THE DEMS

The debates between the Democrats were long, repetitive and mostly boring. Too much has been said about about Kamala Harris "performing" and about Joe Biden "under performing". Senators Warren, Booker and Sanders confirmed that they were smart but did not show that they were "dating material". This debate had a traffic jam air. 

The current accelerated American downfall was mostly ignored as if the candidates were dealing with a case of flu, while the patient is actually terminal (Foreign Affairs July/August 2019). The only candidate who made a lasting impression was Pete Buttigieg. His demeanor, his intellectual control were impressive.

Trump's latest bombe surprise with Kim Jong-un was yet again a master stroke, showing the distance he favors between his whims of power and serious diplomacy. He is not interested in the world or , for that matter, in a concert of nations and cultures. He intrudes, breaks and never cleans up. NATO, WTO, TPP are all in need of repair. His attention span being what it is, he prefers the matinee reality show (a genre in which he excels) rather than indulging in policy making (which is alien to his temperament). Nevertheless his few steps on North Korean ground resonate already ! He steals yet gain the show, leaving the Democrats, packed in a bus to nowhere, livid.

American hooliganism is the trademark of this administration. The former soft-power which was envied and copied is no longer.  Under Trump, the base will assemble cars nobody wants, make foodstuffs nobody cares about and merchandise medication nobody can afford. At the same time, Asia is outsmarting America everywhere. In Europe Trump might find in Boris Johnson a fellow wrecker of better manners and uxorious discretion.

Nothing lasts forever, but the United States should beware of four more years if they still have the intention to try reversing a total meltdown. The Democrats play with smart ideas, but they look totally devoid of a strategy, being too busy booby-trapping each other. Some candidates are too old, some are supposed to be too young and the middle ground is as inspiring as a window display of a dry cleaner. JFK and Obama were considered too young then, so is Pete Buttigieg today. Better risk betting on a star rather than losing with recycled scrap. 

America is in free-fall. Large parts of the world might follow suit. Trump America is despised by its reluctant allies. It only scores with its cynical competitors who have found in this pathological persona the accomplice of a lifetime.

Europe finds itself in a non-enviable position. The EU will have to deal with a UK that might well fall apart. Russia has received a free-pass to meddle; Merkel is on the way out; Macron is probably the best choice for safeguarding some form of creative coherence but the Francophobia is stubborn.

Buttigieg is cognizant of the world and of the fatal former  illusion of the end of history. He knows which windows are still open and is all too aware that the innovation comes mostly from the East, while the middle Atlantic is in need of emergency repair. He might be the miracle worker, if not now, then in 2024. He and Macron could be the Castor and Pollux of a renewed alliance. How aged the ideas of the others would look like then...one can dream.