It may be about everything
After Joe Biden's withdrawal as the democratic presidential candidate, the US election campaign has entered a new phase. At "Maybrit Illner," the question is whether Biden's likely successor can heal the divided US society.
The bomb exploded last Sunday: Shortly after the end of the Republican Party convention, where Donald Trump was named challenger to Joe Biden's democratic presidential candidacy, Biden withdrew his candidacy. Harris is set to be chosen as the new democratic presidential candidate at a virtual Democratic Convention on August 1st, if everything goes well. Almost all important Democrats support her. Harris will face a heavy task. The question is, can she heal the divided society in the USA? On Thursday evening, the guests in the ZDF talkshow "Maybrit Illner" discuss the situation in the USA a few months before the presidential elections and the lesson that German politics should draw from it.
With Kamala Harris' candidacy, the Democrats have shed a burden, analyzes CNN reporter Frederik Pleitgen. Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race was planned by the Democrats, the journalist believes. "They have completely taken the wind out of the Republicans' sails," he says on Maybrit Illner. For Pleitgen, it is clear: Harris must be confirmed as the democratic presidential candidate on August 1st. He says: "I believe that everything is riding on her, that she really has better chances than Joe Biden."
Constance Chucholowski is happy about the decision of "her" Democrats. The German-American political scientist is a member of "Democrats abroad Germany," the overseas organization of US Democrats in Germany. Harris brought energy into the US election campaign that was missing in the last half year. "We saw how she mobilized young people, women, black women. Those are exactly the voter groups the Democrats need in this campaign. I have full confidence that we can also win."
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil of the SPD returned from the USA on a Wednesday. There, he held talks with politicians from the Democrats and Republicans. The relationship between the Biden-Harris administration and the German government has been very good, Heil says. He has great respect for Biden, who led the USA out of a harsh economic crisis. "Now he is serving his country again by making the race exciting and giving the Democrats a chance for a victory." A victory for Kamala Harris would have significant advantages for Europe: "In her entourage are people who clearly tick transatlantically. That's a clear difference compared to the Republicans," Heil says. Heil gives the Democrats a thumbs-up, but he is clear: "We also have to talk to more difficult partners, that's a responsibility."
Jens Spahn of the CDU also shares the same demand as he did at the Republican Party convention. He was present at the Republican Party's event. When asked whom he wishes to be the US President, he hesitates. He doesn't want to interfere, he says. That's their business. "I wish the USA a President or Presidentess capable of uniting the country. That's desperately needed." Trump might find that difficult, Spahn is clear about that. "He had announced a speech at the convention that was supposed to bring people together more. But he only partially carried it out." After Biden's withdrawal, Spahn wished for a few friendly words of thanks from the Republicans. "That's political culture among each other. And that's no longer there in the USA, not on both sides. And whether Kamala Harris is capable of uniting the country and not being too far left as a Democrat, we'll see in the coming weeks."
Before Harris is too far left, Spahn has no reason to be afraid. She is rather centrist, say the American guests who know. That's in addition to the Democrat Chucholowski and economist Adam Tooze from Columbia University. It's interesting to see how the economic policy in the USA might change, as Kamala Harris holds more entrepreneurially oriented positions within the Democratic Party, he says.
Despite the current Harris hype: Germany must also prepare itself for a possible victory of Donald Trump. He is not a civil politician, says Jens Spahn. "But we must look at our national interests and what the interests and priorities of a potential Trump foreign policy might be. And there are many points of contact."
More importantly, Germany could learn from the current situation of the divided population in the USA and the political dealings between Republicans and Democrats. "I learn from the development of polarization in the USA, which Jens Spahn rightly pointed out, that we in Germany must counteract this form of polarization," he says.
Democracy must be willing to compromise. "We must focus on our homework, that's clear. But we should never behave towards each other as Christians and Social Democrats in a competition, the way political competitors in the USA do, who demonize each other as political enemies."
Tooze adds: "It's a chilling example of what's happening to democracy in America. The polarization, the division, the really civil war-like rhetoric, should be a warning sign for all Democrats. We're talking about the United States, which for good historical reasons is seen as an anchor of democratic world. And it might be about everything. And even this uncertainty is deeply delegitimizing and destabilizing."
- During discussions on ZDF's "Maybrit Illner," German Labor Minister Hubertus Heil expressed his support for the United States Presidency Election 2024, praising both Joe Biden and potential successor Kamala Harris for their commitment to democratic values and economic policies.
- Hubertus Heil, noting the transatlantic leaning of Harris' entourage, suggested that a Democratic victory in the upcoming United States of America election could have significant advantages for European economic policy, particularly in terms of promoting entrepreneurial interests.
- Jens Spahn, a prominent member of Germany's Christian Democratic Union, acknowledged the importance of the US Presidency Election 2024 and stressed the need for compromise in politics, drawing lessons from the divisive nature of US politics and cautioning against the polarization evident in the United States of America's political landscape.
