US ELECTIONS ACT 5 : THE DOGS OF THE PRESIDENT-ELECT

There is no better indication of modest renewal after the Trump nightmare than the news that the Bidens will inhabit the White House with two dogs and one cat (in waiting). Coming after this dehumanizing administration, a new normal slowly takes over.

The choices of personel hitherto made are reassuring, if not surprising. America will enter a more legitimate path. It remains to be seen if the Republicans will swallow their humiliation and return to opposition without sabotage. The party needs to recover from its ride into madness, but there are no indications of remorse or just plain courtesy to be seen. The senatorial election in Georgia could temper the mood in case the Democrats won. It could as well further sour the future if the Republicans win the two seats and continue to control the Senate.

The president-elect is more about restauration than innovation. His choices are safe but there is no sparkle as those which existed under Presidents Kennedy, Clinton or Obama.  It might be a good thing after all since the American patient remains in shock. There are still weeks ahead wherein Trump might claim attention without restraint. The son-in-law of the outgoing president is already heading for the Middle East with Trump's compliments. Everyone familiar with the goings-on in the region will be anxious to see what this sorcerer's apprentice might come up with.

The strategy of the outgoing administration is clear. It is about consolidation of measures in the diplomatic, economic, environmental, judiciary fields that will make it hard for the president-elect to undo. The "forgotten" American male in flyover territory must be rewarded for his loyalty to the flag and to God. Trump's heaven will continue to the last day to bestow pennies to the base.

The world looks on. Western Europeans are relieved, the Chinese are polite, the Russians are pros, the Brazilian fumes, Israel & Co. are resigned and the rest of the word doesn't give a damn.

In reality little will change in the immediate future. Some gestures (Paris agreement) can be expected. Some mood swings will calm down. Otherwise, the division is here to stay and America remains a country divided on civil war lines. This president-elect knows that anticipation of love is often contradicted by its realisation. One should wish him well, with the knowledge that he shouldn't count on the gentleman's behavior he knew in his former Senate years. Those days are bygones and a viper's nest has infested the Capitol. 

LES DIABLES ROUGES

A intervalles reguliers la Belgique existe. Le football est l'elixir qui  chasse, l'espace d'un match, la torpeur et le desenchantement. Les diables rouges operent a chaque fois ce miracle en creant une euphorie qui reunit trop brievement les Belges, toutes preferences et couleurs confondues.

Le systeme politique existant (plus subi que legitime) vient encore d'etre une noubelle fois oblige d'assumer sa banqueroute. L'accumulation de satrapies, de niveaux de pouvoir et de provincialime deletere en Belgique corrobore le Peter principle (le Diktat de l'incompetence). The Lancet et Amnesty International, viennent encore de mettre la Belgique au banc des accuses pour sa gestion souvent absurde de la pandemie. A observer la Belgique on finirait par croire que ce pays bat le record de nombres de climats, d'environnements, de normes, de priorites, voir de Covids 19...le pluriel, depouille de coherence, regne.

Le nouveau gouvernement reussit timidement a reafirmer une relative hierarchie . Le gouvernement flamand surtout, qui donne l'impression de vouloir renouer avec  sa "chanson de Roland" propre, a manifestent perdu les pedales et les eperons !

Enfin, restent les diables qui confirment que la diversite est la mere de tous les talents.

US ELECTIONS ACT 4 : DOWNFALL

After Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won these "horrible" elections, some hoped for some form of courteous healing. The president elect made all the right moves but the loser went in even fuller attack-mode. Washington has been set on fire, a first time by the British, now it might be a second time, by Trump.

Trump's histrionics and travesties of truth, Maduro-like, are just starting. There is worse to come.  In the end, the transmission of power will be disconnected from tradition and dignity. The presidential mantle can no longer be handed over, it lies in the gutter.

Trump has already the mark of Cain on his forehead. His unappealing parcours in his private life and shady business and financial dealings fill book after trashy novel.  In January 2021 the Trump brand will be open to scrutiny, as long as the statutes of limitation don't apply.  In fact, he might be indicted as soon as his immunity no longer covers his "deeds".

This potential common criminal might now also become a war criminal. To deflect, distract, he may indeed consider a crazy, desperate option in some foreign theatre or situation (which he knows nothing about). Such a move would dislodge the bad news from the media and please his mob of Christian lunatics who love to see the Stars and Stripes, where it doesn't belong.

