The EconomistJuly 27th 2019 51The world this week Politics
Boris Johnsontook over as
Britain’s prime minister from
Theresa May after winning the
Conservative Party’s leadership
contest. Mr Johnson was the
favourite from the outset and
won comfortably, taking 66%
of the vote from the 160,
party members on an 87%
turnout. Some wonder how
long he will last. Brexit has
already claimed two British
prime ministers. When Parlia-
ment scrutinises his Brexit
proposals Mr Johnson is as
likely to struggle as much as
Mrs May did.Mr Johnson started naming his
new ministers, aiming to
move away from the pale, male
and stale image of previous
cabinets. Sajid Javid was ap-
pointed chancellor of the
exchequer, Dominic Raab took
charge at the Foreign Office
and Priti Patel became home
secretary. There were two other
themes in his picks: the new
cabinet is packed with pro-
Brexiteers and those who
backed Mr Johnson in the
leadership race.The response in Europeto Mr
Johnson’s victory was muted.
Ursula von der Leyen, the
president-elect of the Euro-
pean Commission, politely
noted that he “faces challeng-
ing times”. Others were more
direct. Guy Verhofstadt, who
leads the liberal bloc in the
European Parliament, called
him “irresponsible”.In one of her first big decisions
as she prepares to take over the
presidency of the European
Commission, Mrs von der
Leyen decided to move Martin
Selmayr, the eu’s most senior
civil servant, to a new job
running the eu’s operations in
Austria. The demotion comeslessthan 18 monthsafterhis
controversialappointment
amidclaimsofcronyism.Ukraine’sparliamentary
electionwaswonbyPresident
VolodymyrZelensky’snew
ServantofthePeopleparty,
whichwonthefirstoverall
majorityinthecountrysince
thefallofcommunism.Mr
Zelensky,a formercomedian,
calledthesnappollafterwin-
ningthepresidencyonan
anti-corruptionticketinApril.Swirlingintrigue
Kenya’sfinanceminister,
HenryRotich,wasarrestedon
corruptioncharges.Hedenies
wrongdoing.Thecasehas
raisedfearsofpolitical
instabilityinKenyaasMr
Rotichisanallyofthedeputy
president,WilliamRuto,who
planstorunforpresidentin
2022.MrRuto’ssupporters
claimthepoliceandprosecu-
torsareusingcorruption
chargestounderminehis
chancesofwinningoffice.Thehealthministerofthe
DemocraticRepublicofCon-
go, OlyIlunga,resignedamida
disputeover Ebola.MrIlunga
hadresistedtheintroduction
ofanexperimentalvaccine
thatexpertsbelievecouldhave
helpedcontainthecurrent
outbreak,inwhichabout2,
peoplehavebeeninfected.Iranseizeda Britishtanker
passingthroughtheStraitof
Hormuz,animportantchoke-
pointforinternationalship-
ping.Thecaptureofthetanker
cametwoweeksafterBritain
seizedanIraniantankeralleg-
edlyboundforSyria.The quiet man
Robert Muellergave eagerly
awaited testimony to Ameri-
ca’s Congress at a public
hearing. The man who investi-
gated links between Donald
Trump’s election campaign
and Russian officials did not
stray far from the findings of
his report, published in April,
but he rejected the president’s
claim that it completely
exonerated him.TheSenateconfirmedMark
EsperasAmerica’snew
defencesecretary, following
thederailmentofPatrick
Shanahan’snominationlast
month.MrEsperreceived
broadbipartisansupportinthe
Senate,thougha smatteringof
Democratsraisedconcerns
abouthisformerjobasa lob-
byistfora weaponscompany.A resolutionopposingan
attempttoboycottIsrael
pickeduphugeDemocratic
supportandpassedtheHouse
ofRepresentativesby 398 to17.
Thatmarkeda stingingdefeat
forthemovementtoboycott
Israel,advancedbynewly
electedprogressives.RicardoRossellóbecamethe
firstgovernorofPuertoRicoto
resign,aftertwoweeksof
ever-largerproteststriggered
bytheleakofsexist,
homophobicandviolenttext
messagesthatheexchanged
withgovernmentofficials.One
oftheoffendingtextsmocked
victimsofHurricaneMaria,
makingreferencetocadavers
andcrows.Warning shots
South Koreaaccused Russian
aircraft of violating its airspace
during a joint military exercise
with China. The alleged in-
cursion happened near disput-
ed islands in the Sea of Japan,
which are claimed by both
Japan and South Korea. Russia
denied the incursion.Pakistan’sprime minister,
Imran Khan, visited the White
House. Donald Trump boasted
that he could wipe out Afghan-
istan, an American ally, and, to
India’s horror, offered to medi-
ate in the long-standing dis-
pute over Kashmir.Japan’sruling Liberal Demo-
crats won a majority of seats in
the upper house of parliament
at an election, but failed to
secure the supermajority
required to change the coun-
try’s pacifist constitution, a
long-held goal of Shinzo Abe,
the prime minister.Li Peng, a former prime min-
ister of China, died aged 90. Mr
Peng was known as the
“Butcher of Beijing” for his role
in the crackdown on pro-
democracy protesters in
Tiananmen Square in 1989.Tensions were high in Hong
Kongafter protesters vandal-
ised the Chinese government’s
liaison office in the territory. A
mob of men armed with sticks
and metal bars later attacked
passengers at a railway station.
China hinted that it was ready
to intervene in Hong Kong if
protesters threatened the
central government’s
authority.Playing with fire
A Venezuelanfighter jet
“aggressively shadowed” an
American navy reconnaissance
plane over the Caribbean Sea,
according to Southern Com-
mand, which runs American
military operations in Latin
America. Venezuela claimed
the navy plane had strayed into
its airspace.The power went off again in 16
of Venezuela’s 23 states. In the
capital, Caracas, the blackout
caused huge traffic jams. The
government blamed an
“electromagnetic attack”.Brazil’spresident, Jair Bolso-
naro, chose Marcelo Xavier da
Silva, a federal police officer, to
lead the government’s Indian
affairs department, Funai.
Indigenous groups criticised
the appointment. As Funai’s
ombudsman in 2017 Mr da
Silva had asked the police to
take “persecutory measures”
against activists. Separately,
Mr Bolsonaro said he would
review data on the deforesta-
tion of the Amazon before their
release, because the figures
could hurt Brazil’s image.