The US president faces a serious defeat.
(Photo: AP)
Washington US President Joe Biden negotiated in person on Capitol Hill until late on Friday evening. Actually, he had wanted to celebrate a victory at the end of this week: After a long struggle, Congress was supposed to decide on a 1.2 trillion infrastructure reform. But once again a decisive vote was postponed.
Nobody knows when and if it will be scheduled again. At best, the postponement is an embarrassing delay for Biden. But at worst, the chaos in Congress is the death knell for its economic agenda.
Many US citizens are disaffected and frustrated with Washington – and the tussle over the infrastructure package shows why this is so. Because investments in bridges, roads, the Internet and modern production are not only urgently overdue, but they are supported in almost all population groups and industrial sectors. But in the struggle for the trillions, it sometimes seems that common sense hardly counts. Instead, an exhibition battle is raging in the power center of the USA, which rightly unsettles the economy and voters.
After all, it is Biden’s own party that is throwing the president’s mind off the bill. The Democrats cannot get their rival wings under control: the left-wing camp will only guarantee approval for the infrastructure package if Congress passes a budget package for climate, social affairs and education costing 3.5 trillion at the same time – partly financed through higher taxes . Moderate Democrats want to reduce this amount significantly, both wings are blocking each other.
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The fact that both sides are fighting their differences to the brink of the abyss is also due to Biden himself. He may have promised his party and the country too much: The president wanted a lot of money for transport and electricity networks, social programs, education and families. He pushed for redistribution, thereby securing support from the left. At the same time, however, he promised to rule by consensus. Biden wanted to be a president who spoke to the center and could reconcile political enemies for the cause.
For the moment, Biden has failed. The US is polarized more than ever: the Republicans are radicalizing and would even risk national bankruptcy in October to show off the Democrats. But even the Democrats are not free from the addiction to exhibition fights. At times, their debates are more like activism than politics. The price is high. In the end, they could irreparably damage Biden – and with it, themselves.
More: Two trillion difference – that’s what the dispute over Biden’s investments is about