After the shock of the U.S. Congress, Washington, the capital, has regained superficial calm, while the farce of the election is far from over. Less than half a month before the new president was sworn in, calls for Trump to step down early are endless.
At the same time, European allies across the Atlantic have also condemned the riot, and the image of the United States as a “democracy beacon” is becoming dim.
Martin Jacques, a well-known British scholar, pointed out that the events in Parliament reflect the long-term division and decline of the United States. The political chaos in the United States is frozen three feet, not a day’s cold. This crisis has a long history and is far from over.
△The title of the French newspaper Figaro: “Democracy collapses”
The collapse of the “democracy beacon” in the United States
In the past two days, European leaders have made intensive efforts to express their disappointment with “American democracy” in addition to condemning the impact on the U.S. Congress.
British Prime Minister Johnson said at a press conference that it was totally wrong to encourage people to seize Parliament and constantly question the results of free and fair elections, and to condemn such shameful acts without reservation.
German Chancellor Merkel expressed shock and called on the United States to achieve a peaceful and orderly transfer of power.
French President Macron said in English in his speech, “What happened in Washington is not the United States.”
In Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Bachelet issued a special statement. She said that the shock of the U.S. Congress is deeply disturbing, which shows the destructive impact of political leaders’ continued deliberate distortion of facts and incitement to violence and hatred.
Congress, which symbolizes the American system, has been hit and has caused heated discussion on social media. Many netizens said that the image of the United States, which claims to be the “beacon of democracy” of the world, has been greatly damaged, and it may be difficult to impose its own standards on other countries in the future.
Netizens: World leaders are asking, “American democracy” has been attacked, how can the United States flaunt democracy in front of other countries in the future? How to punish the so-called “undemocratic country”? All of this has become so hypocritical.
Netizens: Is this what they call, the United States is the “model of democracy” of third world countries?
Netizen: The United States can’t even manage its own backyard, so don’t say that they want to help other countries maintain so-called democracy.
Last May, the death of African-American George Freud triggered a wave of protests that spread across the United States. At that time, the intensification of racial contradictions in the United States illuminated the “dark corners of American democracy”.
Now on the eve of the presidential transfer of power, the events in the U.S. Congress continue to ferment, highlighting the polarization of American politics and social division. This election-induced riot makes the so-called “American democracy” so fragile and vulnerable.
European media have sighed one after another, what happened to the so-called “benchmark of world democracy”?
△ Screenshot of British Guardian review: American democracy is in danger
Martin. Jacques: The American crisis has a long history and is far from over.
Martin Jacques, a well-known British scholar and a senior researcher at Cambridge University, gave the answer. In an interview with the station reporter, he pointed out that the current chaos in American society stems from long-standing social contradictions, and the deep reason behind them is the decline of the United States.
Over the past four decades, the living standards of half of the American population have been declining or stagnating. Today, inequality in American society has returned to the level of the Great Depression in the 1930s. In fact, many people’s American dream is over.
Martin Jacques pointed out that American society was divided, the polarization was seriously divided, and the government system was paralyzed. Washington faces the worst political crisis since the American Civil War.
He said that the political turmoil in the United States is far from over, and its consequences will become more and more obvious. The division and confusion of American society will greatly reduce the world influence of the United States. Biden will undoubtedly face greater challenges after taking office as President of the United States.