Trump is not hard to understand. He is just hard to control. Like a cornered beast he will be tempted to engage in any move which might save him (and his mafia family) from humiliation. He is totally unable to live up to historical precedent or to moral heights.  Since his murky casino deals, bankrupcy has always been his winning formula. 

He doesn't care if the moves he might consider now may have dire consequences for the president-elect, or for the country. The applause of his base is all that remains, and what became his injured, welted Palme d'Or. 

His downfall is without redemption.

SAEB ERAKAT RIP

The "eternal Palestinian negociator" was a remarkable man.

His energy only matched the granite-like force of his arguments. His fight for the Palestinian cause reached the heights of an epic saga. He never ran out of patience, he never was able to control his rage. His more existential temper never stood in the way of his ability to listen, albeit with plenty of counter-arguments in store.

He was a true representative of all the sorrows of his people, without ever giving up on the endurance which made him a champion of the uphill battle. 

US ELECTIONS ACT 3 : Vice President-elect KAMALA HARRIS

Kamala Harris is "Wonderwoman" on Biden's ticket. This highly qualified personality, in state and national affairs, was able to play her cards both as a woman...and immigrant of Indian descent. She is the ideal representative of the West Coast liberal elites. She also doesn't provoke the hostile tidewaves which submerge the ambitions of AOC or Elisabeth Warren.

The choice made by the president-elect is even more important, given his age. Unlike some other former vice-presidents, she will not need a map to find her path in Washington or in the world. She is a true post-feminism individual who claims her place without having to add an exclamation point.

The contrast with the women in the Trump orbit and administration couldn't be starker.  Only some leftover of former charity stops further elaboration, which would be painful.

The wait for other results is long. The sitting president will not follow King Lear to the exit.  He must ruminate some Al Pacino tantrum which might keep his base entertained, and truth and trust further weakened. America is not out of the woods yet!

Kamala Harris brings a sunny mindset into these most frustrating days. Let us not be mistaken by the smiles, this lady in attack mode is a formidable oponent.  Lindsay Graham, the GOP's favorite Judas, knows better.

US ELECTIONS: ACT 2

Joe Biden is president-elect.

This does not mean that the movers will soon clear the White House from the Trump's gaudy makeover. The president will not clear the premises Napoleon-like. This regime change will be painful for Biden to endure and for others to watch.

The panic in the outgoing administration is real. Many will be indicted or face lawsuits that will certainly uncover the unpleasant truth of the Trump machine. Since past immunities will no longer apply, the future looks ominous. Hence a smooth transition is impossible, also given the boobytraps that will be laid in its path and the lawsuits that will follow.

Biden has been in self-control. The joy in the Democratic camp is only matched by the rage which runs deep in Trump's base. Contrary to what the pollsters expected, the result however is not an overall win for the Democrats. They lost seats in the House and a Senate majority is far from certain. The party has to come to terms with the ideological and generational tensions in its midst. The decibels coming out of the AOC camp put a lot of moderate voters off. 

Names are already circulating regarding the 'who's who' in the future Biden administration. Unfortunately, the individuals under consideration represent mostly the known core of the Democratic party: older, messy, and repetitive. It is surprising to see yet again how the gerontocracy still widely controls American politics. Some hoped for a 'Macron effect' but Biden feels too much at home in the party of old to resort to a radical renewal.  He should also put some bite in his post- election addresses, after all he doesn't lack teeth.

Fortunately he is committed to the standard parameters of American proven policies abroad and at home. The Obama heritage can be revisited and inproved upon. Yet again this departure from the chaos of the calamitous Trump years would be better served if an effort were made in the direction of the brillant younger talent which can be found in universities, business, think tanks and culture.

It is hard to believe that the former and new presidents will be able to stand together on the steps of the Capitol in January. Trump has zero inclination for history and tradition.  Besides, he dislikes to be humiliated, as he is now, almost prisoner in the mansion, Louis XVI-like. One knows how this ended!

Trump will  be missed by some, and cursed by others. He was never a happy personality. Now he might become an even more vengful one. 

US ELECTIONS ACT 1

The votes are not in, but Trump claims victory already, wrapped in false accusations and dark warnings.

The blue wave didn't happen. The country is surgically split in rural versus urban. The better intentions are still no match for gross entertainment.

The process is becoming more of a brainkiller than a nailbiter.

The waiting for the final result will take time.  In all this dysfunctional situation, there is one certified loser:  America.

If Biden wins he will have to be both a healer for the soul and a medic for the corpse.