The best of POLITICO’s coverage curated by Deputy Editor-in-Chief Kate Day.

By KATE DAY

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Dear readers,

Hello from London, where my little corner of Hackney is awash with Halloween decorations and teenagers making scary faces for TikTok videos. We had a really good first trick-or-treating experience last night, although our friendly five-year-old ghost kept tripping over his costume.

It all seems very different from my childhood experiences at Halloween, when we carved pumpkins but were too English to knock on someone’s door and ask for candy.

But perhaps this Americanization of Halloween is appropriate when politics also looks West as everyone holds their breath ahead of next week’s US elections. I’m leaving for Washington on Monday and I’m very excited to see the results at POLITICO headquarters.

On my last visit to DC, a group of senior editors met to discuss the ingredients that would define POLITICO’s coverage of this successful election year. Our mission, we agreed, was to enjoy the horse race of all political campaigns as much as the most dedicated political obsessives, but, fundamentally, to illuminate and crystallize what this series of elections means for the world heading into next year.

So, of course, we’ll have all the twists and turns covered when the United States decides its next government on Tuesday, but we’re also looking to dive right into the contours of what this election means. When we started, our founders liked to say that reading POLITICO stories should be as enlightening and enjoyable as having a drink with a brilliantly informed reporter. If ever there was an election where we all needed to have a drink with a journalist to explain what’s really going on, then this is surely it. Check back throughout the week to see if we’ve lived up to our aspirations.

In the meantime, below you’ll find a particularly delicious selection of treats to get you stuck into while you wait. I hope you have a peaceful and not-so-spooky weekend.

All the best,

Kate

EDITOR’S CHOICE

It doesn’t matter if Trump or Harris wins. Europe has already lost.

Even before the US elections take place, we already know the loser: Europe. In this analysis, we examine the uncomfortable truth that American interest in the continent has been declining for the past 30 years, and neither candidate is likely to regain the transatlantic heyday of the early 1990s. When (and why) did everything start to go wrong? We have noted the exact day that “peak America” was reached. read the story.

Anti-fraud investigators investigate the most powerful group in the European Parliament

Brussels Playbook revealed a scoop this week (developed in this article) that has everyone in the euro bubble in an uproar: top EU prosecutors are investigating allegations of fraud and corruption involving individuals from the European Parliament’s largest group , the European People’s Party. Based on police sources, political experts and police documents, we were the first to reveal the existence of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) case that could impact all of Brussels in the coming months. read the story.

Meet the armed Britons who will vote for Donald Trump

In a tea room in the US swing state of Georgia, we meet several British-Americans who will back Donald Trump against his rival Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election. What is driving your decision? The people we spoke to were very generous in sharing their views, even the most controversial ones. read the story.

Spain’s ‘monstrous’ floods expose Europe’s lack of preparedness for climate change

This story highlights the wider implications of the deadliest floods to hit Spain in decades. As the world heads toward unprecedented warming, extreme weather events will become increasingly violent and frequent. The reaction in Spain shows that Europe is not even close to being prepared for that reality. read the story.

Who fears whom in Brussels?

Fun Halloween list. Everyone seems to be terrified of Ursula von der Leyen’s axe, Björn Seibert, and his “inevitable slippers” (ouch!). Enjoy! read the story.

Hungary flirts with Putin and snubs NATO meeting

We jumped at the news that Hungary had snubbed a NATO meeting that had been called to discuss Budapest’s strange foreign policy and got a well-reported story that put us miles ahead of the competition. read the story.

UK Budget: 5 things to know as Labor increases taxes

This week was a UK budget extravaganza for POLITICO with pre-game analysis, a live blog, post-mortems and policy coverage of the pro teams. I can’t imagine anyone has covered it more carefully than we have. This article summarizes everything readers, from policy experts to average citizens, needed to know. read the story.

YOUR WEEKEND PLAYLIST

EU Confidential: Faith, fear and freedom: European eyes on the vote in the United States

For a fresh look at the US election in its final days (and what it means for Europe), this week’s episode of EU Confidential offers a basic look at the election campaign. POLITICO’s Jakob Hanke Vela, usually based in Brussels, has been sent to the United States to meet with voters and cover the campaign from a European perspective. USA Today White House correspondent Francesca Chambers has been traveling with Kamala Harris after covering the Obama, Trump and Biden presidencies.

They join host Sarah Wheaton to discuss the closing arguments of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, as well as what’s unique about campaigning in the United States and what it has in common with other votes in the EU. (We’re all MAGA on migration now.) We also look toward potential ripple effects in Europe: Would another Trump White House be more of the same, or would Trump be unchained? Listen to the episode.

Westminster Insider: How to offer a great quote

Rachel Reeves’s first budget was a historic moment: for her, for the Labor Party… and for the nation’s fiscal burden. So this week, Westminster Insider host Sascha O’Sullivan goes back in history to find out what makes a budget truly memorable. Historian Robert Saunders revisits William Gladstone’s extraordinary 19th-century budget speeches, which sometimes lasted four or five hours. And it looks at the archaic traditions, begun under Gladstone, that UK chancellors still follow to this day.

Historian David Lough explains how Winston Churchill’s most important budget decision, rejoining the gold standard in 1925, overshadowed the future prime minister’s ill-fated period as chancellor, and how Churchill’s own precarious finances impacted his work at the Treasury. Veteran journalist Andrew Marr analyzes the post-war budgets of Labor chancellor Stafford Cripps and the famous 1980s budgets of Conservative greats Geoffrey Howe and Nigel Lawson, still revered by Conservative MPs to this day.

Carolyn Quinn, a BBC journalist and presenter for 36 years, takes Sascha back to the New Labor years (with a little help from Ed Balls), as well as George Osborne’s omnishambles budget of 2012. And the outgoing boss of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Paul Johnson, explains how the IFS became such a central part of the Westminster budget day tradition, and how its economists work through the night to keep us informed of what the chancellor has planned. Listen to the episode.

power play: Kemi Badenoch makes her last pitch for the conservative crown

The British Conservative Party will elect its new leader in a few days. Kemi Badenoch has emerged as the favorite to win, but her combative style and a series of hard-hitting exchanges with rival Robert Jenrick have raised questions about the breadth of her appeal.

Power Play presenter Anne McElvoy talks to Badenoch about whether she can restore her party’s fortunes after Rishi Sunak’s troubled final years in office, which culminated in the harshest election defeat in its history. What is your final speech to party members in the final days of the race? Could she struggle to be heard just days after Keir Starmer’s government delivered its main budget? Listen to the episode.

DECLASSIFIED

Forget the US elections: the EU commissioners’ hearings are the real world event. Read this week’s declassified column.

Subtitle Competition

“I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE COMMISSIONER HEARINGS!”

Can you do better? Email me at (email protected) or contact X @EddyWax.

Last week we gave you this photo:

Thanks for all the entries. Here’s the best part of our mailbag: There’s no prize except the gift of laughter, which I think we can all agree is far more valuable than cash or alcohol.

“Raise your hand if you miss Lady Di!” by POLITICO’s own Max Griera

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