Strongmen stirring trouble

The world’s authoritarian leaders confront problems at home. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Authoritarian leaders are having a moment. Russia’s Vladimir Putin secured himself a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in June, and is now basking in Europe’s dependence on Russian gas during an energy crisis. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is again testing the European Union, using Middle Eastern migrants as a weapon against the bloc’s eastern frontier. Xi Jinping is fresh from a consolidation of power that sets him up to potentially rule for life in China. And having established Turkey as a regional player, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now taking on global financial markets. But look beneath the surface, and all is not well at home. [Marc Champion]( explains that the pandemic has been tough on strongmen leaders, with many failing the Covid-19 test as badly as their counterparts in democracies. The resulting mix of domestic insecurity and confidence abroad is a recipe for instability and risk. Key Reading - [Authoritarian Leaders Are Weaker Than They Look, Thanks to Covid]( - [China Can’t Develop Isolated From the World, Xi’s No. 2 Says]( - [Belarus Offers Migrants Shelter After Violent Clash on EU Border]( - [Rich Cash In as Erdogan's War on Interest Rates Hits Supporters]( - [Russia to Review Coal Plans, Mull Carbon Tax After Glasgow]( Xi’s virtual summit with Biden yesterday is a reminder that China can’t afford to shut off the world’s biggest economy, which is also a regional military power. Erdogan’s gamble with international markets is backfiring, with his unorthodox economic policy stoking inflation to 20% in October, hitting his electoral base hard. While Putin faces no foreseeable risk of removal, mistrust of the state is shown by Russia’s Covid vaccination rate lagging the world average. Russia is also having to contemplate major shifts in climate policy as a result of international deals at the COP26 meeting — most notably between the U.S. and China. With even Lukashenko taking calls from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and talking de-escalation, it’s tempting to believe that, sooner or later, no authoritarian leader is immune to outside forces. — [Alan Crawford]( Putin and Xi at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, in 2019.  Photographer: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters/Bloomberg Click [here]( to see our Bloomberg Politics website and share this newsletter with others too. They can sign up [here](. Global Headlines When words matter | The U.S. should abide by the “One China Principle,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said today, as Biden sowed fresh confusion with comments on Taiwan just hours after his virtual summit with Xi. You can read about Biden’s remarks [here](. - The Biden administration aims to [reinvigorate]( America’s standing in the Indo-Pacific. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo laid out the vision at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum today in Singapore. - Ex-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told the forum the Biden-Xi summit [marked]( a “good beginning” for the world’s biggest economies to avoid a conflict. Prosperity first | Xi has baked his common prosperity drive into one of the most important documents in the Communist Party’s history, giving [permanence]( to crackdowns that prioritize equality over economic growth. The doctrine affirms that GDP should no longer be “the sole yardstick of success for development,” adding that “shared growth is the ultimate goal.” - China is accelerating plans to replace American and foreign technology. [Click here]( to read about the secretive government-backed organization tasked with vetting and approving local suppliers. The global agreement reached at the United Nations COP26 summit may help solve one of the [trickiest]( problems in climate policy: how to boost confidence in the voluntary market for carbon credits that currently has no unified standards. In Glasgow, negotiators agreed on rules on international emissions trading and established a UN-controlled marketplace. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Want to Hire a British MP? Better Hold Off: Therese Raphael]( - [Infrastructure Win Won’t Make Biden Popular: Jonathan Bernstein]( - [Why Iraqi Kurds Are Fleeing Their Peaceful Homeland: Bobby Ghos]( Toxic air | India will close some coal-fired power plants located around its capital, New Delhi, until the end of this month to try and clean some of the world’s [dirtiest]( air. The toxic haze is an annual phenomenon but politicians and authorities have squabbled over a solution for years. Buildings are shrouded in smog in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, on Nov. 9. Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg Dutch divorce | Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden called the Netherlands Prime Minister on Sunday with some bad news: Europe’s biggest oil company was moving its headquarters to London to simplify its corporate structure and cut taxes for investors, and was dropping Royal Dutch from its name. Read our exclusive [report]( on how that conversation played out. Forest savings | The EU will unveil new rules for companies selling six major commodities today in a bid to reduce global deforestation. [Ewa Krukowska]( and [Alberto Nardelli]( explain[here]( how the proposal aims to cut at least 31.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions and save at least $3.6 billion every year. Bloomberg TV and Radio air Balance of Power with [David Westin]( weekdays from 12 to 1pm ET, with a second hour on Bloomberg Radio from 1 to 2pm ET. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here]( or check out prior episodes and guest clips [here](. News to Note - The EU warned Ethiopia risks [disintegrating]( unless talks to end a yearlong conflict bring about a cease-fire. - Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera dodged an [impeachment]( motion brought after the Pandora Papers revealed a potential conflict of interest in his family’s sale of a mining project stake. - Tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka expressed [shock]( over the disappearance of Chinese doubles player Peng Shuai, who went public with claims of a long term sexual relationship with a retired Communist Party official. - The Taliban’s top diplomat warned of an Afghan refugee [exodus]( if the U.S. continues to block the release of $9 billion of the country’s assets. - Germany’s likely next ruling coalition is pushing ahead with tougher measures to [tackle]( record increases in coronavirus cases, including requiring companies to let employees work from home where possible. - A Russian-brokered cease-fire between Azerbaijan and Armenia appeared to be holding after at least eight troops were [killed]( yesterday in the worst violence since a 44-day war last year. And finally ... COP26 left the aviation industry relatively unscathed when it came to emissions rules, and the recent Dubai Airshow did brisk business. But there was at least a token nod to global warming: Airbus touted a helicopter it kitted out with [vegan]( trimmings, with the movement no longer just about eschewing meat but also combating climate change. Airbus ACH145 with vegan interior. Photographer: Adrien Daste/Airbus Like Balance of Power? [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022