Heading into a heated election on almost every political level, our eyes move towards the US with a professionally esteemed panel in the webinar Happy Marriage or Bad Romance? Transatlantic relations after the US election. The Presidential Elections is contested by Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald J. Trump, while the Democrats are defending their majority in the House of Representatives and the Republicans in the Senate – is it still after this election a polarised political landscape in the US? Which one is the candidate for multilateralism cooperation?
Our anticipated webinar was moderated by the Liberal International (LI) President; Dr. Hakima El Haité and participated by the President of ALDE Party; Hans van Baalen, Head of Research and Policy at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at The German Marshall Fund of the United States; Jessica Brandt, Director of the Europe Program and Erik Brattberg, fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“Since taking office, President Donald J. Trump has disrupted the international order by shaking the transatlantic institutions worldwide,” said Ms el Haité in her opening speech and indicated that liberals around the world are watching this election with eagerness to see where the relation is heading, finishing her speech by turning to the participants for their thoughts and predictions on the Presidential Elections in the US.
“I do not have a crystal ball of course, but I was wrong 4 years ago.”, Mr van Baalen said. Mr Brattberg, was more cautious with his prediction, even if he predicted a Trump outcome in 2016. Erik was echoed by Jessica Brandt, who also noted the participants on the length of vote-counting, due to the postal ballots.
“If there’s something we have seen, US and China have not been global leaders in the pandemic, the new US President could lead together with like-minded countries to address these specific issues.’’ – Erik Brattberg
Mr Brattberg, prioritised engaging the US with Europe, as it is also in their interest to build a strong Europe, highlighting the benefits of Transatlantic cooperation. Joe Biden’s Presidency would put forward climate and pro-transatlantic cooperation initiatives, while President Trump has shown lack of leadership, ‘’The US needs to work with likeminded countries,’’ he said, and concluded on the fact that Europe need to deepen the alliance with whoever wins.
“Joe Biden needs to be bold – Trump was tough on China and supportive of Taiwan, which is in the liberal community a strong statement” – Hans van Baalen
Explaining how Trump has gained support, Mr van Baalen brought up the President’s boldness, gaining him recognition by supporting Taiwan and being tough on China, compared to Europe’s custom, where the handling Russia’s aggressivity towards neighbouring countries is more talk than boldness.
President el Haité asked the experts if Biden was to win, will the historians write that COVID19 cost Trump the defeat: Mr van Baalen pointed out, that there was an economic success before the pandemic and now he cannot claim economic victory, while Mr Brattberg simplified Trump’s COVID19-strategy to not stepping up at all and downplaying the virus.
“The US first needs to rebuild the democratic institutions at home, by strengthening their key-institutions and cultivating the culture of civic engagement,” – Jessica Brandt
When asked how by moderator el Haité how the geopolitical tension can be eased politically and enhance the spread of democratic values all over the world, Ms Brandt did not hold back: The US needs to rebuild their democracy at home, and voiced the concerns of structural inequality and the need for international cooperation to combat corruption and autocratic tendencies.
The panel shared the point that we should represent everyone, even those that do not vote liberal.
Moderator Ms el Haité thanked the participants and wished a happy marriage for the Transatlantic relation in the US Presidential Elections 2020.
