A scandal too far

In the U.K., hypocrisy is often the undoing of politicians. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( The leader who often deployed humor to get out of a crisis has become the butt of the joke. The headlines of possibly illegal boozy get-togethers that took place at British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s No. 10 residency during Covid lockdowns came thick and fast until he was forced into a humiliating admission that he was present at one of them. Key reading: - [Johnson Battles for Survival as ‘Partygate’ Engulfs Tories]( - [U.K. Labour Leader Starmer Says Johnson Broke Law and Lied]( - [Boris Johnson Apologizes to Queen for Downing Street Parties]( - [U.K. Police Not Probing Downing Street Lockdown Party For Now]( - [Johnson Buys Time With Apology But U.K. Tory Rage Simmers]( His line that these were work events spawned an onslaught of online derision. While an internal investigation into “Partygate” could seal his fate, he’s already lost in the court of public opinion. And that, for a politician who thrives on attention and to whom the normal rules never seemed to apply, is devastating. In the U.K., it’s often the case that hypocrisy is the undoing of politicians. Two years of restrictions and on-and-off lockdowns — even if haphazardly enforced — have fueled a sense of injustice that it’s a case of “Do as I say, not as I do.” The opposition Labour party has opened up its biggest lead in seven years against Johnson’s Conservatives. Just four months ago the prime minister looked unassailable. Johnson's Tories face local elections in May, which will be a bellwether of how much damage this scandal has unleashed. The question is whether he'll still be the leader by then as his rank-and-file lawmakers grow restless. If 54 of them formally call for a leadership challenge, it could be last call on his premiership. Perhaps the final straw came with the revelation that on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, yet another party took place in Downing Street. The image of a stoic Queen mourning her husband on her own in contrast to Johnson aides heading out to buy more booze left a bitter aftertaste. — [Flavia Krause-Jackson]( Boris Johnson on his way to attend a questions-and-answers session in Parliament. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg [Click here]( to follow Bloomberg Politics on Twitter and share this newsletter with others too. They can sign up [here](. Global Headlines Shifting views | With Russia declaring diplomacy at a dead end, a suburb just miles from the front lines in Ukraine would be among the [first to know]( should President Vladimir Putin decide to invade. [Marc Champion]( reports exclusively on how the people of Mariupol see things, seven years after they last came under attack. - We unpick the history behind one of the most important [relationships]( for Europe — that between Russia and Germany — and how it factors into the tensions over Ukraine. - Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who leads a party in opposition to current leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy, arrived in Kyiv to face [treason]( charges that he denies. Omicron’s spread | China’s political, financial and technology centers have been [breached]( by omicron for the first time, heightening pressure on the country with the Winter Olympics starting in Beijing in less than three weeks. The spread adds to an outbreak of the delta strain simmering in the world’s most populous country for more than a month. - President Xi Jinping [welcomed]( all types of “legal” foreign investment, sending a positive signal to investors as the leader of the world’s No. 2 economy prepares to clinch a precedent-defying third term. - The central bank cut a key interest rate for the first time since the [peak]( of the pandemic in 2020 as a property-market slump and repeated virus outbreaks dampened the growth outlook. China’s population crisis continued to worsen in 2021, with the latest birth figures again [sliding]( despite government efforts to encourage families to have more children. The precipitous fall in the number of new babies means the population will likely start declining earlier than expected. Ballistic beginning | North Korea [fired]( two more suspected ballistic missiles as it continues its biggest series of rocket tests since August 2019. Leader Kim Jong Un has shown no signs of returning to talks on his nuclear arsenal and has rolled out new weapons designed to evade U.S. interceptors, perhaps in a bid to see if he can find a breaking point for Joe Biden’s administration. - Read this [QuickTake]( on how Kim has been busy making his nuclear-equipped arsenal bigger, deadlier and better able to strike South Korea, Japan, American forces in Asia — and the U.S. mainland. - China says trade via a railroad link with North Korea has [restarted](, giving a much-needed boost to Kim’s battered economy. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [India’s Inward Turn Could Stymie Its Rise: Andy Mukherjee]( - [China and Russia Have New Reasons to Team Up: James Stavridis]( - [Djokovic Is Out, But What Did Australia Gain?: Therese Raphael]( Judicial support | Serbian voters [backed]( a referendum to overhaul the judiciary to make it more independent and in line with European Union standards. Taking a step closer toward meeting requirements to join the bloc, the vote also showed strong support for President Aleksandar Vucic, who’s running for a second term in April. UAE attack | Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for [attacks]( on the United Arab Emirates that caused a fire at the main airport in Abu Dhabi and were possibly carried out by drones. It would be a highly unusual strike against targets in the UAE, which has fought in the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis in Yemen’s civil war. 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 Taliban are seeking China’s assistance in persuading the international community to officially [recognize]( their government, a crucial step that would help Afghanistan access some $9 billion in frozen reserves held overseas. - Australia and New Zealand sent surveillance aircraft to assess the scale of damage caused by a massive underwater volcanic [eruption]( in Tonga. - Two relatives of Kazakhstan’s leader-for-life Nursultan Nazarbayev [left]( key posts as President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev continued to consolidate his position following deadly violence that rocked the central Asian nation. - The EU may move in a matter of weeks to [punish]( countries that don’t uphold the bloc’s democratic standards by withholding emergency pandemic aid as well as payments from its trillion-euro budget. - Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the Malian president overthrown in a coup in 2020, [died]( after an illness at age 76. Thanks to the 35 readers who answered the Friday quiz, and congratulations to Robert Koci, who was the first to name China as the country whose government sent three people to prison for up to four-plus years over breaches of Covid rules that led to a virus outbreak. And finally ... Fumes from bumper-to-bumper traffic fill the air. Small shelters offer refuge to a handful of people. Dozens end up standing in the sun, sometimes using umbrellas to shield themselves. [Fiona MacDonald]( writes that global warming is [smashing]( temperature records all over the world, but Kuwait — one of the hottest, and richest, countries on the planet — is fast becoming unlivable. Pigeons take cover under the shade of trees on the seafront of Kuwait City. Photographer: Yasser Al-Zayat/AFP/Getty Images 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. 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