Prince Charles chosen next leader of Commonwealth

The Commonwealth has confirmed that Prince Charles will be the next leader of the organization of Britain and its former colonies once he succeeds his mother Queen Elizabeth II on the throne.

Commonwealth leaders meeting in London said in a statement that the next head of the organization “shall be His Royal Highness Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales.”

The announcement had been expected since the queen said Thursday that she hoped her son and heir would lead the Commonwealth after her.

The queen has led the Commonwealth throughout her 66-year reign, but the largely symbolic position is not hereditary, and some have suggested a non-royal head would project a more modern image.

Charles is a longtime champion of environmental causes, a priority for the Commonwealth. ATLANTA Tom Steyer is on a multimillion-dollar mission to impeach Donald Trump, but Democrats whose campaigns the California billionaire is helping bankroll aren’t keen to follow his lead.

Steyer, whose appeals you may have seen on TV, is spending $40 million on his “Need To Impeach” roadshow, with advertising and town halls around the country. But Democratic leaders in Congress and many candidates hoping to wrest House control from the Republicans shun the prospect of showy impeachment proceedings. Instead, they’re counting on pocketbook issues and a growing voter interest in checks on the GOP government in Washington.

The tightrope balance for Democrats underscores their dilemma. The question is how to maximize liberal anger against the president, who is under the cloud of a special counsel’s investigation, while not alienating Trump country independents and moderate Republicans who are unhappy with him but often detest his critics even more.

Steyer’s largely freelancing effort is just one strain of a midterm cacophony where even tens of millions dollars in outside spending can get lost in the noise. Trump already commands most of the attention. Republicans are eager to counterpunch. And as much as Democrats steer clear of impeachment talk, it does offer a release valve for liberal voter angst.

“It is the most important issue in the United States right now,” Steyer tells a crowd before a wide-ranging discussion of “high crimes and misdemeanours” and Trump’s fitness to handle nuclear launch codes. “It’s about lawlessness and danger and urgency.”

Hot potato: Dems shy from Steyer’s talk of impeaching Donald Trump The Associated Press