US President Joe Biden today assessed that democracy needs “champions”, including the United States, today opening the online summit attended by one hundred countries, the selection of which has caused much debate.
Democracy in the world needs “champions” to face “significant and troubling challenges,” the White House said in a statement, adding that there were banners specially prepared for the occasion that read “Summit for Democracy” and had a logo in blue, orange and white.
The 46th US president acknowledged that the United States itself must “fight relentlessly to live up to its democratic ideals” and agreed that none of the states invited to the summit was “perfect.”
Biden, however, called on states to engage in efforts against “authoritarian regimes” that “justify their practices and repressive policies as the most effective means of meeting the challenges of the moment” leading some to question the ability of democratic governments to take care of their citizens.
The event, which was organized online in Washington due to the Covid-19 pandemic, should theoretically be repeated in real time.
The summit is attended by representatives of hundreds of governments, NGOs, companies and charities, but the guest list has sparked tensions.
China and Russia have condemned the blockade.
The fact that the United States is empowered to define “which is a ‘democratic country’ and which does not qualify for that capacity ‘shows a’ Cold War mentality, ‘” Russian and Chinese ambassadors Anatoly Antonov wrote in a joint article in late November. and Qin Gang.
Taiwan’s invitation sparked Beijing month, which sees the island as a Chinese province even if it does not control it.
The summit is taking place at a time of great tension between the United States and China, but also between the United States and Russia.
Washington announced Monday that it will not send any diplomatic representatives to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. In the US, Australia, Britain and Canada were added.
As for Russia, Joe Biden is stepping up warnings against Vladimir Putin, and hopes to prevent an attack on Ukraine by threatening heavy economic sanctions.
– “Bad idea” –
The list of countries invited or excluded was discussed.
Pakistan, the Philippines, led by far-right President Zaih Bolsonaru’s Brazil, have been invited, but not Hungary, a member of the European Union where a nationalist government is in power, or even Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Erdogan’s Turkey’s Erdogan NATO.
The summit comes at a time when the United States is going through an unprecedented political crisis, with former President Donald Trump and his conservative allies continuing to denounce, without evidence, electoral fraud that Trump claims has lost. the November 2020 elections.
The violent attack by Trump supporters on Congress on January 6 shocked the American republic and the country is still shaken by divisions despite the “unifying” stance of the president.
Joe Biden has to face the by-elections in a year, which are traditionally not in favor of the ruling party. These elections could also, in the event of a Republican victory, push Donald Trump to run for a new term in 2024.
For Bruce Gendlesson, a professor of political science at Duke University, this summit is “a bad idea,” causing tensions without making much progress.
“We have bigger problems than any other Western democracy,” he said. “Congress has been attacked, it has been a coup attempt.
“If we want to compete, we have to do our best, and it is really up to us to do it in our country instead of gathering a hundred leaders to say, ‘We love democracy,'” he said.
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