Shaking things up to keep them the same

[Balance of Power]( From [Bloomberg Politics]( [FOLLOW US [Facebook Share]]( [Twitter Share]( [SUBSCRIBE [Subscribe]](  Vladimir Putin’s replacement of his government and plan for sweeping reforms of Russia’s constitution look like [an opening gambit]( in a strategy to see out the decade still in power. While he must step down as president in 2024 under term limits, Kremlin officials have long been examining ways to prolong his 20-year rule. Typically, the former KGB agent isn’t showing his hand now. Instead, he is creating options for maximum flexibility that keep everyone around him off kilter but also loyal. Long-serving premier Dmitry Medvedev was let go with a handshake, then kept onside with a new role on Russia’s Security Council. While many Russians see Putin as a guarantor of stability, recent [street protests]( revealed a [hunger for change](, fueled by sliding living standards. Incoming prime minister Mikhail Mishustin is a [low-profile technocrat]( who transformed tax collection. If he succeeds in reviving Russia’s economy, his star may rise. Putin’s constitutional plans potentially weaken the presidency and boost parliament, allowing him to rein in his chosen heir. They also strengthen the State Council, now an advisory body that could become a tool to control developments after he leaves office. The president, 67, is not immortal. There is always the risk that squabbling factions plunge Russia into political uncertainty. But he’s shown he remains strongly in charge, and for now how long he chooses to rule is in his hands. — [Tony Halpin]( A vendor distributes free newspapers in Moscow yesterday. The economy has nearly doubled since Putin took power in 2000, according to Bloomberg Economics estimates. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg Global Headlines [Trial time]( | President Donald Trump and Democrats will battle to woo a small group of Republicans whose votes will determine the course of his Senate impeachment trial that begins formally today. In a show of pageantry, two impeachment articles will be read out, and Chief Justice John Roberts will swear in all 100 senators as jurors. The thorny question of whether to meet Democratic demands for witnesses remains for now. [Broadcast news]( | Trump’s remarks at the signing of a long-awaited initial [trade deal]( with Beijing got almost 20 minutes of live airtime on Chinese state television, which beamed the president across the country in the middle of its night. Once he began thanking domestic allies and discussing issues like impeachment, CCTV swung back to its studio, with its anchors praising China’s [trade negotiators](. - [Click here]( for a look at what is new in the trade deal, and what is unclear. [Farewell from Brussels]( | As the rancor of the Brexit negotiations begins to subside, officials in Europe are looking back with regret on their awkward-yet-important union of 46 years with the U.K. [Ian Wishart]( explains how David Cameron, Boris Johnson and the tabloid press unraveled the relationship. [Go to the tape]( | Elizabeth Warren accused Bernie Sanders of calling her a liar during a confrontation after Tuesday’s Democratic debate, breaching a longstanding nonaggression pact between the two progressive candidates. Audio released by CNN revealed that Sanders and Warren were [continuing a dispute]( about whether he had told her that a woman couldn’t be elected president in 2020. [Confronting cartels]( | Drug cartels pose a shared threat to the U.S. and Mexico, with murders in the Latin American nation set to have reached a record in 2019. The violence is leading Trump to push Mexico to do more to confront the cartels — a topic that will top the agenda with Attorney General William Barr in Mexico City today for meetings with government officials. What to Watch - Chancellor Angela Merkel clinched a deal to kick-start Germany’s [coal exit](, offering billions in compensation to utilities and affected regions so plant closures can start this year. - Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents [are still waiting]( for their salary tax bills, which normally start to land in mailboxes in July, with the backlog linked to anti-government protests that have gripped the city for seven months. - Turkey [lifted a ban]( of almost three years on Wikipedia after the nation’s top court ruled last month that the restriction violated free speech. Tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at [balancepower@bloomberg.net](bbg://screens/MSG%20balancepower%40bloomberg.net). [And finally]( ... We saw protests erupt around the world in 2019, spurred by a variety of social grievances, and it doesn’t seem 2020 will be any calmer. Global risk firm Verisk Maplecroft predicts that unrest will be the “new normal,” saying crackdowns by governments have only further radicalized protesters. Some of the steepest increases on the firm’s unrest index have been in Chile and Hong Kong.     You received this message because you are subscribed to the Bloomberg Politics newsletter Balance of Power. You can tell your friends to [sign up here](.  [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022