Donald Trump’s win in the American presidential election came about because he succeeded in uniting behind him those who were considered the losers in the globalisation and huge structural changes that the US economy has been through. These consisted mainly of people who ended up jobless, or with jobs that provided them with less opportunities to enjoy the good life than they had been used to.
Trump now faces the challenge of satisfying the aspirations of the millions who saw him as their saviour. He did not make many precise pledges during the campaign but certainly gave rise to a wide expectation that he would radically reverse direction.
He could actually decide to proceed on these lines but as a President he will have also to examine the consequences of his actions. Not all of them will be bright. And he will be surrounded by many people who will tell him how dark they are.
One will be “curious” in the coming months to see how Trump will be solving his approaching dilemmas.
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European shivers
The result of the American election left Europe shivering badly, at least in political terms. Not simply for the following reasons: the outcome was unexpected; a majority of European leaders were pro-Clinton; the policies of the President-elect will trigger major controversies in leading sectors.
More than that, Trump’s triumph is giving new and greater courage to the political “movements” of right and left which are considered “extremist” or “populist” as they wage war against the “established” and traditional parties. Already in recent years, they have achieved a good momentum.
Among the countries concerned by this, you’ll find Holland, France, Austria, Demark, Italy, Germany... In a press statement, Gianni Pittella, leader of the socialist and democratic group in the European Parliament deplored the spread of a “virus”.
Some will disagree with the word he used to describe what is happening. But all will have to agree that no matter what the nature of the phenomenon is, it is spreading.
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Price of petrol
Let’s make a point that will find no partisans but it’s worth making.
The Nationalist Opposition plus others criticise the government because in their view, it has kept energy prices too high, even as the international price of oil plummeted. Petrol prices are most in their focus.
Meanwhile, controversies about transport are rife, with claims galore about how our roads are not keeping up with traffic, especially that of private vehicles.
In such a context, measures which are generally comtemplated usually include proposals designed to curb private traffic. A factor that contributes to this aim would be the price of petrol. The higher it remains, the less the incentive for car owners to get on the road.
One then discovers that the same people who criticise the government for not controlling traffic volumes, are also criticising it for failing to reduce the price of petrol.