Royal blue tailored suit, “Italian style” cut, Joe Biden displayed the confident if somewhat frail expression of a man sure of his leadership in Europe at the end of June. And, of course, played the role of the family man of a Western camp that had gathered in the Bavarian Alps, then in Madrid on the occasion of a G7 summit followed by a NATO summit. He guaranteed the family’s unity and resolve in the face of the dirty war that Vladimir Putin is waging in Ukraine. But no sooner was he back home in Washington than he received another heavy hit from the Supreme Court and resumed his inner suit—that of a loser.
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A quiet and effective Joe Biden on the international stage and at the helm of a transatlantic coalition fueled by Russian warmongering; but a Joe Biden unable at home to stem the rise of a Christian far right with strong theocratic tendencies. The Democratic president is roaring over distressed domestic news a few weeks before the general election, which is looking pretty bad for his party. Poll in the form of a sad omen: 71 percent of Americans do not want him to run again in November 2024 – 61 percent reject a possible candidacy of Republican Donald Trump.
A “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine
The not new question of the inner-foreign dialectic arises: How does Biden’s domestic weakness affect his foreign policy? Timing is important. The President must maintain Congress’ support as the war in Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, enters a second phase and will weigh on Americans’ daily lives in the coming winter: an explosion in the prices of hydrocarbons and everyday groceries at the supermarket.
In opulent Bavaria, Biden spoke little but firmly to attendees at the summit of the seven oldest developed economies. Russian aggression in Ukraine must be contained, even if it will take time. In the wake of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the G7 are committed to a “Marshall Plan” to rebuild Ukraine as soon as peace has returned – a matter for several generations (Kyiv speaks of a sum of 750 billion dollars! 736 billion euros).
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Two days later, in Madrid, the 28 of the Atlantic Alliance rediscovered a goal: to block Russian revanchism. They welcomed two new members, Finland and Sweden, two former “neutrals” who converted to NATO, fear as Putin inspires with his barbaric brutality on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The Allies recorded the return of the United States to Europe: 120,000 men today, for fewer than 30,000 recently. They announced the strengthening of their device in Poland, the Baltic States, Spain and Italy. They condemned Xi Jinping’s bias against China in favor of Putin’s war.
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