Alexandros Kostopoulos, Secretary General of the Hellenic American Chamber, describes this year's US elections as the culmination of polarisation and toxicity.
Speaking to BnB Daily, he points out that the debate is based on insulting characterizations, exaggerations or things that are not entirely true and that fanaticize citizens. At the same time, however, he stresses that America's power reserves are extremely important, as their ability to create new technologies is unique. In this very context, he believes that they will eventually be able to find a way to cope with the polarisation that has been created and obviously find their stride.
What is your assessment of the presidential race? How are the correlations of forces at the moment? Do you see them reversing?
The US at the time of the presidential election is a special, unique destination for both those involved in political science and those involved in politics in general, but also for those involved in economics and business. This year's election, as it is being heard and discussed in the global sphere, is extremely special. I think it is the culmination of the polarisation and toxicity that we have seen unfolding in recent years on the other side of the Atlantic and on our side of the Atlantic in Europe. Unfortunately, I think that it is not necessarily the most extreme voices that are playing a leading role, but certainly those who are making the most noise. The debates have not focused on addressing the really gigantic problems that we face around the world and that one would expect a superpower, such as the United States, to have something to say in this area. So in terms of the climate, I can tell you that it is extremely polarised. I would say, in some cases, extremely toxic.
What are the characteristics of political dialogue, apart from toxicity? What is it that dominates the dialogue?
I think, unfortunately, the recriminations. The political competition in the US is extremely different from ours, and I would say extremely different at European level as well. It has always been; it was much more dynamic, much tougher in some cases, but it had some ideological and value-based footholds. I think that has now completely gone. Unfortunately, what we call misinformation has prevailed: misinformation. Things are said that are not, unfortunately, based on concrete, substantiated facts, and a large part of the public does not seem to be reacting to this situation. This gives more fuel to this fire, so that the debate is based on, unfortunately, offensive characterisations, on exaggerations or things that are not entirely true and which fanaticise people and stir them up. Some people, not all, to be honest. This is what we see in Europe in many cases: what we call extreme, excessive populism, which unfortunately drags the masses down, drags the voters down, and ultimately corrupts democracy itself. We are hearing things that are blatant, and, to be honest, we are hearing things from both sides. However much one wants to move with more seriousness and common sense, inevitably, when they get into this dance, both sides will have to dance.
There are issues, for example, of the economy, immigration, and the wars that are going on in the world right now, and in one way or another the US is involved. Issues involving the economic tug-of-war with China. Are there clear proposals on all these issues?
Before I answer that, in order to answer it properly, I have to take an absolute view of who exactly America is. America is not what we see from Greece or what we see when we visit America. It is not New York, nor Boston, nor Chicago, nor Washington, DC. It's not Los Angeles; it's not the coasts and megacities we see, and it's certainly not what we see in movies and TV shows. It is a huge country made up of very, very different people and very, very different micro-societies, some of which are much larger than many European countries. They know very fragmentarily about China; they know fragmentarily about the geopolitical fluidity in our own neighbourhood, whether it's the Middle East, whether it's Eurasia, whether it's Southeast Europe. On migration, they see some headlines and some striking images, which really raise clear concerns and possibly reactions. But that is not the whole picture. I would say that the biggest problem is not only that there are no clear, unambiguous, well-founded serious positions on all these issues, but also that the market, society, and the voters there—many of these issues do not touch them—are extremely distant from them.
Is there an integrated approach to these problems?
It's not just the presidential elections; it's in other offices as well. Some people emerge, some are eventually elected without the knowledge, positions or even the skills to deal with this complex system of challenges and crises, perhaps even opportunities, that exist in the world right now... Unfortunately, I have not seen them. I have seen it, yes, in some cases like immigration, because it affects them significantly. But, unfortunately, it is often approached very superficially and without some kind of integrated and strategic dimension, in terms of how we manage the needs that the United States has for immigrants and, respectively, how we can ensure that there is "so much" in terms of human standards, in terms of justice, in terms of security. I have not seen a comprehensive approach—if you like to look at concerns that we in Europe are also facing—which unfortunately gives a lot of fuel to populism and misinformation. Beyond that, things that are a priority for us—geopolitics, the global economy, the climate crisis—are, in many cases, unfortunately, not on the agenda.
Give us an assessment of America's place in the world right now. Is it in a state of concerted folding?
Troubled because the primacy and the great influence it has had in the world so far are beginning to be threatened? With all due respect to extremely enlightened people who have written, studied, and talked about this notorious decline of the American empire or the shrinking of its power, I think ultimately we see that in one way or another America's reserves of power are extremely important. Its economy in one way or another, for one reason or another, is still stronger, its GDP is in God, its ability to create new technologies in innovation is unique, its companies are super-strong, and in some data I've been reading recently, even the position of the average American is extremely enhanced, particularly relative to other countries in the so-called Western world, but also to markets, such as in Asia, where we've had tremendous momentum in growth in recent years.
