Opinion: The pre-Trump world won't come back
When it comes to politics, most Europeans believe that the difference between the United States and Europe is similar to the difference between European and American football. Like American football, American democracy is an insider's game. Its electoral system, in which the candidate who loses the popular vote can easily win the White House, probably makes a lot of sense to Americans but not to anyone else. But regardless of the differences, some of the lessons of the American elections are very relevant for Europe.
In his 1972 play Jumpers, the British playwright Tom Stoppard waggishly suggested, "It's not the voting that's democracy, it's the counting." This year's US election has proved him right.
Democracy is in its essence a sуstem where the loser, by accepting defeat, legitimizes an election's outcome. US President Donald Trump's attacks on the fairness of the election not only damage America's reputation but are likely an omen about what is to come - a proliferation of contested elections not only in, but outside of the United States.
Democracy does not guard against division
For political partisans in divided states, the most existential threat for democracy is not the breaking of established rules but the victory of the other party. And many are growing more prepared to burn the house down in order to prevent the other side from coming to power. In such an environment, impartial institutions like courts, central banks, or the free media are at risk of becoming politically weaponized.
The US election also warns us that the shock and losses caused by the coronavirus crisis even in societies most devastated by the pandemic are more likely to intensify existing divisions than to bring more national unity and collective purpose. An Associated Press analysis revealed that in 376 counties with the highest number of new cases per capita, the overwhelming majority — 93% of those counties — went for Trump.
https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-the-pre-trump-world-wont-come-back/a-55528214
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