“Candidates backed by Jair Bolsonaro are pulling ahead in municipal elections that are considered a barometer of political sentiment in Brazil, two years before a presidential vote in which Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will likely seek another term,” Bloomberg reports.

“The contest to replace Rishi Sunak as UK opposition leader suddenly appears wide open, after the two candidates long seen as the front-runners picked the worst possible moment to have campaign stumbles,” Bloomberg reports.

“Both Robert Jenrick, the bookmakers’ favorite, and former Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch faced intense criticism for comments they made during the Conservative Party’s annual conference in Birmingham this week.”

New York Times: “Claudia Sheinbaum’s inauguration is a milestone and a symbol for many of women’s empowerment. But she also takes office in a country with the largest budget deficit in decades, a deepening security crisis and an ever more powerful governing party that has moved to profoundly redesign the justice system and other aspects of public life.”

“Polls suggest French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is closer than ever to winning the presidency. But a trial that begins Monday could upend her political future,” Politico reports.

“Le Pen, her National Rally party, and 26 other individuals — including current and former French lawmakers and MEPs are accused of embezzling European Parliament funds through what prosecutors called a ‘system”’to award contracts for parliamentary assistants to individuals who mostly worked on party operations rather than European Union affairs in violation of EU rules. The alleged scheme took place between 2004 and 2016.”

“It’s Europe’s most important election this year, yet amid 2024’s flurry of other ‘most important elections’ — such as the nail-biting race in France — chances are you haven’t heard about it,” Politico reports.

“On Sunday, Austrians go to the polls in a do-or-die ballot that could vault the country’s neofascist Freedom Party, founded in the 1950s by former SS officers, into power.”

“A news anchor running for mayor of São Paulo attacked his opponent with a chair during a televised debate, shocking this nation and plunging the race to govern the Western Hemisphere’s largest city into political chaos,” the Washington Post reports.

“Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister is trying desperately to carve out a new place in the world. So far, it just isn’t happening,” Politico reports.

“Since becoming the third premier in a row to be ousted by her fellow Conservative MPs, Liz Truss has unsuccessfully sought to rehabilitate a reputation which lay in tatters by the end of her chaotic 49 days in 10 Downing Street.”

“In Britain she remains the butt of jokes. Labour, now in government after a landslide Tory election defeat under her successor Rishi Sunak, wheels out her ghost every time it needs to score political points.”

“Now political biographers are picking over the bones of her failure. Her attempts to crack America on a pro-Trump ticket have fallen flat. And Truss can’t even organize in parliament any more because she lost what should have been a safe Conservative seat at the election — the first former PM to suffer such ignominy for more than a century.”

Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers (R) celebrated Germany’s hard-right election win on Sunday… with the anthem of Adolf Hitler, the Arizona Republic reports.

Posted Rogers, on X: “Deutschland, Deutschland über alles.”

“The words — Germany, Germany above all — were written as a call for unity in the 1800s and later adopted as part of the country’s national anthem. But they became the Nazis’ rallying cry, as they claimed their superiority, and were removed from the anthem after World War II.”

“Venezuela ordered the arrest of presidential candidate Edmundo González, an escalation of the government’s crackdown on dissent in the wake of a disputed election,” Bloomberg reports.

“The move is likely to draw further outcry from the US and other countries that have concluded González was the winner of the July 28 vote. Venezuelan authorities have declared instead, without evidence, that President Nicolás Maduro was reelected to a third term.”

“For all the talk of a political earthquake in Germany, the nationalist right’s success in two state elections in the former east came with plenty of warning,” Bloomberg reports.

“The impact is reverberating through Berlin regardless.”

“As projected, the Alternative for Germany placed first in Thuringia yesterday, the first time the far right has won a regional election since the days of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, better known as the Nazis. The anti-immigration, pro-Russia AfD took second place in the neighboring state of Saxony.”

“In truth, the shock is overdue: The AfD was already the second-largest bloc in each state parliament. Nationally, its breakthrough was in 2017 when it became the main opposition party in the Bundestag.”

New York Times: Takeaways from East Germany’s state elections.

“Voters go to the polls in eastern Germany on Sunday in two ballots that could yield the first state election win for a far-right party in the country since the end of World War II, putting fresh pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s embattled government,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“One of Venezuela’s top election officials, in a declaration sure to jolt the crisis-weary nation, said in an interview that he had no proof that Venezuela’s authoritarian president won last month’s election,” the New York Times reports.

“Since the July 28 vote, governments around the world have expressed skepticism, and even outright disbelief, over President Nicolás Maduro’s claim to victory. But the statement by Juan Carlos Delpino — a member of the government body that announced Mr. Maduro’s win — represents the first major criticism from inside the electoral system.”

“President Joe Biden joined the leaders of Brazil and Colombia on Thursday in calling for new elections in Venezuela, following an election both the U.S. and others have said appeared to have been rigged in favor of the sitting president,” Politico reports.

“Japan is set to get a new leader this fall after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday he wouldn’t seek to stay in office,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Kishida, 67, has bolstered relations with the U.S. and South Korea during his three years in office, and under his leadership Japan is nearly doubling its military spending to counter the growing threat from China. But at home, his popularity was hit by a political-funds scandal involving ruling-party heavyweights and relatively high inflation.”

“The U.S. is pursuing a long-shot bid to push Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to give up power in exchange for amnesty as overwhelming evidence emerges that the strongman lost last month’s election,“ the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The U.S. has discussed pardons for Maduro and top lieutenants of his who face Justice Department indictments, said three people familiar with the Biden administration deliberation. One of the people said the U.S. has put ‘everything on the table’ to persuade Maduro to leave before his term ends in January.”

“The United States on Thursday night recognized Venezuela’s opposition presidential candidate, Edmundo González, as the winner of the country’s disputed presidential election,” the New York Times reports.

“The announcement, by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, comes despite a claim by the country’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, and by the government-controlled electoral body, that Mr. Maduro won the vote.”