Giving up costs money. And a lot. You do not necessarily have to occupy a position of power or a position of great importance. Sometimes even giving up an established work habit or a hard-earned position can be very difficult. Therefore, every time a prominent public figure decides to take a step back or take a leave of absence, he immediately gains the sympathy and esteem of the public. We experienced it strikingly on February 11, 2013, with the historic resignation of Benedict XVI from the Petrine ministry.
We see it – although in a different area – with the same clarity in the last 24 hours, after the President of the United States, Joe Biden, announced that he would give up running for a second term in the White House, leaving it in the hands of his party the election of a new candidate to challenge Donald Trump (Biden, however, has already indicated Vice President Kamala Harris as his preference to succeed him in the Oval Office).
As is well known, the decision had been in the air for some time, and many prominent members of the Democratic Party had urged Biden to give up his re-election bid. However, the ultimate decision fell to the tenant of the White House, and, therefore, the decision, very personal and certainly not easy, not to run for another four years as president must be attributed to him.
A noble choice, which – as several observers have pointed out – places the good of the country above his interests. And this goes beyond the political evaluations of his presidency, which is now coming to an end. In 1999, Nelson Mandela made a similar – and in some ways even stronger and more evocative – choice when he gave up running for a second presidential term and retired from public life.
He had defeated apartheid, and had begun the reconciliation of his beloved South Africa. Now was the time to leave to others the harvest of the seeds that had cost him 27 years in prison.
The time of politics can also be very fruitful in short periods: Joe Biden “only” has six months left before taking over, on January 20, 2025. By not having, and having to make decisions exclusively with a view to the electoral campaign, it is to be hoped that the American president will present bold and creative new initiatives to achieve those objectives that will define his legacy in history, especially in foreign policy, starting with the end of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
