarily early election, which is currently swirling around a scandal in which his allies allegedly bet money on the election's timing.
That Labor is on the threshold of a historic majority is confirmation for Starmer's allies: the party leader was right to pull them to the right. Starmer was elected by party members on promises of taxing the rich, public investment, reversing the failed privatization experiment, abolishing tuition fees and sweeping labor law reforms. Starmer paid tribute to his left-wing predecessor Jeremy Corbyn - for whom he was a spokesman on the Brexit issue - and criticized the demonization of him.
After being elected, Starmer scrapped his promises, purged anything reminiscent of Corbyn and went on a frontal attack on the party's left. But he has not succeeded in filling this vacuum with a clear vision of his own. His new flagship became a £28bn-a-year green investment fund, which has since been almost completely abandoned. His leadership even accepted the Tories' cuts to social security benefits, which are pushing hundreds of thousands of children into poverty. Even Tony Blair's New Labor offered anti-poverty measures. Starmerism has nothing like that at all.
It is striking that Labour's poll numbers are no better than the party got under Corbyn in 2017, when it won 262 out of 650 seats and the Tories became the largest party but without their own majority. This time Labor could get the same share of the vote and still win 450 seats or more. Welcome to the capricious British electoral system, with majority voting in single-member constituencies – this time coupled with a total collapse for the Tories, with Farage's party now splitting voters to the right of centre.
But none of this helps Starmerism - whatever it is. Starmer's popularity is lower than Corbyn's before the 2017election. The difference is that Corbyn was subjected to a relentless media campaign - accusing his Labor Party of everything from terrorist sympathies to antisemitism - while Starmer has enjoyed the most favorable media treatment of a Labor leader since Tony Blair.
Corbyn faced hostility from most Labor MPs - even during the 2017 campaign. Starmer, for his part, has forced unity through brute authority. The lack of enthusiasm he evokes is striking.
Labor will therefore win a landslide victory for lack of alternatives. But then? There is a black hole of around £20 billion a year in the country's finances. It needs to be filled just not to expand, and the UK is already in bad shape due to years of Tory austerity. But Labor has taken over the Tories' fiscal rules and ruled out tax increases for the super-rich. The political issues, from standard of living to education, are given low priority.
Starmer lacks the charisma of his ideological ally Blair. So what happens when an unpopular opposition leader with no vision or solutions to a troubled nation's many crises wins power, solely because of the catastrophic failures of the previous government? In the coming year, we will get the beginning of an answer to that question.
Waiting in the wings is Nigel Farage, who may switch to a broken Conservative party and become its leader. Germany's Olaf Scholz and France's Emmanuel Macron came to power with similar political projects: just look at the far-right revolts that followed. This is the danger in Britain too, unless a demoralized, beleaguered and fragmented left pulls itself together – and offers a response to the disillusionment ahead.
