Displaying items by tag: Politics

The current president's strategy for handling the former president's impeachment trial has been to keep the whole ordeal at arm's length. The Biden administration's long-term political fortunes rest on success in dealing with the pandemic, the economy and the American public's other concerns. In the end, the trial lasted only three days. The chamber can’t take up Biden's Covid relief bill until the House passes the version that they have spent the week working on. Pray that the much-needed relief is released swiftly. With the trial concluded, the Senate can now resume confirming Biden's administration appointments, after it returns from a week recess. Pray for wisdom to flow through all appointments yet to be made, and that the price of a speedy trial without witnesses will not mean a political price being paid later.

Throughout the pandemic, the Christians in Parliament team have been sharing regular psalm reflections with Members and staff to encourage them in this challenging season. Psalms remind us there are so many reasons to praise God, he is still in control and offers us true stability. Please pray for the weekly video conferencing services every Tuesday lunchtime. They are attended by a good range of Members and staff. May they all be blessed as they work through John’s Gospel, looking at what happened when different people encountered Jesus. Please pray for the speakers as they prepare and that everyone attending will grow in their knowledge and love of Jesus through these different encounters. Pray also for the two weekly Bible studies, now beginning to look at Philippians. Please pray that all those attending will continue to fix their eyes on Jesus.

Donald Trump's second impeachment started on 9 February. Mr Trump was so irate with his defence team he was ‘screaming’ at the television while watching the proceedings unfold. Recent polls show 52% want Trump impeached for his actions leading to the Capitol riot. The Biden administration has high approval ratings, but they need to deliver immediately on climate change and immigration. Many believe this impeachment determines whether Republicans are tied to Trump for the next few years. The nine Democrat managers finished their opening arguments on 11 February, and thought their evidence was compelling enough to convince more Republicans to vote to impeach Trump. Meanwhile there are concerns that the trial will diistract Congress from taking swift action on urgent priorities around pandemic and economic fallout. Pray for scientists and communities to accelerate Covid vaccinations without interference. Pray for governing bodies in commerce and industry to agree on badly needed stimulus relief. See

Conservative London Mayor candidate Shaun Bailey used City Hall branded paper to warn Londoners of an alleged 21.2% council tax increase. The leaflet, with a Tory Party logo, invited readers to sign a petition against council tax rises. He was reported to the Crown Prosecution Service for fraudulent leaflets, and London’s Labour deputy leader called for the Tories to apologise. She said Mr Bailey seemed ‘determined to insult voters' intelligence by bringing discredited Donald Trump-style fake news to London. He has consistently misled over finances, the congestion charge, and council tax, and his latest leaflets are literally a work of fiction. Fake news, fake polls and fake leaflets will reflect badly on him and the Conservative Party and erode trust in politics.’ The Liberal Democrat candidate posted a picture of the leaflet on social media, labelling it a ‘cheap trick’.

Up to 1,000 people – including priests and church leaders – were killed in recent attacks in Ethiopia. A Belgium-based nonprofit organisation released reports of 1,000 people hiding in an Orthodox church in Aksum, thought to contain the Ark of the Covenant. They were brought out and shot in the square. 750 were definitely murdered, and possibly more of the injured died later. Inside Ethiopia there is political conflict. The government’s term of office ended in September, and the May elections were cancelled due to coronavirus. This has created political unrest where Christians and Muslims are dying in a long line of fatal assaults against innocent people in the Tigray region. 154 were killed in December in Maryam Dengelat, and ten from one family were killed on Christmas Day. Also, Eritrean troops have been killing dozens.

A growing groundswell of youth unrest, tapping into a well of economic frustration, is sweeping Tunisia, the country which triggered the 2011 ‘Arab Spring’. A third of the nation’s young people are unemployed. Many are angry about their poverty. Since 14 January they have taken to the streets in violent marches. There have been 1,000 arrests, and the army has been deployed in four hot spots. Protest groups are growing in size and are out in force every night staging simultaneous, often-violent demonstrations: pelting municipal buildings with stones, throwing Molotov cocktails, looting, vandalising, and clashing with police in poor, densely populated districts. By 24 January hundreds more were protesting against police repression, chanting, ‘No more fear, the streets belong to the people’ and ‘The people want the fall of the regime’ - popularised during the Arab Spring. They also called for the release of hundreds of protesters detained recently. See

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a centre-right party, has elected Armin Laschet, the pragmatic governor of Germany's most populous state, as its new leader - sending a signal of continuity before the 26 September election. The vote is not the final word on who will be the centre-right candidate for Chancellor, but Laschet will either run himself or will have a big say in who does. He is viewed as more in line with Merkel's pragmatic centrism, and spoke of the value of continuity and moderation. ‘We must speak clearly but not polarise. We must be able to integrate, hold society together.’ The decision ends an 11-month leadership limbo in the CDU. Angela Merkel, who has been Chancellor since 2005, is not seeking a fifth term.

On 20 January, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th US president. He wasted little time before undoing policies that were anathema to Democrats; he signed 15 executive orders and two other directives, including an order requiring face masks and social distancing on federal property. This was followed by an order recommitting the United States to the Paris Agreement on climate change. With plain language and open emotion, Biden urged a shaken nation to regain its footing. He has directed the government to rejoin the World Health Organisation and intends to join the COVAX Facility, a project to deploy Covid-19 vaccines to people in need around the world (whether in rich or poor countries); it is an umbrella effort that focuses on distributing diagnostic tools and therapeutics for coronavirus to countries around the world. The justice department pledged to keep the Capitol safe through the next few days.

After the storming of the Capitol building when President Trump incited aggressive moves to overturn the 2020 election result, the House voted for an article of impeachment against him. Nations are commenting on US events. The Archbishop of Wales said that Trump is a person of questionable morals, judgment, and wisdom who believes he can ignore democratic processes and the will of the people. ‘No politician has a right to be unaccountable for their behaviour.’ See Meanwhile the FBI have called for assistance in securing Washington as the inauguration nears. They believe the attack on the Capitol will potentially motivate additional follow-on attacks by extremists throughout 2021 and will very likely serve as a significant driver of violence for domestic extremists.’The range of potential future targets of attack was varied, extremists could zero in on government officials and institutions, as well as racial and religious minorities, journalists and more.

On 5 January a throng of Trump supporters swathed in red, white and blue had a ‘Jericho march’ around Washington in imitation of the Israelites besieging the city of Jericho. Some wore ‘Make America Great Again’ hats, waved flags featuring Trump, and held signs saying ‘Donald v Goliath’. Some were singing ‘How great Is our God’. The Georgia runoff on 6 January gave legislative advantages to the Democrats, while a rally gathered at the nation’s capital. Then Trump’s supporters stormed and ransacked the Capitol building, abruptly forcing Congress members and vice-president Mike Pence to flee the premises. Dozens were arrested, and at least four people were killed during the chaos. The next morning Trump agreed to leave office in an orderly transition of power, but he did not admit defeat or say he was conceding. He also failed to acknowledge publicly the deadly riot by his supporters inside the Capitol.