A few hours separate the world from knowing who will win the US elections and be the resident of the White House during the next four years, and on what basis the US approach will be regarding its relations with its neighboring countries and its foreign policies.
Although the foreign policy file is not at the forefront of the American political scene in the discussions between the presidential candidates in light of internal flare-ups as a result of a number of crises, chiefly COVID-19, it remains one of the most important questions raised in Egypt during this period.
In a symposium held by MSA University on Monday, October 2nd, to answer this question, a number of politicians and diplomats discussed possible scenarios for the US elections, according to Akhbar Alyoum newspaper.
The attendees agreed that Egypt in the end will be able to handle the results whatever they are.
US Elections Results Unpredictable
Ambassador Hassan Haridi stressed that the outcome of the US elections expected to take place today, Tuesday, cannot be predicted for several reasons.
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Ambassador Hassan Haridi[/caption]
First, relying on opinion polls, although it has improved significantly this year over the polls that were conducted during 2016, they do not conclusively clarify the reality of the situation, but rather help to analyze the political scene.
He added that the main grassroots of the incumbent US president, Donald Trump, was, and still is, the so-called uneducated white citizens, about 40% of Trump's voters in 2016. They are the same ones who were not be noticed by any of the pollsters before.
Haridi asserted that until this moment, it is not known how many Republican members will go to the polls to cast their votes in the elections, and therefore there is nothing to be certain about the outcome.
Egypt's political experience
The former assistant foreign minister bet on Egypt's political experience and its previous relationship with the United States of America.
I disagree with the views that the Egyptian-Washington relationship will not be affected based on the election results, but at the same time, I bet on Egypt's experience in this file,” Haridi noted.
Election scenarios
Haridi said that the first scenario, from a viewpoint, is Trump's victory, and thus the situation remains largely as it is, given that many changes are taking place in the Middle East due to the normalization agreements currently taking place in the region.
As for the second scenario, Joe Biden wins, and the Democratic majority takes control of the House and Senate.
The third scenario is that Trump wins with a Democratic majority in the Senate. Thus the White House policy does not agree with Congress.
The former diplomat also suggested that the coming period of relations between Egypt and Washington would witness a tug of war, stressing that the golden period in relations between the two countries during the presence of Sadat and Carter in power is difficult to repeat.
Strategic relationships
Former Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr agreed with Haridi that it is difficult to predict the outcome of the US elections, saying: “It is difficult to predict the outcome of the elections despite the winning scenarios and the popularity of Joe Biden.”
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Ambassador Mohamed Kamel Amr[/caption]
But he disagreed that Egypt's relationship with Washington would not be affected by the results of the US elections, describing the relations between the two countries as “strategic”.
Therefore Cairo-Washington would not be affected much by the results of the presidential elections, whatever they were.
Amr stressed that Egypt was able in all circumstances to deal with any president who had ever reached the White House.
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