Last week there were celebrations for the 80thanniversary of the D-Day, the arrival of allied troops in Normandy on 6 June 1944, which marked the beginning of the last phase of World War 2. Far from being a rhetorical exercise, the celebrations were the catalyst for reflecting on some of the most pressing issues of the moment.
First and foremost, on D-Day we are celebrating the victory of democracy over authoritarianism; in that specific case, the Nazi-fascist dictatorships that were plaguing Europe. We have discussed in the past why we consider it to be absolutely essential that the US remains a liberal democracy, with an independent judiciary and a free press. Imagine if it had not been so in the 1930s: who would have come to the rescue of Europe? What would have happened then, in a world in which in the Soviet Union there was another form of authoritarianism, and with China about to see the birth of the Communist party?
For this reason, we consider the upcoming US Presidential elections a fundamental moment. The conviction of Donald Trump in his first trial (over hush money he paid during an election), a first for a former US President, marks a historical moment. During the trial, Trump was spared some of the measures that would have been adopted towards any other convicted defendant, given his repeated violations of Court orders. On July 11th, Trump may be spared jailtime, and be sentenced only with probation or a fine. So, Trump has already proven that not all citizens are the same in the US judicial system. If Trump manages to win the nomination of the Republican party and the presidential race in November, this would prove that a man is “above the law,” and this would mark the end of the US liberal democracy.
During the D-Day celebrations, it appeared – once again – how elderly Joe Biden is. However, Biden is old enough to remember WW2, and this gives him the conviction he has shown in fighting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In fact, during the celebration, the analogy was made between the fight against the Nazis with today’s fight against Russia’s imperialist plan. One cannot put Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Putin in the same basket, but the amount of unnecessary suffering that Russia in creating at the moment is reminiscent of the darkest periods in European history. This is the reason why French president Emmanuel Macron, at the forefront of the celebrations, confirmed that French “trainers” have been sent to Ukraine to help the country build a stronger army.
On this occasion, UK PM Rishi Sunak’s decision not to attend the celebration, to record a TV interview set to be broadcast next week, was a grave mistake, and not just from a historical perspective. A Tory minister said it was a big favour made to Reform, the party that is challenging the Conservatives from the right.
These celebrations are occurring during the same days that the European elections are being held. As we discussed last week, extremist right-wing parties are re-emerging in European and may gain seats in the next EU Parliament. It is now more important than ever to remember that, if we can have this kind of election (a pipe dream for generations of euro-philes), it is exactly because the US liberal democracy prevailed over the odious European dictatorships.
