Bernie Sanders' retirement

Bernie Sanders' farewell to the race for the White House represents a resounding failure of the left in the United States and clears the way for the campaign to turn to the center from now on. The exceptional situation caused by the coronavirus crisis and the clear lead previously achieved by Joe Biden in the Democratic primary have forced the quasi-socialist veteran to say goodbye to the presidency. He joins Elizabeth Warren in her failure, the other alternative proposed by the so-called new left or new progressivism, which has been largely rejected by the compromised Democrats, many of whom brought Barack Obama to power more than a decade ago. So the change was both timely and inspiring for American society. Today, Sanders' and Warren's ideas have been valued as outdated and impoverishing for Americans. 

The difference between the two failures, however, is remarkable. While Warren incorporated some approaches that encouraged the participation of civil society, the fight against climate change and a more open and innovative vision of international relations, Sanders has gloated over trying to convert American society to a late-socialism that has no place in the United States. He has also sought out the political resources of the past in foreign policy, when American leadership needs, now more than ever, a renewed impetus and intense clarification of objectives and a strengthening of traditional alliances, including, as a priority, the European and Atlantic alliances.   

The shift to the centre in the American electoral debate is more than beneficial, given the impact of the COVID-19 and the extraordinary consequences it will have at home and in the global economy. Congress had already begun the path of bipartisan consensus to approve the first shock measures in the face of the crisis. Now, Joe Biden is in a position to act as a statesman from the opposition while continuing to question the uncertainties added by President Trump in the management of the pandemic. It is too early to evaluate the situation today from an electoral point of view because, although some polls reflect an increase in support for the president at this time of exceptional concern, Sanders' withdrawal could give Biden the impetus to bring together part of the more focused Republican Party vote and lead the change and definitive end to the unbearable polarisation.