Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted from his role last week. Eight Republicans joined with 208 Democrats to force the removal. Meanwhile, Europe looked at the affair with amazement, amusement, and much concern. Moreover though, this is likely a symptom of something bigger on the horizon.
On October 3, Kevin McCarthy was the first Speaker in US history to be voted out of office. The challenge to his leadership was led by eight Republicans who used a new House rule that allows anyone to bring forth a “motion to vacate.” Those Republicans had soured on McCarthy after he joined with Democrats to pass a bill that avoided a government shutdown. Meanwhile, other countries were concerned about the move. One German newspaper called it a symptom of a system “rotting from within.” A French scholar told the Brookings Institute that America’s problems stoke fear in Europe because Europe is so dependent upon the US for its security, and because what happens in American eventually happens in Europe.
In World Leadership, I call this type of behavior dysfunction. This is a self-inflicted wound that allows the House to be hijacked by a small minority of legislators who have no one’s interest at heart but their own. It is enabled by a portion of the US electorate that has somehow become convinced that tearing down the government (“clearing the swamp”) is a good idea. It promotes disaffection with democracy and the rule-of-law. This disaffection, however, promotes change. This change can be a retrograde to autocracy or the start of an openness for something new— perhaps a push forward to a new governance basis. These times are eerily reminiscent of England in the first half of the 17th century, when frustration with the royal system eventually led to the birth of the nation-state.
The Open Society Foundation conducted a worldwide survey of 36,000 people and found that only slightly more than half thought democracy was preferable to other forms of government. One-third of those between 18 and 35 said they would support a strongman who would do away with elections and assemblies. With democracy on trial, the primary question becomes which nations will move forward and which will move backward. One can hope that those that don’t move at least avoid self-inflicted wounds.
Source:
Ishaan Tharoor, “Disarray in Congress Stokes Concerns over Viability of US Model of Democracy,” Washington Post, 8 October 2023, A20; see also https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/06/us-congress-global-europe-analysts-failure-dysfunction/
Moira Warburton, Richard Cowan, David Morgan, “Kevin McCarthy Ousted as House Speaker in Historic Vote,” Reuters, 4 October 2023; accessed from https://www.reuters.com/world/us/mccarthy-says-he-thinks-he-will-survive-leadership-challenge-us-house-2023-10-03/
Michael Macagnone, “Some House Republicans Demand Rule Change to Prevent Another Speaker Ouster,” Roll Call, 5 October 2023; accessed from https://rollcall.com/2023/10/05/some-house-republicans-demand-rule-change-to-prevent-another-speaker-ouster/
Photo: Greg Nash (The Hill)
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