The historic rise could be Joe Biden's downfall ... Good times can be coming to an end

Wolfgang Hansson 

After the historic rise - this could be Biden's downfall 

Published: Less than 3 hours ago 

Updated: Less than 3 hours ago 

This is a commentary text. Analysis and positions are the writer's.

COLUMNISTS 

In the end, all free choices tend to boil down to one thing.Your own wallet. 

The US Fed's record rise in interest rates shows that the good times may be coming to an end. 

It could be the fall of President Joe Bidens and other leaders. 

The sharp rise in interest rates can be seen as a panic measure to overcome the suddenly galloping inflation. But it is far from certain that the operation will succeed. While the patient's world economy is recovering, a wet blanket is laid over the planet's economies. 

It will be more expensive for people to borrow at the same time as prices continue to rise for some time on electricity, petrol, food and other necessary goods. The cure may be necessary, but it will hit hard, especially low- and middle-income families in the United States and elsewhere in the world. 

The anger and dissatisfaction with the deterioration will affect the elected leaders who right now happen to be in power. 

In November, the United States goes to congressional elections. This means that the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate are re-elected. Today, the Democrats have a small majority in both chambers, but the economic deterioration will be the party's barrel. The election risks being a referendum on how Joe Biden behaved during his first two years in the White House. 

In recent weeks, his opinion figures have broken new records and for the first time ended up below 40 percent. Nearly 55 percent of Americans think he does a bad job.

In almost all general elections around the world, it is the economy that determines how people vote. Not least, people look at their own wallet. 

The United States is one of the western countries where inflation is highest. 8.6 percent in May. 

The Fed has sharply raised interest rates this year. Photo: Seth Wenig / AP 

Sits securely 

In a nation where the car is absolutely central to people's ability to get to work, petrol prices have risen by almost 50 percent. The cost of food and housing is skyrocketing, as are the interest costs of Americans' blankets, credit cards. 

Fed and other central bank interest rate hikes may bring inflation down in the long run, but it is based on the reality of today that people are voting. Many will want to punish Biden. 

Although inflation is particularly high in the United States, the situation is largely the same in almost the entire Western world and on other continents. 

All democratically elected leaders will have an extra tough time in the next few years. It is against them that people's anger will be directed even if the problems are global and mainly caused by a pandemic and a war in Ukraine that most leaders can do nothing about. 

France has just had a presidential election, so Emmanuel Macron is safe, but on Sunday the last round of parliamentary elections will be held, which will affect the opportunities he has to implement his policy over the next five years. 

After the first round, a left-wing coalition led by the radical Jean-Luc Melenchon seems to be able to set hooks for Macron. 

US President Joe Biden. Photo: Carolyn Kaster / AP 

Populists benefit 

Italy and Spain go to the polls next year. United Kingdom 2024. 

The chaos in the economy can lead to major political changes. 

A deteriorating economy could give populist parties fresh air under their wings. In Britain, Nigel Farage, the man who forced the Brexit vote with his dissatisfaction party, has started campaigning against the goal of reducing fossil emissions to zero. He thinks it costs too much and damages the economy. In a situation where the wallet becomes thinner, the risk increases that more and more people listen to voices like his. 

The economic downturn is not just hitting heads of government. In the USA, elections are being held this autumn for a number of important positions in the states that, among other things, control the election process. The nomination election shows that many of those who oversaw the 2020 election are fired by the voters and replaced by members who believe that cheating was behind Biden's election victory. 

In two years, there will be another presidential election in the United States. The financial situation makes it more difficult for Biden to be re-elected. Behind the scenes, a certain Donald Trump is stomping. If he is not prosecuted for his attempts to retain power despite losing the 2020 election, it is not impossible that he can be re-elected. 

Something that would further increase instability in the world. 

Then it is more than just the wallet that is affected.