New Western alignments
The eyes of the world remain fixed on the United States and the developments of an increasingly unprecedented and disconcerting election campaign, leading up to the vote on November 5th. As suggested by various rumors, current President Joe Biden decided to concede and withdraw his candidacy from the electoral race on Sunday night. This is the first time such an event has occurred since 1968, though back then President Lyndon B. Johnson withdrew in March, not in July, just weeks before the Democratic convention in Chicago, which is expected to officially announce the candidate.
In the hours following Biden’s withdrawal announcement, attention shifted to Vice President Kamala Harris, chosen by the President as the potential Democratic Party candidate. Harris, who stated her intention to “earn the nomination,” faces the challenge of becoming well-known to the broader American public. Without a doubt, the current Vice President represents a bridge between the older, generally more moderate party members and the new generation, which is more progressive and focused on social equity and inclusion. At the moment, Harris is the only high-ranking Democrat to have officially presented her candidacy, receiving numerous endorsements from prominent party figures. A notable absence, however, is that of former President Barack Obama. Nevertheless, several analysts believe that the lack of support for Harris is not a sign of distrust but rather an expression of the desire to foster a democratic and transparent transition process to shield her candidacy from potential attacks.
With nearly 100 days until the November election, it seems certain that Harris will need to quickly identify a running mate. Among the possible vice-presidential candidates is Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer: if chosen as Harris’s Vice President, it would be the first all-female duo in history to run for the White House.
Despite all these changes, the tone of the campaign is not expected to change much. Trump will use the same arguments against Harris that he has used against Biden, such as inflation and immigration, and will attack Harris’s past liberal positions, including her 2020 support for Medicare for All, a policy that would eliminate private health insurance. It remains to be seen whether Trump will exploit the racial and gender differences that distinguish him from the current Vice President. Harris, on her part, will likely leverage her recently acquired advantage in the Democratic campaign, that of age, contrasting herself with the 78-year-old former President.
On the domestic front, institutional talks for Premier Meloni continue unabated. After receiving the elected President of the European Council, António Costa, on Monday and speaking by phone with the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, on Wednesday, Meloni welcomed the President of the State of Israel, Isaac Herzog, in Rome on Thursday. In all these meetings, the will of Italy to collaborate with international partners and vice versa prevailed. Central to the discussions were EU action priorities for the next institutional cycle, global crises and Italy’s role in addressing them, managing migration flows, defense cooperation, and promoting mutual investments. The last meeting, with President Herzog, was the most anticipated and delicate of the three, for obvious reasons. According to the official statement from Palazzo Chigi, President Meloni reiterated the Italian Government’s closeness to Israel and the firm condemnation of Hamas terrorism. Emphasizing the importance of reaching a ceasefire and releasing hostages as soon as possible, working towards a two-state solution, the Premier assured that Italy would continue to support U.S. mediation and provide assistance to the Palestinian civilian population through the “Food for Gaza” initiative. Herzog, for his part, repeatedly thanked Italy for the warm welcome, expressing appreciation for Meloni, whom he described as “a pioneering leader in Italy and Europe and a true and important friend of the State of Israel.” This visit certainly did not go unnoticed considering the recent “advisory opinion” of the International Court of Justice on the illegality of Israel’s ongoing presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the protests in Rome opposing the President’s visit.
