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Politics

Het is Europaʼs beurt om Trump af te wijzen

Dec 28, 2020 Joschka Fischer

BERLIJN – Ondanks al zijn gezeur en gejammer zal het presidentschap van Donald Trump op 20 januari 2021 ten einde komen. Hij zal dan geschiedenis zijn, maar helaas is zijn politieke erfenis springlevend. Met bijna 75 miljoen Amerikanen die op hem stemden (en 82 miljoen op Joe Biden), heeft Trump een buitengewoon en onverwacht niveau van steun weten te mobiliseren onder een basis die de Republikeinse Partij zal blijven sturen in de richting van nationalistisch isolationisme.

Als een soort ʻondodeʼ zal het Trumpisme de Amerikaanse politiek nog lang parten blijven spelen, en een of andere vorm ervan zal in 2024 weer op de stembiljetten staan – zoveel is al wel duidelijk. Om het Trumpisme te overwinnen hadden de Democraten een ʻblauwe golfʼ van electorale triomfen moeten verwezenlijken, maar dat is niet gebeurd.

Het idee dat Trump zichzelf weer kandidaat zal stellen is onwaarschijnlijk, gezien zijn leeftijd. Maar de jongere populistische erfgenamen staan al te popelen om het stokje over te nemen. Zowel vanuit het perspectief van Europa als vanuit dat van het transatlantisme – die er allebei een existentieel belang bij hebben dat Amerika zich blijft inzetten voor multilaterale samenwerking – betekent de verkiezing van Biden een overwinning in een beslissende slag, maar niet in de hele oorlog.

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 5 Comments on this article

眼光 Canadian / China Dec 30, 2020

Good bye , now we wait and see what the wonderful USA will try to do to reassure the people of USA .
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zebbrad Dec 30, 2020

Based on the author's comments, there is a huge disconnect between Europe and the US. It's only style that separates Biden and Trump. The Democrats also want European spending on defense up, Huawai out of 5G, Nordstream II to stop, and a united front against China. Germany, the de facto leader of Europe, seems to be directly opposed to these US positions given recent actions. To many in the US it seems as if Germany is actively seeking to empower Russia and China and bind Germany to both of them economically. However, Europe has been able to deflect any discussion by blaming Trump's idiotic tweets. Other than nice platitudes on multilateralism and US-EU relations, there are only two areas of agreement with Biden - Climate change and the Iran deal (with substantial changes). However, neither of those would pass as legislation in the US but must be signed as executive orders. Perhaps it is time for there to be a great reconsideration of the relationship if both sides see things so differently.
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j. von Hettlingen Dec 30, 2020

Joschka Fischer fears that Trump’s departure may not close the book on his “America-first nationalism and isolationism.” Given the over 70 million votes Trump won - even if he would not run again in 2024 - some Republicans might feel tempted to “claim the mantle” and adopt his brand of nationalist isolationism. This could have a long-term impact on US foreign policies, even thought Joe Biden has pledged to mend fences with allies and restore global multilateral cooperation and US leadership.
Biden’s commitment to Europe is well known. Nevertheless, “Europeans could make no greater mistake than to lean back comfortably and cede responsibility for the transatlantic relationship to the Biden administration.” Besides, Biden’s plate is full at home. Apart from foreign affairs, he has to manage the ravaging pandemic, that has caused over 300.000 deaths and taken a heavy toll on the livelihoods of tens of millions of Americans. Reviving the battered economy and uniting the country are his primary tasks.
On the foreign policy front under Biden, the US is expected to rejoin the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the World Health Organisation. Biden also hinted that the US could rejoin the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), if Iran returns to full compliance. He would review Trump’s decision to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan and Iraq, before the local situations have stabilised, alongside the decision to withdraw troops from Germany.
The author says Americans had delivered on November 3. Now that Trump has been voted out of office - to the relief of most Europeans - now “the ball is now in Europe’s court,” because the future of the transatlantic relations “will depend in no small measure on what Europe – and particularly Germany – does in the coming years.” Germany is Europe’s most important country and Angela Merkel its most important leader, Biden’s team needs to tackle some thorny issues with her before she steps down in September 2021.
Merkel had an excellent relationship with Obama and was committed to transatlanticism. She had to put up with Trump, who was extremely rude to her. She and Theresa May were called “losers” after they suffered political setbacks, unlike the deference he showed to authoritarian rulers. In the past Germany’s reluctance to increase its military spending had drawn Trump’s ire. He castigated European allies for not paying their defence bills. As someone who is experienced in multilateral negotiations and interested in outputs as well as inputs, Biden will change his tone, but not the issue.
According to the author Trump had “forced European leaders into a defensive crouch,” the Biden administration “requires the opposite: a proactive push for transatlantic renewal. Restoring the relationship requires that Europe act like an ‘adult’ and co-equal vis-à-vis the United States, moving beyond the Cold War-era subservience that still endures 30 years later.” The new generation of Europeans born after this era and witnessed the 9/11 attacks, the US invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan may want to forge Europe’s future by redefining its transatlantic relations with America.
Indeed, a candid conversation on both sides of the Atlantic might help clear the differences. “Europeans must make clear to the Biden administration from the start what Europe can and cannot do. America is a global power with global interests and unrivaled military capabilities. Europe, by contrast, consists of many small- and medium-size countries, each of which has only limited ability to project power and influence,” except for France and the UK - the only two nuclear powers in Europe.
The author urges European countries to solely focus on defending NATO territory and “its precarious periphery” close to Russia, as well as deescalating tensions between Cyprus and Greece with Turkey. Apart from hybrid warfare and “frozen conflicts” in Eastern Europe that the Kremlin initiated in Ukraine and Moldova’s Transniestria, instability in the Middle East and North Africa will have ripple effects on the Continent, like terrorism and the influx of refugees from war-torn countries.
When it comes to “world politics, Europe must leave this domain to the global superpowers ….. This is particularly true when it comes to China. The EU needs to establish a close mutual understanding with the US on this issue, particularly where common values are concerned.”
Another issue that both the EU and the US need to clarify is how to deal with US tech giants’ in Europe. As China is claiming global leadership in technology, bolstering transatlantic efforts could ensure that Beijing does not dictate “digital governance standards.” The iron grip the leadership has on all aspects of life in China is a chilling reminder of what it could do to the rest of the world.
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Tamer Kirac Dec 28, 2020

Much of what Trump tweeted/said, with respect to expectations from Europe was valid. It was unfortunate that his style of delivery was undiplomatic.

Much of his loud and boisterous blasts can be summarised as focusing on the low level of military spending with respect to national wealth, relative to the benefits received by USA's contributions.

His lack of style resulted in much misunderstanding of a valid issue!
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Leo Arouet Dec 28, 2020

Europe has a lot to do. Its defense spending is negligible compared to the United States. Europe needs to renew itself in the sense of reaffirming its growth and the defense of the rule of law, freedom and the rejection of authoritarianism.
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Het is Europaʼs beurt om Trump af te wijzen

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