Opinion: The Trump affair continues to wreak havoc…

As for Trump, we will not revisit the events of January 6th or his appearance in court next Tuesday. We can only commend a democracy that works, while in Europe, as seen in the cases involving Sarkozy, a former president faces nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

The earthquake caused by the end of the Trump era has revealed two things. Firstly, the Republican party seems incapable of recovering from the Trump era, as he still has many supporters within the party, which demotivates moderate Republicans who are likely to either not vote in the next election or vote for the Democratic candidate.

On the other hand, the succession of President Biden seems to be complicated for the Democrats, as some polls show that Democratic voters do not want a new candidacy from President Biden. However, there is currently no leader who is emerging from the party, despite the fact that the Democrats have a rather positive record on most issues.

It is quite likely that voters are looking for more openness and the ability to choose candidates who best represent their own sensibilities. If we look at Bernie Sanders’ scores in the last American elections, it is quite probable that a large part of his voters wanted a more social policy.

Moreover, this is one of the key criticisms of the current policy, as some believe it does not go far enough in this area. However, it cannot be said that nothing has been done, as this is a perception of some Democratic voters.

If we look further, the image of the two major parties has been tarnished for a long time by all sorts of scandals. The same thing is happening at the European level, which in this case has ended up turning voters away from elections.

Here in the USA, Trump’s presidency has pushed voters to the polls mainly to put an end to this period. But in reality, voters seem to want a profound change, which, if it does not happen, could end up with an electoral system similar to the European one, where a person without a majority could be elected.

In parallel, it can be admitted that populations are becoming more educated, and their demands are different from those of their parents in terms of politics. But how can the expectations of voters be really understood? The reality is that there are a lot of individuals who are not comfortable with the proposed system, and how can they be brought together, regardless of the political camp?

It is therefore certainly up to constitutionalists and politicians to imagine the electoral system of tomorrow, to find a way to satisfy a population that has evolved greatly, from the industrial age to the computer age, and now to artificial intelligence. All these changes are changing our perceptions of things, our desires, our thoughts. Today’s populations, slaves to their mobile phones and immediacy, do not understand the old world, any more than the old understand the new. Yet they share the same air and the same land, so there is work to be done to find a balance that satisfies the greatest number.

Thierry De Clemensat

USA correspondant