US Midterm Elections: Anger vs Loyalty

Available for over a year

Kate Adie introduces stories from the USA, Brazil, Serbia, France and China. The cost of living is a crunch issue for many American voters but the question is whether that will favour Democrats at the ballot box or will President Donald Trump's loyalists help keep congress under Republican control? Sarah Smith takes the political temperature in Iowa and Michigan. Brazil's incumbent left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva confounded expectations to secure victory in a second-round run-off this week. His opponent, Flavio Bolsonaro, was predicted to follow in his father’s footsteps to become the country’s next far-right leader. Ione Wells reveals how Lula turned it around. In Serbia, long-term leader Alexander Vucic was ousted in a snap parliamentary election last weekend by The Student List – a political movement borne out of two years of anti-corruption protests. But there are challenges ahead - such as who to appoint as the country’s new president. Guy Delauney reports from Belgrade. More protests are planned this weekend in France, where the unrest began a month ago over poor conditions in schools but have since mushroomed into larger demonstrations across the country over issues including the cost of living. Mark Lowen has been covering the protests in Paris and Marseille. And footballer Kylian Mbappe got into hot water in China this week, after an off-the-cuff comment about his favourite internet memes – including one referencing Chairman Mao. This led to several Chinese sponsors to drop the Real Madrid superstar - but how angry were people really? Stephen McDonell reports from Beijing. Series Producer: Serena Tarling Production Coordinators: Katie Morrison & Sophie Hill Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith