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Erin Conklin (34) had to wait for this moment for four years. “People are fed up with Donald Trump’s tirades,” says the Adrian, Michigan Democrat. “For our family, the election of Joe Biden means that there is hope again. That America will once again be a country where we want to raise our children. “The future is bright, says Conklin. And over and over again he says,” Change.
Change is what millions of Americans hope for. The expectations they have in their new president Joe Biden (77) are enormous. America’s troubles have not ended with the election of Trump alone: Trumpism is perhaps stronger than ever, the country is divided, and Congress is on lockdown. Can the new president change anything? And how do you want to do that?
“Now let’s go to the job that God and history have called us to,” Biden said in his post-election speech. Then he named presidents who changed America: Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Barack Obama. This is more than just rhetoric: the four titans represent the Biden show.
The 46th president of the United States picks up where Barack Obama left off (59). He wants to reconcile, he declares war on discrimination, like Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), who freed blacks from slavery. In the fight against the crown crisis and climate change, Biden relies on science, like John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), who invested heavily in education in the race against the Soviet Union and advanced in the conquest of the space.
Get America out of the economic crisis
Ultimately, Biden wants to get America out of the economic crisis with a huge stimulus package, like Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) in the Great Depression. The Democrat reacted to the global economic crisis of the early 1930s with a gigantic reform package, the “New Deal.” He is the model for Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” project, a $ 2 billion program to renovate America’s infrastructure. Its goal is to create millions of new jobs, strengthen labor protection and give weakened unions a new leverage.
But Biden doesn’t just want to build to create jobs. Investments should help a green American economy break through. “It is absolutely correct to work resolutely in this direction,” says Ralph Ossa (41), professor of economics at the University of Zurich. “Climate change is and will continue to be a key challenge.”
To carry out this program, the new president needs Congress. But one of its houses, the Senate, will remain in Republican hands. Claudia Brühwiler (38), American studies at the University of St. Gallen, still gives Biden opportunities, and remembers another American president: Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973). “He was the king of the Senate and he used his dynamism extremely well,” says Brühwiler. Veteran Senator Biden also has a great network and great relationships with key figures like Mitch McConnell (78), the Republican Majority Leader in the Senate.
Make a difference with Kamala Harris
And then there is Vice President Kamala Harris (56): “She is also a respected senator. Together they can make a difference. “Many heads of state and government, who sent congratulations to Washington, are also looking forward to this team.” This leap of faith gives Biden a lot of leeway, “says Laurent Goetschel (54), professor of Political Science at the University of Basel. “During the election campaign he spoke a lot about reconciliation and cooperation with a view to domestic politics. If you allow ten percent to flow into foreign policy, it will hit like a bomb.”
No US president has brought as much foreign policy experience as Biden, Goetschel says. “With him, the United States will once again become more involved in the world.” Biden has already announced that he will re-sign the Paris climate agreement, which was canceled by Trump. Goetschel: “On this issue, the United States can go from being a brakeman to being a leading force.” This also applies to the policy of peace. “Biden Ends Trump’s National Entertainment Policy and Strengthens Cooperation”.
The world economy will benefit from this, says economist Ossa: “The WTO probably would not have survived Trump’s second term. That would have been the end of our rules-based world trading system, with dire consequences, especially for small, open economies like Switzerland. “
Stop autocratic powers
Trump has courted antidemocrats from Russia, China and North Korea. Now Biden is launching the “Free World” initiative: together with European and Asian allies, he wants to stop the advance of autocratic powers, similar to former US President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924). He called up the League of Nations after World War I and proclaimed: “Let’s make the world a safe place for democracy!”
That has become a catchphrase of American Democrats, says Bernd Stöver (59), professor of history at the University of Potsdam and author of the standard paper “History of the United States.” China, Russia and North Korea would not become more democratic because of this, Stöver said. “But in countries like Belarus and Ukraine, Biden can really strengthen democratic forces.”
The next president has already telephoned several heads of state, through private channels. Because the Trump administration denied him the legally required support for the transition phase. Biden’s team is still working at full speed, including filling the new cabinet. Pete Buttigieg (38) stands out among the candidates for ministerial office: With the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, one of the greatest talents of the Democrats is moving to Washington.
“Besides the symbolism and the program, this is perhaps the most important aspect of the Biden presidency,” says the Americanist Brühwiler: “which will build bridges, not only for Kamala Harris, but also for a new democratic generation.”
