He appreciated Trump’s ambiguity and Biden’s speech: it says a lot about what awaits us

“As for Lithuania, the most important thing for us is that US policy towards the Baltic states does not change, with administrations changing to be consistent and based on the commitments of the allies. In this case, I think this relationship is (..) It is important for us that the economic relationship develops and that our relationships expand from the field of security to others, ”said J. Kojala, Lithuania’s expectations after the change of American leader.

D. Brief absences are assessed ambiguously

Biden’s inauguration was different: Unprecedented safeguards were put in place to prevent a coronavirus pandemic and protests. Another significant change was that the outgoing president, Donald Trump, did not attend the inauguration ceremony.

“The symbolism in politics is important and when a former president does not seem to give up his responsibilities and influence to the new president, it shows that something has not worked, something is missing, the opposition between the parties is too great.

On the other hand, everyone understands it perfectly: if D. Trump had participated and decided to be part of the inauguration, he probably would have caused more controversy. The qualification is twofold. On the one hand, it is sad that there is no former president and that symbolism. On the other hand, it probably helped avoid some unnecessary emotions, ”said L. Kojala.

There will be no shortage of challenges for the new president

According to the political scientist, there will be challenges for the new president. And in the eyes of L. Kojala, those challenges are so great that one of them would be enough. But there is not one, but at least a dozen.

“First of all, of course, a pandemic that has claimed more than 100,000 lives in the United States is unmanageable, as is the economy, and one of Biden’s first goals is to convince Congress and agree with Congress. that another large-scale economy is needed – a rescue plan to help the worst-hit businesses and groups in society who have now lost their jobs to recover.

There are also things that have to do with restoring the image of the country in the international community, as Trump’s stance, especially in Western Europe, has caused some anxiety and uncertainty about the future. Biden will seek to show that the United States is a responsible country, a country that is taking the initiative and perhaps returning to those issues that it has forgotten a bit.

For example, the signed executive order on the return of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the restoration of full membership in the World Health Organization are probably the first indications of this, “said L. Kojala.

Compared the inaugural languages

According to the head of the RESC, J. Biden’s inaugural speech also revealed that we will see changes in American policy in the next four years.

“We have already seen this in the inaugural speech, which, if we compare it with what we heard four years ago, we will notice few things that would unite or unite them. There were very different languages. Trump spoke of the evil that plagues the country, of the groups trying to destroy the true America, of the fact that the elite have turned away from the common people and that by becoming the leader of the country, they will take everything and save it.

Biden speaks in a completely different way, and perhaps a memorable phrase in his speech was that he addressed those who did not vote for him directly or, literally, the Trump electorate saying yes, they may not support me, they may not think. “I am the best person to manage the country, but give me a chance, listen to me, maybe we will find the points of contact that are so necessary in the face of so many crises, that the United States is a country.” he.

Cooperation on internal policies

“Both parties have 50 representatives each and the vote of Vice President Kamala Harris could be decisive. Well, that’s a completely minimal preponderance that doesn’t really guarantee that Biden will always have support in the Senate. Given that Biden himself has spent nearly 40 years in the Senate, his expectation is that when laws are debated, they will be debated not just among the ruling party, but that at least some Republicans get involved in that deliberative process.

If at least a dozen of them agreed with the ideas, if at least a dozen of them came up with new ideas and perhaps integrated them into Biden’s proposed laws, then we could be talking about a more general consensus between Republicans and Democrats. Then all the parties would win, “said L. Kojala about what to expect in national politics.

The task for the new US president, he said, will certainly not be easy, but the Republican Party is in the thoughts that relate to Trump’s position in the party. The political scientist predicted that some Republicans would tend to distance themselves from Trump, creating the preconditions for a deal with the Democrats.

However, Kojala did not rule out that at the beginning of his term, Biden would have to implement more moderate and centrist ideas to reach an agreement. And because of this, you can receive criticism not only from Republicans, but also from Democrats who would like to implement more defined and radical ideas.

Foreign policy

During the short term, according to L. Kojala, several problems arose between the European Union (EU) and the United States. The political scientist pointed out that US leaders often emphasize that the United States and the EU are allies, while during Trump’s term, German or French leaders ousted by Trump were not surprised.

“No one thought that the Trump administration could be trusted like the Trump administration, planning rather than making decisions on an emotional basis,” he said.

According to Biden, the head of the RESC, Europe is expected to talk to the United States, but the problems plaguing EU-US relations will not go away and Biden is not a panacea.

“Defense spending in Europe has not yet reached agreed limits, and Mr Biden will gently but tearfully deprive European countries of it. On the China issue, Europe has not reached a consensus, while in Washington that consensus is strong enough, it is likely that Biden will also point it out. Trade relations between the US and Europe have been complicated, perhaps there will be fewer complications, but will it mean a breakthrough? “Explained the political scientist.

It is also good that Mr Biden wants to unite democracies. And both America’s allies and enemies can expect change in the next four years.

“Allies can expect US policy to be shaped more and more frequently in consultation with allies now, because under Trump we did not see a tendency for the United States to isolate itself from the world, but we did see a tendency to make decisions unilaterally.” . Now there will be more alignment, more smoothing.

Furthermore, that implementation of the policy will be more based on international institutions. What can opponents expect? Apparently, the more predictable US policy, the less volatile it will be, the less deliberate it will be about extreme change. But at the same time, they couldn’t expect Mr. Biden to make and reverse some of the decisions made by D. Trump, “said L. Kojala.