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• Canadians went to the polls on Monday to vote in federal elections, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fighting to keep power. By Monday night, Canadian news media projected Trudeau’s Liberal Party would win a plurality of seats in Parliament, but failed to retain a majority, leaving his government dependent on the support of smaller parties to advance his agenda. It will be Canada’s fourth minority government in 15 years, and a stinging rebuke to Trudeau, the 47-year-old Liberal leader who swept to power in 2015 with a stunning landslide victory. • British politics is rambling through, as incomprehensible as ever, but there could be a chance for some clarity on Tuesday. Or, as The Post’s Karla Adam and William Booth explain, more problems: “Attention now shifts to the withdrawal agreement bill, the legislation needed to implement the Brexit deal into British domestic law. “On Tuesday, Parliament is expected to vote on whether to move the bill forward. It will not be a line-by-line consideration — that comes later — but rather an overall vote on whether Parliament is happy to proceed to the next stages. The result will be watched closely as an indication of where things stand. “[Simon Usherwood, a politics professor at the University of Surrey] said support at the initial stage ‘starts large, and, as people get into the weeds of it all, it gets smaller. So if tomorrow it passes by just one or two votes, it’s a sign of real difficulty ahead’ for the government. “Opposition parties are preparing amendments that include proposals to keep Britain in the E.U. customs union or require a ‘confirmatory vote’ on the deal — essentially a second Brexit referendum.” • The Post reported Monday evening that Ukraine’s regional adversaries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, reinforced President Trump’s perception of Ukraine as a hopelessly corrupt country. The U.S. president’s effort to pressure Ukraine for information he could use against political rivals came as he was urged by these players to adopt a hostile view of Kyiv. • Chile is one of the most successful countries in Latin America by virtually any metric. So why have violent protests engulfed it as they did its less successful neighbors? Rachelle Krygier and John Bartlett write that the protests, which have left at least 11 people dead and 200 injured, were sparked by a familiar issue of inequality: “The 4 percent increase in subway fares sparked small demonstrations last Monday. Half of Chile’s workers earn $550 per month or less, according to the national statistics institute, making public transport a significant expenditure for many who live and work in the capital. By the end of last week, the movement had mushroomed into massive demonstrations against a rising cost of living and an economic model that angry Chileans say delivers growth unequally. “Steady expansion over the past two decades has given the nation the biggest middle class and one of the lowest rates of poverty in the region. But high inequality has remained pretty much the same, according to the World Bank. “Protesters complain of expensive private education and health care, the rising cost of public service and shrinking pensions. In June, the price of electricity rose by 10 percent. “‘For more than a decade now, studies have warned of the increasing frustration with living conditions in Chile,’ said Jorge Contesse, a law professor at Rutgers University. ‘Yet we keep being told that this was unforeseeable.’” |
