Biden officially elected president: time to relax?
Joe Biden was formally elected as the next president of the United States by members of the electoral college on Monday. The following day, the Republican senate majority leader Mitch McConnell also congratulated Biden on his victory. Donald Trump, however, still refuses to recognise the election results. Commentators fear that the election battle is not yet over.
The war's not over yet
The fight for democracy has not been won yet, Polityka warns:
“In many states such as Michigan, armed right-wing militias are marching through the streets. Speaking on Fox News, the ultra-conservative lawyer and Trump supporter Lin Wood has made an appeal to stock up on 'second amendment supplies' pending Biden's presidency. What this euphemism means is: let's arm ourselves. The call can be interpreted as a response to the newly elected president's appeals for reconciliation across the divides. Trump and his people keep playing with fire. Democracy won a battle on Monday, 14 December, but the war is not over yet.”
House of Cards from screen to reality
For Pravda, the reason for the chaos of the last few weeks is clear:
“This imperfect and antiquated electoral system no longer fits in with the modern world. Pandora's box was opened a few years ago by the fictional president Frank Underwood from the famous series House of Cards. He was able to reverse election results using legal tricks - something that had been taboo for many until then and constituted fraud. If the Americans don't change their outdated system, the attacks on it will continue. ... Even now, it's still not over. ... The final verdict is not made public until 6 January, when Vice President Mike Pence opens the envelopes and counts the votes in a Congressional session. That count can also still be challenged. According to a law that dates back to the 19th century.”
The direction is not yet clear
Delo doubts the newly elected US president will be able to bring about ambitious changes in US politics and economics:
“The question is whether Biden is also aiming for civilizational achievements like Roosevelt's pension scheme and several other New Deal programmes. Or whether the America of the future will lose its entrepreneurial character, as it did under Jimmy Carter and in part under Barack Obama. And how will workers react who had the rug pulled out from under their feet by Bill Clinton's ill-conceived globalisation? 'Trumpism' will not simply disappear from American politics, and perhaps nor will Trump himself, who has said he will produce more evidence of electoral fraud.”