(Washington) Joe Biden is at COP26 in Glasgow, but a whole part of his presidency is played out this week in the United States, between a crucial election in Virginia which foreshadows future political battles and the complex negotiations around his titanic plans to ‘investments.
The American president wanted to arrive at the international climate summit with two programs, thanks to which he intends to rebuild and transform America.
First, a plan to renovate the country’s dilapidated roads, bridges and transport. The $ 1.2 trillion envelope – the equivalent of Spain’s GDP – is backed by Democrats and some Republicans.
Its future has been linked to a second plan, a gigantic social and climatic component, called “Build Back Better” around which negotiations continue. The bill for this program has been cut in half to rally the most moderate Democrats, including the senator of a mining state, Joe Manchin.
But the latter again dampened hopes of a rapid passage of these projects on Monday by refusing to say whether he would support them, expressing his concerns about their impact on US public debt and inflation.
“Senator Manchin says he is ready to support a ‘Build Back Better’ plan that fights inflation, is fiscally responsible and will create jobs. The plan that the House is in the process of finalizing meets these criteria, ”retorted the spokesperson for the US executive, Jen Psaki.
This project includes in particular $ 555 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, what the White House has described as “the largest investment ever made to face the climate crisis.”
Joe Biden hoped to be able to come to the Glasgow rostrum with this check in hand, as a guarantee of America’s “return” to the international stage after four years of presidency Trump, which had caused astonishment by quitting the Paris accords on the climate.
But the plan won’t be put to a vote until Tuesday, at the earliest.
These intense negotiations, which do not excite the general public, also deprive Camp Biden of a major political victory, in time for a crucial election in Virginia on Tuesday.
General repetition
Voters in that state, neighboring the capital Washington, are being called to the polls to nominate their new governor, a ballot that looks like a dress rehearsal about a year before the U.S. midterm legislative elections.
The election pits Terry McAuliffe, 64, a politician backed by the Democratic president, against pro-Trump Republican Glenn Youngkin, ten years younger.
Sign of the importance of the ballot, Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and even Joe Biden in person have taken turns in recent days in the state with 8.5 million inhabitants.
Four of his last five governors were Democrats, and Joe Biden largely won the state over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
But in recent weeks, the lead of the candidate supported by the president has largely melted against his rival, and the contenders are now neck and neck.
Anxious to mobilize the Democratic electorate, Terry McAuliffe on Monday painted a gloomy picture around a potential victory for his rival.
“If Youngkin wins, Trumpism will gain ground and we can expect Youngkins to appear in every election race across the country next year,” when all of America will be called upon to vote in mid-election. -mandate, he alerted.
The Republican candidate is capitalizing on the popularity of former President Donald Trump, who retains enormous influence over this party and its voters, almost a year to the day after the 2020 election.
“Thanks for voting for Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday, he won’t let you down!” “, Urged the Republican billionaire in a statement Monday.
But it is also differences with the former tenant of the White House that could allow this candidate to win.
“Youngkin’s ‘daddy hen’ side speaks to undecided voters,” Mark Bayer, who worked in Congress for more than 20 years, told AFP. And this “despite the fact that its conservative ideology is deeply republican”.