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America must not lead with power, but as a model for the world – US election winner Biden passed him off as his presidency. A challenge, because Trump’s predecessor in office leaves him construction sites around the world.
By Julia Kastein, ARD-Studio Washington
Joe Biden, the 46th President-elect, ushered in his era with an eloquent promise to the world: “When we show our best side, then we are a beacon to the world. We will not lead by our strength, but by our model. “
Climate change should become a priority
On the very first day of his presidency, Biden wants to get serious and bring the US back to the Paris climate protection agreement it officially left last week.
The “fight for the climate” is said to be at the heart of the Biden Harris administration, although the details are not yet clear. In the primary campaign, for example, Biden wanted to ban the controversial production of natural gas through fracking, at least on land owned by the US government. As a concession to voters in Pennsylvania, there is now talk of a long transition period: Biden just wants to make the United States, which after China puts the most CO2 into the world atmosphere, climate neutral by 2050.
U-Turn in Crown Policy
The return to the climate agreement is an important political signal: Biden had promised several times during the election campaign that, unlike his predecessor, he would not rely on brute solitary efforts, but on international cooperation. Even in the fight against the crown pandemic: one of the first decrees that Biden wants to sign in the Oval Office is his re-entry into the World Health Organization. Trump had made WHO, as China’s henchman, the scapegoat of the pandemic and resigned.
The fight against the pandemic will be Biden’s first major domestic political test: with nearly 10 million cases and nearly 240,000 deaths, the United States is the most severely affected country in the world. “We can’t fix the economy and our vitality or enjoy the best moments of our lives – hugging grandchildren, celebrating birthdays and weddings – until we have them under control,” Biden said in his victory speech.
As of Monday Biden therefore wants to appoint a group of experts who should present a detailed plan by January 20: including testing, contact monitoring and preparation for the distribution of a vaccine that does not yet exist.
Less experience under Trump
A problem for Biden: there is a lack of long-time experts in the government apparatus. At the highest epidemic authority, the CDC, the Trump administration reduced the number of personnel that would have had to research new viruses in China before the pandemic broke out. The National Security Council unit, which was to deal specifically with preparing for a pandemic emergency, was also disbanded in the Trump era.
In some ministries, the loss of personnel was even more serious: at the EPA alone, hundreds of experts threw in the towel in exasperation in the first year and a half, and many were not replaced. At the State Department it was the same: hundreds of employees and professional diplomats left the State Department and with them the knowledge of cultures and conflicts around the world went with them.
Go back to the Vienna nuclear deal?
Biden could use this experience now. For example on the issue of Iran and the question whether the United States will now return to the Vienna nuclear deal. Biden had negotiated himself once. But since the exit of the Trump administration, Iran has also threatened it. In January, after Trump killed Iran’s top military leader Qasem Soleimani, Biden made no secret of his frustration with the situation: “His constant mistakes and bad decisions left us few options. And most of them are. bad. “
Iran has already asked Biden to return to the deal. But Israel, still one of the most important allies of the Americans in the region, certainly doesn’t want that. Another test for the self-proclaimed bridge builder.
What’s the next step in the trade conflict with China?
Just like China: many Democratic voters also expect Biden to rebalance what from the US perspective is unfair trade with Beijing. So it will hardly abolish special rates immediately. Other problems are certainly easier to resolve there: The tense relationship between the US and NATO and the EU is expected to ease through staff changes in the White House.
And Germany? Biden is also an outspoken opponent of the Nord Stream II Baltic Sea pipeline, but unlike his predecessor in office, he has not yet threatened sanctions. The 46th president is likely to adhere to the planned troop withdrawal. Although he more kindly sells his politics and American interests.
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