Putin confronts the West

Putin is determined to forge a new global order [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up [here](. Vladimir Putin calls his war in Ukraine a “special military operation.” Today, he begins a special electoral operation to hand himself a fifth term as Russia’s president. It’s no cliffhanger — Putin will win by a landslide when voting concludes on Sunday. The Kremlin organized the election without even the semblance of a campaign or of a symbolic opposition on the ballot. Instead, state media lavishly reported every Putin visit for weeks, casting him as the father of the nation defending Russia against the West while caring for everyone from pensioners and families to defense workers and soldiers. Three other candidates from parties loyal to the Kremlin barely earned a mention. As our [Big Take today shows](, an emboldened Putin is determined to use his next term to forge a new global order upending decades of Western dominance. WATCH: Bloomberg’s Max Ramsay looks back at Putin’s path to another term in power. Source: Bloomberg With the war in Ukraine shifting in Russia’s favor, Putin’s preparing for a long confrontation with the US and Europe. He’s getting help from China to ease the blow from economic sanctions. A divided West is struggling to meet the moment. Political divisions between President Joe Biden and Republicans in Congress, urged on by Donald Trump as he bids to regain the White House in November’s election, continue to hold up $60 billion in vital US military aid to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron warned [the European Union faces an “existential” threat]( if Putin isn’t defeated in Ukraine. “War is on European soil,” he said on national television yesterday. Putin has already put Russia’s economy on a war footing. Alexey Navalny’s death in an Arctic prison underlined how much the Kremlin has crushed dissent. The election gives Putin another six years to achieve his ambitions. The challenge facing the US and Europe is whether they can muster the same determination to stop him. —[Anthony Halpin]( Mourners visit Navalny’s grave in Moscow on March 3. Photographer: Oolga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images Global Must Reads Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish member of the US Congress, called for elections in Israel and the replacement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, [in an extraordinary public rebuke]( that reflected the souring ties between the two allies as the war in Gaza rages. Schumer drew criticism from Republicans and even Israeli opposition parties for the comments, which some feel could boost Netanyahu’s dire ratings at home. A commercial ship was hit by a missile in the southern Red Sea, according to the UK Navy, in [another suspected attack]( by Iran-backed Houthi militants based in Yemen. The Islamist group began targeting warships and merchant vessels in mid-November to pressure Israel to stop its war against Hamas in Gaza and has continued drone and missile strikes despite several rounds of US and UK assaults on its military infrastructure. Pushback against Argentine President Javier Milei’s shock therapy gained momentum after the Senate [defeated his sweeping executive decree]( in a 42-to-25 vote. The decree now goes to the lower house of Congress, where a simple majority can scrap the more than 300 measures aimed at deregulating Argentina’s economy. Turkey and Iraq reached a landmark security deal to crack down on Kurdish militants holed up in the mountains of northern Iraq. Ankara wants to expand its military operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in Iraq, and the two countries [are planning to build a major trade route]( and restart a key oil pipeline running from northern Iraq to Turkey’s coast. The Senegalese authorities released opposition leader Ousmane Sonko from prison yesterday as the government sought to [defuse political tensions that exploded]( after President Macky Sall postponed elections. Sonko was freed alongside Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the main challenger to Sall’s chosen successor, Prime Minister Amadou Ba, in this month’s vote. Japan’s ruling parties agreed to allow exports of a next-generation fighter jet the country is developing with two European partners, a coalition lawmaker said, easing [Tokyo’s restrictions on selling weapons]( abroad. The Election Commission of India will announce the dates for national polls tomorrow, officially [kicking off campaigning]( in the world’s biggest democracy. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s support fell in a weekly survey for the first time in about six weeks, [a sign the prolonged walkout by doctors]( may be starting to hurt him politically. Washington Dispatch Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. finds itself in an uncomfortable spotlight today as it continues to pursue its proposed acquisition of the United States Steel Corp. after Biden said the company [should remain]( under American ownership. Biden’s statement marked a rare presidential intervention in a transaction that outside an election year would have attracted less scrutiny. The president, however, has premised much of his case for reelection on the revival of American manufacturing. Then there’s US Steel and its history. Forged by business titans including Andrew Carnegie and JPMorgan, the company became an icon of US industrial might. While its share of the market has diminished, US Steel still has considerable symbolic value. And it’s based in Pennsylvania, a state that will be crucial to whoever wins the November election. The announcement of of the Japanese company’s acquisition triggered opposition from Republicans, including Trump, and Democrats as well as the influential United Steelworkers union. Biden’s allies have urged the administration to kill the deal over national security concerns and the threat to union jobs. So far, however, Nippon Steel has not backed down. “Our transaction delivers clear benefits to US Steel, union workers, the broader American steel industry, and American national security,” the company [said yesterday](. One person to watch today: Biden begins the St. Patrick’s Day weekend today by hosting Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at the White House and taking part in a luncheon at the Capitol. [Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter]( for more from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 5pm ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day South Africa is undertaking a $21 billion expansion of its national grid as it [seeks to end years of rolling electricity outages](. The power cuts, known locally as loadshedding, have curbed output, stoked unemployment and limited average annual economic growth to less than 1% over the past decade — key campaign issues heading into elections at the end of May. The transmission system is owned, managed and maintained by Eskom, which has failed to properly maintain plants or build enough new ones. And Finally The new Arena sports complex sits in a neighborhood on the northernmost edge of Paris that was once [a notorious den for crack cocaine dealers](. With its sleek silver façade and Adidas branding, it will host badminton and rhythmic gymnastics events during this year’s Summer Olympics. After the athletes and tourists leave, it will serve as a test of the city’s promise of urban renewal. Officials resist using the term gentrification, insisting instead that they want to create socioeconomic diversity without displacing existing members of the community. The Adidas branded Arena complex in the Porte de la Chapelle neighborhood on Feb. 28. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg Pop quiz (no cheating!) What is the nickname of the warlord who may now be the most powerful person in Haiti? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. 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