Our deep ties to the US mean we too must celebrate the triumph of democracy

THE American president’s rank as Leader of The Free World harks back to the Cold War era, when the Soviet union cultivated its satellite states in the Eastern bloc.

In opposition to that totalitarian regime, the Western democratic countries became known as the Free World, with the president of the group’s lone superpower, the United States, taking on the title of Leader of the Free World, an informal term that persists to this day. As indeed does our fascination with an office that has come to symbolise vast and untrammelled power leveraged in service of the United States’ reputation as the custodian of Western democracy.

Nothing excites global interest in American politics more than the election of the US president, and the fierce multimillion-dollar campaigns in battleground states between the rivals.

The eyes of the world have been trained, in particular, on this presidential race because of the unique and unruly character of the incumbent, his wild claims about voter fraud and his threats to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, which is a cornerstone of democracy.

For us, there is another consideration: our deep connection with the United States, forged through the generations who left their homeland to share in the promise of the American dream.

From dispossessed tenant farmers to the starving, faminewracked masses of the 19th century, up to the brain drain of the recession-hit 1980s, when our graduates sought opportunities in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, America has been a safety valve for our nation.

On Saint Patrick’s Day we swap shamrock and bonhomie for access to the corridors of power while Washington becomes a sea of green and the president the toast of Irish America.

The Leader of the Free World may boast roots in the old sod that are strong, like Joe Biden or JFK before him. Or, his interest in this country may be businessrelated as is Donald Trump’s, with his exclusive golf resort in Doonbeg, Co. Clare.

It may be that a distant cousin must be rustled up, as was Henry Healy, to ground President Barack Obama in Ireland.

But whether their ties are tenuous or sentimental or genuine, we take great pride in welcoming American presidents here as one of our own.

The lesson from this week’s shenanigans, to borrow a word used by President Trump, is that in a democracy no one is above the ballot box. Not even the leader of the free world. It’s the ballot box, or the free vote, lawfully cast, that is the beating heart of democracy. It means that people have the power and it is by their will that Joe Biden has become president-elect and President Trump was defeated, even if by a narrow margin.

Despite the long count, the threats of legal action, the quarrels about the postal vote’s integrity, and the tension on the streets, this robust US election reminds us to take pride in our own democracy.

Whatever its flaws and complexities it also empowers people. Let the last word go to Winston Churchill who reflected in 1947: ‘It has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time…’