U.K.’s Judgment Day, Impeachment Green Light

(Bloomberg) --

It’s been a challenging few days for U.S. President Donald Trump. His week began with the discovery that his media style had become the butt of jokes among world leaders at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit and ended with the Democrats announcing they’ll draft articles of impeachment for abusing his office in a “profound violation” of the public trust.

In the U.K., Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s last-ditch attempt to wrest power from the Conservative party and change the course of his country’s exit from the European Union entered its final days.

And protests continued across the globe, as citizens’ anger at corrupt and unequal regimes showed no signs of burning out and the demands for more urgent government action on climate change escalated.

Dig deeper into these and other topics and click here for Bloomberg’s most compelling political images from the past week.

Key Election Task for U.K. Tories: Tame Boris Johnson
Anger management may decide whether Boris Johnson wins Thursday’s crucial election. No longer just an entertaining media personality, the prime minister is a highly divisive figure whose displays of temper on the campaign trail have raised eyebrows inside and outside his party, Tim Ross writes.

Britain’s Brexit Election Is Now a Referendum on Jeremy Corbyn
It’s the last stand for Corbyn after defying critics two years ago by gaining seats in the last national vote, Kitty Donaldson and Robert Hutton report. His success on Dec. 12 depends on whether Johnson and his Conservatives can breach the “Red Wall,” the band of districts running across the middle of the U.K.

The Making of the Man Europe Picked to Confront Trump on Trade
When Phil Hogan was fighting for his political life in Ireland, he knew just who to turn to: his enemy. As Dara Doyle reports, the new European trade commissioner will need all of those smarts as he works to defuse tensions with Trump and hammer out a post-Brexit deal with the U.K.

Giuliani Is in Kyiv; Ukrainian Officials Are Steering Clear 
Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, whose work in Ukraine is at the heart of U.S. impeachment proceedings, is back in the country — and officials in Kyiv are keeping their distance. Stephanie Baker and Daryna Krasnolutska report that Giuliani flew into Kyiv from Budapest on Wednesday, the same day hearings stemming from his shadow diplomacy in Ukraine began in the House Judiciary Committee.

A Year of Protests Sparked Change Around the Globe
Economies on the verge of collapse, a yearning for greater democracy, revulsion against corruption and inequality — the grievances that drove people into the streets in 2019 were consistent across continents. Follow Alan Crawford’s breakdown of protests around the world and the main reasons behind them.

Hong Kong Needs Its Angriest Generation More Than Ever
The profile of Hong Kong’s determined protesters is predominantly university educated, under 30 — and middle class. That means the students who’ve thrown petrol bombs across the barricades for almost six months will, all else being equal, have to produce more economic output per-person just to keep the economy at a stable size, Jeff Black and Hannah Dormido report.

Taken to Brink by Trump, Gulf States Are Backpedaling on Iran
An expanded soccer tournament, a direct flight, clandestine meetings and a pledge to release prisoners of war; diplomacy is breaking out as Gulf Arab nations back away from a Trump-inspired confrontation with Iran. As Zainab Fattah reports, the signs are everywhere.

Saudi Arabia’s Social Revolution Has a Rival Across the Red Sea
There’s a party in Osama bin Laden’s old neighborhood and Nasr Aldin has brought the booze to get things hopping, Mohammed Alamin writes. At 38, he’s no teenager, but it’s the first time he hasn’t feared the wrath of the authorities as citizens in Sudan demand more freedoms after ousting their autocratic Islamist leader.

Macron’s Reform Blitz Leaves Companies Waiting for Workers
Macron began his presidency in 2017 pledging to send shock waves through the French economy by making labor cheaper, more flexible and better skilled. Two-and-a-half years later, William Horobin writes, business leaders are experiencing both the successes and shortcomings of the president’s ambitions.

And finally … Wildly popular with lip-synching teenagers around the world, the short-video Tik-Tok app has taken India by storm. Police officers, city workers and physicians looking to escape the daily humdrum have found its lure irresistible, producing at-times cringe-worthy videos. But as Saritha Rai writes, the Chinese-owned app is raising concerns in a country with lax data protection regulations.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kathleen Hunter at khunter9@bloomberg.net

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