In today’s newsletter: Mark Carney has pulled off an astonishing turnaround in his party’s fortunes. How did he do it – and what can progressives learn from his victory?Good morning. At the beginning of the year, Canada’s Conservatives had a 25-point lead over the Liberal government, and their leader, Pierre Poilievre, looked a dead cert to be the country’s next prime minister. But as the votes cast in yesterday’s election have been counted, the story of the campaign has been confirmed: victory for the Liberals and their new leader, Mark Carney, who have extended their decade of rule by another five years.It isn’t settled yet whether the Liberals will govern with a majority, or be the leading party in a hung parliament, as in the last two elections; Reuters projected a minority government a short while ago, while the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said it was still too close to call. Either way, it represents a remarkable turnaround, and vindication for Carney’s efforts to present himself as the prime ministerial candidate who would most effectively stand up to Donald Trump. As for Poilievre: the result isn’t in yet, but he is in serious danger of losing his seat.European blackout | Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has said “everything possible is being done” to restore power following an unprecedented blackout in Spain and Portugal. The blackout – blamed by the Portuguese operator on extreme temperature variations – left tens of millions of people without trains, metros, traffic lights, ATMs, phone connections and internet access.
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