Biden and a better-than-expected result

Joe Biden will leave an important mark on the American political landscape even if he chooses not to run for a second term in 2024, when he’ll be 82 years old.

In terms of the international image of the world’s most powerful nation, his win over Donald Trump in the 2020 elections put the brakes on a dangerous ideological and institutional spiral.

And now, on the domestic front, with the results of the midterm elections almost all out – and despite his personal weaknesses and the economic distress caused by high inflation – Biden and his party managed to defeat the voices challenging the democratic rules and institutions, which culminated with the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Many of the Republican candidates who questioned the 2020 election results and dealt such a blow to the country’s status were defeated.

The Democrats scored a historic victory that goes against the tide of tradition. They maintained their majority in the Senate and will possibly even increase it by one seat, once the result from the runoff in the state of Georgia comes in on December 6. This was cemented by the re-election of the Democratic senator of Nevada, a crucial state, over her Republican challenger who was backed by Trump and was a 2020 election denier.

Control of the Senate is enormously important not just in terms of its legislative work, but also for its role in confirming Supreme Court judges and other high-ranking officials. This means that Biden’s picks will go through, as the Republicans will lack the institutional mechanism to block them.

In the meantime, the Democrats also achieved an impressive result in the House of Representatives, by dramatically curbing the losses the party that controls the executive power customarily sees in the midterms.

Initial expectations for an overwhelming win fell short; with a majority of 218 seats required to gain control of the House, all indications right now (as votes are still being counted in some districts) are that the Republicans will just manage to possibly secure 219 seats against the Democrats’ 216. Definitely not a “red wave.”

This success is also being attributed to Joe Biden, who, despite the obvious signs of fatigue resulting from his age, won the presidency with ease in 2020 and led his party to an unexpectedly good result in 2022.