What future role for the UK?

As Queen Elizabeth makes her final journey through the streets of London today, bringing to a close 70 years of quiet governance, the focus [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( As Queen Elizabeth makes her final journey through the streets of London today, bringing to a close 70 years of quiet governance, the focus will inevitably turn to — what now? It’s a question primarily for the UK, but also one for countries around the world. Key reading: - [UK Mourns Elizabeth II at Funeral to Be Viewed Across the World]( - [Political Storm Returns for Liz Truss After Days of UK Mourning]( - [UK Government Will Ramp Up Economic Help After Queen’s Funeral]( - [Queen Mourned Globally as a Stabilizing Force in Tumultuous Age]( The repercussions go well beyond the logistics of what happens to money bearing the Queen’s image, or the famous brands from gin to marmalade that operated for decades under “Her Majesty’s” warrant. Elizabeth’s death came days after a new UK premier took power without the validation of a general election. Liz Truss must earn a mandate as she grapples with a cost-of-living crisis. Britons have lived through upheaval before, but the Queen was a constant and, for some, comforting presence. Offshore, the era of King Charles III, even someone well known to Commonwealth states for many decades in his own right, marks a new stage of getting-to-know-you that could spark fresh doubts about loyalty to a realm many thousands of miles away. It’s not about to lead to a stampede out of the Commonwealth. Ask many Australians or New Zealanders or Canadians if they would like a republic and the answer will probably be: Yes, why not. But is it top of mind over, say, economic issues? No. Do people care enough to demand constitutional change soon? Unlikely. Still, the cutting of the apron strings to the UK will bubble up, with wariness of a king who needs to both sustain the affection held for his mother and yet chart his own, more modern course. More broadly, there is the question of how much people look at British governments of recent times, including the drama over Brexit, and perhaps wonder what they have in common anymore. For some there remain fundamental, complex, questions over Britain’s past. Much of the British empire imploded before Elizabeth became queen. And yet the after-effects of slavery, repression and abandonment are still present today. How Charles deals with that, too, may define his monarchy and the future of the UK in the world. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( Floral tributes to Queen Elizabeth II outside the British Consulate in Hong Kong. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg UK politics are entering a new era. Get the latest in your inbox with [The Readout]( from Allegra Stratton and share this newsletter with others. They can sign up [here](. Global Headlines Taiwan warning | President Joe Biden said US military forces [would defend]( Taiwan from “an unprecedented attack,” the latest pledge of support as his administration seeks to deter China from increasing military pressure on the democratic government in Taipei. In an interview with the American news program “60 Minutes,” Biden said Washington stood by its “One China” policy and isn’t encouraging Taiwan to seek independence. - Biden also said he’ll make a call on whether to run for [re-election]( after congressional elections in November, saying “it’s much too early to make that kind of decision.” Crimes probes | Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal sought international support for [war-crimes]( investigations against Moscow during a trip to London for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said authorities had discovered hundreds of graves in territory liberated from Russian occupation. The Kremlin called the accusations lies. - Russia hit back at the US today over [stalled](bbg://news/stories/RIG82JT0G1KY) negotiations on a prisoner swap involving WNBA star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan, blaming it for the deadlock. Central banks are intent on driving the world economy perilously close to a recession, [Rich Miller]( writes. Late to see the worst inflation in four decades coming, and then slow to crack down on it, the US Federal Reserve and its peers around the globe now make no secret about their determination to [win the fight]( against soaring prices — even at the cost of seeing their economies expand more slowly or even shrink. Enough’s enough | The European Union has [triggered]( a process that may result in 7.5 billion euros ($7.5 billion) being withheld from Hungary unless it tackles fraud and corruption. The step signals the bloc has lost patience with Prime Minister Viktor Orban after more than a decade of trying to keep him in the EU fold while looking past his provocations, including efforts to hamper sanctions on Russia and attacks on migration policy. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Ukraine Shows US Isn’t Ready for War With China: Hal Brands]( - [British Majesty Is a Recent Invention: Adrian Wooldridge]( - [Supply Chains Aren’t Bust, at Least Not in Asia: Anjani Trivedi]( Iran’s Demand | President Ebrahim Raisi wants guarantees that Washington won’t [walk away]( again from a nuclear accord as a condition for Iran to agree to revive the 2015 pact abandoned by former US President Donald Trump. Speaking in an interview with “60 Minutes” aired yesterday, Raisi said Tehran is willing to enter into what he called a “fair deal.” Explainers you can use - [Why Increasing Russia-China Ties Worry Democracies]( - [Moderna Gives WHO’s mRNA Hub Some Help, Pfizer Snubs Request]( - [Xi’s Heir Is Likely Among China’s Rising ‘Luckiest Generation’]( Closing the gap | Orna Barbivay’s ambitions as Israel’s economy minister are colliding with political reality. Two months out from its fifth election since 2019, it’s clear to Barbivay — the first woman to attain the rank of major general in the army and the first to oversee the economy — that the country needs to abandon the protectionism of its founders, and [close the gap]( between its turbocharged technology industry and the rest of its economy. 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 - A bus crash that killed more than two dozen people on their way to quarantine in China’s southwest has ignited a [wave of criticism]( of the strict Covid Zero policy that’s taking a heavy toll domestically and has left the country isolated. - President Cyril Ramaphosa will cut short a foreign trip to return home as South Africa faced an unprecedented level of [blackouts]( after more power plants broke down. - Months after an announcement that China will build and largely finance an $8 billion nuclear power plant outside Buenos Aires, the deal is [hung up]( over Argentina’s demand that its engineers be permitted to manufacture the reactor fuel domestically. - European natural gas futures fell to their [lowest level]( in almost two months as nations intensify efforts to ease the energy crisis with the start of the heating season less than two weeks away. - A top Chinese health official warned people against having skin-to-skin contact with foreigners to avoid contracting monkeypox, prompting a [backlash]( among the country’s dwindling expatriate community. Thanks for the 71 responses to our Friday quiz question and congratulations to Roger Metz, who was the first to name Sweden as the European country where a far right party with roots in the Neo-Nazi movement became the second-biggest political force. And finally ... The Chinese megacity of Chengdu exited its [lockdown]( today, with 21 million people allowed to leave their homes and resume most aspects of normal life for the first time since Sept. 1, provided they’re tested regularly for Covid-19. The capital of the southwestern Sichuan province is the biggest city to have been shuttered under the Covid Zero strategy since Shanghai’s bruising two-month lockdown this year. Empty highway in Chengdu during lockdown on Sept. 9. Photo credit VCG/Getty Images Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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