Europe’s hardening divisions

A growing political divide in Europe [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up [here](. Shocking as the attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s life is, political assassinations are hardly new. From Abraham Lincoln, shot in a Washington theater, to the IRA’s attempt to blow up Margaret Thatcher in a Brighton hotel, or the gunning down at a campaign rally of Japan’s Shinzo Abe, political leaders attract the unstable, the angry, the radicalized. Fico’s condition appears to have stabilized after yesterday’s shooting by a 71-year-old assailant. His allies have been quick to label the motivation as political. Time will tell. What we can say for sure is that the political atmosphere in Slovakia — as well as across Europe — has deteriorated in recent years, with deepening polarization in particular over attitudes to the European Union and to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine. WATCH:  Bloomberg’s Andrea Dudik reports on what we know so far. Source: Bloomberg As [Andrea Dudik]( and [Daniel Hornak]( write, Fico was himself a polarizing figure who sealed his comeback as premier last year by exploiting divisions in the central European country over immigration and aid for Ukraine — he is staunchly against both — while demonizing the EU. In that, he is far from alone. Hungary’s Viktor Orban wrote the script on anti-EU, pro-Putin grandstanding. In Poland, Donald Tusk is as pro-EU as they come, but even he balks at the bloc’s new migration deal. In the Netherlands, six months after the far-right Freedom Party won elections, the parties preparing to form the next government have announced plans to [clamp down on migration]( and undo climate measures, putting a founding EU member at odds with Brussels. Equally, look to Georgia, where demonstrators waving European flags have taken to the streets to protest a new “foreign agent” law that disrupts the former Soviet republic’s path to join the EU. Attitudes to the 27-member bloc have always been divided. With Europe facing existential challenges from Russia’s war to economic decline relative to the US and China, those divisions are more bitter than ever. — [Alan Crawford]( Fico in Handlova yesterday. Photographer: Radovan Stoklasa/TASR/AP Photo Global Must Reads Israeli tanks and infantry are advancing through the [eastern part of Rafah]( in southern Gaza as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee their assault on the Hamas militant group. Critics, including the US and Israel’s own defense minister, are warning that the lack of a post-war plan could leave [a power vacuum]( in the territory. Palestinians flee Rafah on May 9. Photographer: Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg “For generations to come” is how long President Xi Jinping signaled to visiting Vladimir Putin that the Chinese and Russian people [should build their friendship](. Putin’s trip to Beijing comes as he embarks on a new presidential term with his invasion of Ukraine dragging into its third year. The Kremlin relies on China to buy its energy and supply some of its wartime needs. Russia poses the biggest threat from foreign governments trying to exploit artificial intelligence to [spread disinformation among US voters]( ahead of the November election, according to senior officials in Washington. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said  Moscow and other adversaries, including China and Iran, have been seeking crucial data like polling information to shape their efforts to sow chaos in American democratic processes. US President Joe Biden’s sweeping tariff hikes on a range of Chinese imports are the latest US moves in [a years-long campaign]( that is rewiring Asian trade routes, data over the past few days show. Taiwan’s booming exports and greater sales from Japan and South Korea to the US highlight how great-power tensions have reshaped supply chains — and how China is getting left out of some of them. Keir Starmer is aiming to become the UK Labour Party’s first leader since Tony Blair to win a general election by borrowing from the totemic premier’s campaign play book: [printing the promises]( he wants to be judged by on cards to give voters at events, starting in Essex today. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ability to deliver a tax-cutting pre-election budget in the fall could be complicated by [plans to compensate thousands]( of victims of the UK’s decades-old contaminated-blood scandal. German authorities are investigating a member of the lower house of parliament from the far-right Alternative for Germany [suspected of corruption]( and money laundering. The International Monetary Fund approved a new way for countries to channel reserve assets to multilateral development banks, [part of a broader push]( to raise funds for challenges like climate resilience and poverty reduction. Washington Dispatch The presidential campaigns have about six weeks to prepare the candidates for their [first debate](, to be televised by CNN on June 27, an encounter that will take place unusually early in an election year. Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, also accepted ABC News’ offer of another exchange on Sept. 10. Agreement on the debates, which are to be held in television studios without a live audience, came about after both campaigns objected to the terms and schedule presented by the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates. Although debates seem to be an essential element of a presidential race, they often have little impact on the outcome. During the 2024 Republican primaries, for instance, Trump didn’t show up for any, and essentially walked away with the nomination. Even so, mistakes by a candidate can be magnified, as when President Gerald Ford, in a 1976 foreign policy debate with Jimmy Carter, said: “I don’t believe that the Poles consider themselves dominated by the Soviet Union.” One thing to watch today: Initial jobless claims for last week released by the Labor Department are expected to show an easing due to seasonal patterns. [Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter]( for more from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day Argentine President Javier Milei’s shock-therapy economic plan continues to tame inflation, at the cost of a deepening recession that could provoke higher unemployment. While Milei has achieved monthly fiscal surpluses, he’s [cut almost all federal funding]( to public-works projects and slashed spending on social security, public-sector wages and other programs. And Finally In the Indian city of Kolkata, with its hot, humid climate and proximity to the Bay of Bengal, authorities wanted to set up as many as 300 glass-walled bus shelters with air conditioners to protect commuters. But there are only a handful operating. Poor planning, a lack of funding, and the failure to make timely preparations are leaving communities across India vulnerable [as periods of extreme temperatures]( become more frequent, longer in duration and affect more of the country. An air-conditioned bus shelter with broken glass windows in Kolkata. 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