As an outsider (I live in Belgium) it feels very weird and dystopian to see everything happening in American politics with Trump and Musk.
On one side, it’s very interesting and almost entertaining; on the other side, it’s scary. I can’t imagine what it must be like to live in the USA.
Americans, how do you cope? What’s your take on the situation?
Still figuring out that coping part. Right now I have a daily anxiety spike early in the morning that wakes me up, so not going great currently.
I hope you guys can hold it together across the pond. I’ve heard that some of the same powers are turning their attention and money towards you guys now (or at least in Germany).
Yeah, Germany has its elections on Sunday. I’m anxiously awaiting those results, tbf. You’d think Germans know how well it went the last time the extreme right-wingers were in control, but you never know…
In Belgium, we had elections for the federal government in June and regional (Flanders, for me) government in October. Although the right wing gained a lot of votes, we were able to form a government without the extreme right. At the moment we still have a “cordon sanitaire”, look it up, I think it’s quite nice. The extreme right-wing party says it’s undemocratic, of course, but in this case I don’t mind. The formation took 236 days, tho, but that’s another story. We still hold the world record for longest period without a government (592 days in 2018-202, breaking our own record of 541 days in 2010-2011)
Hearing about your election makes me realize how little I know about how your system works. The idea you form a new government every time is very wild sounding to me, but also the horribly entrenched two parties we have is an absolute disaster at this point and I’d be curious to see basically anything else at this point!
Oh if you’re into politics, it’s very interesting to follow hahaha. It’s definitely not ideal, but better than a two party system for sure. Also not that difficult of a system, but for outsiders it can be a lot I think. I also struggle to fully understand the American system, with the value per state etc. Forming a new government is fun and exciting, plus it gives you some hope that a terrible minister will lose his function four years later
I’m definitely interested in other country’s politics. My own’s not so much since they’re insanely depressing feeling these days. 🫤
The american system is deeply flawed, so I don’t think you should try that hard to wrap your head around it honestly. Nothing to be learned except what to avoid 🫠