THE ROADMAP TEAM TRUMP HAS DRAWN FOR ITSELF

Some of Trump's domestic and external agendas will clash with entrenched ideas and interests. His ability to navigate them will depend on the quality and loyalty of his team

- P S RAGHAVAN

The re-election of Donald Trump as president has been rightly described as one of the greatest comebacks in American political history. Trump overcame a campaign demonizing him as a fascist, xenophobe, misogynist and convicted felon. Equally telling is the fact that, after a divisive campaign, he is probably securing a majority of the popular vote. Trump's victory, bolstered by the likelihood of Republicans retaking the Senate and retaining the House of Representatives, gives him a solid mandate to pursue the conservative agenda that emerged in his campaign speeches, but is more cogently expressed in policy documents drafted by his close advisors, Project 2025 among them.

The US results rhyme with trends that have been evident in Europe in recent years, where increasing proportions of the population, unhappy about the economic and social directions in which liberal policies are taking them, are voting for parties that mainstream groups ostracize as far right and fascist. The emergence of the new Trumpian Republican ideology could influence attitudes in Europe, tempering some of the undemocratic methods that have been used to keep such parties out of governance.

The Trump agenda includes unrestrained exploitation of America's fossil fuel, bringing more industries back to the US, and creating millions of jobs in the de-industrialized parts of the country, and driving fuel prices down. It includes steep tariff increases—both to induce trade partners to reduce their tariffs and to encourage industry to set up in the US and substitute imports. Tax cuts as an incentive to business has been a consistent Trump mantra.

Sequencing these measures to ensure that inflation does not balloon, wild price fluctuations and supply chain disruptions do not occur, and the fiscal deficit does not continue to rise steeply would be a major challenge. There is, as yet, no indication how this would be done.