How will the world remember Biden?
Next week, US President Joe Biden will hand over the office of president of the United States to Donald Trump. In his final address to the nation, he warned that "an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy." Commentators take stock of his four years in office.
Not a word about his own mistakes
Biden's speech was devoid of self-criticism, Berlingske notes:
“Joe Biden moved sharply to the left in the battle of values after his 2020 election victory instead of building bridges with the centre. He liberalised immigration rules, allowing immigration to the US to spiral out of control, and sided with the most left-wing elements in his party on a series of symbolic identity politics issues. With these fundamental mistakes, Biden destroyed his chances of creating a bulwark against Trump. Yet there was no sign of self-reflection in his final speech. While he sensibly warned against the power of tech giants, he did not say a word about his own biggest flaws.”
You are members of the oligarchy, too!
When Biden warned about the power of the rich in the US he should have included himself in that group, comments taz:
“If Biden was really being honest, he should have acknowledged the extent to which the influence of the rich on the powerful is already shaping the American system. And how complicit the Democrats are in this. ... Oligarchy is not a problem of individuals, but a system of rule. Oligarchy is when you play the game of obscene campaign financing by large lobby groups (Super PACs). Oligarchy is when you rail against Trump's tax breaks for the rich but haven't bothered to reverse them in the past four years. Oligarchy, dear Democrats, that's you too.”
Dictators had little to fear
The US president was too hesitant in international affairs, says The Times:
“Mr Biden was squeamish about taking on dictatorships. He failed to force a nuclear deal on Iran which in its growing isolation following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria is inching closer to an atom bomb. ... His administration did nothing also to rein in North Korea's expanding nuclear arsenal. And his criticism of Saudi Arabia for the murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi was short-lived. ... If the Israeli hostages held by Hamas are released in the next few days Mr Biden will try to claim credit. His foreign policy epitaph has already been written, however: on his watch dictators had a little less to fear.”
The wrong priorities
The current administration was wrong to reject Trump's foreign policy, writes the pro-government daily Mandiner:
“Even liberal geopolitical analysts have not denied that the Trump administration achieved significant successes in foreign policy between 2016 and 2020. So the Biden administration's different approach and priorities in this area risked squandering the fruits of the previous four years and falling short of the high goals it had set for itself based on lofty principles. ... Biden's Department of State has made both these mistakes.”
Inflation persists despite growth
Biden is passing on a flourishing economy, but also unresolved problems, L'Echo concludes:
“At the end of his mandate, he deserves credit for a robust US economy with high growth and low unemployment. In particular his Inflation Reduction Act, a massive programme of investments in infrastructure and the energy transition, has proven to be a success. However, good labour market statistics and a glowing GDP cannot hide two major flaws. Firstly, the US deficit remains abysmal. Above all, however, inflation remains high. ... The rise in the cost of living is a burden on the middle class, without the boss in the White House seeming to have actually grasped the scale of the problem.”