The new speaker: milk face or devil? Frenchman escaped from prison by helicopter – now he has been convicted again

After three attempts and much embarrassment, the representatives of the Grand Old Party (GOP) have chosen their chairman, their leader in the House of Representatives. This is similar to our National Council President, only the job is much more important. The president can decide which laws get voted on, who can sit on which committees – and he or she is the third person in line for the office of president.

The office of President is therefore usually reserved for experienced and respected representatives, politicians who know the extremely complex machine of the US Congress inside and out, who know which buttons to press to pass a law and who control it whether you have a highly professional staff.

Republicans have now elected Mike Johnson, a 51-year-old representative from the southern state of Louisiana who has only been in Congress since 2016. Mike who?, even politically savvy insiders wonder. Even his own party members did not know him yet. Kay Granger, a representative from Texas, mistook him for Mike Rogers, his colleague Paul Gosar addressed him in his congratulatory speech as Jim Johnson and Senator Susan Collins admitted that she had to Google the name first.

Probably the most accurate description of Mike Johnson was given by comedian Jimmy Kimmel: “He looks like a kid who dressed up as a deputy sheriff for Halloween.”

Johnson looks even younger than his actual age and is considered affable. These qualities – and, paradoxically, the fact that he has previously sat on the back benches – have now earned him the post of chairman. Unlike the hardliner and loudmouth Jim Jordan, he has not yet been offended. Nor is he seen as a Washington swamp creature, a politician who receives money from so many lobbyists that he is no longer able to represent the interests of his constituents.

And yes, Republicans were exhausted. First the idiotic dismissal of their chairman Kevin McCarthy, then the weeks of drama over his successor, all of which caused nerves and divided the Republican Party into different camps, creating a real civil war within the party. The Republicans wanted a candidate, any candidate, who could get the necessary 217 votes and probably would have put a goldfish in the speaker’s seat.

Now they’ve received Mike Johnson. He may have been a backbencher until now, but he is not a man without qualities. Johnson is a deeply religious evangelical. He is against abortion, against gay marriage, does not want sex education in primary school and does not want support for the LGBTQIA+ community. As a fiscally conservative politician, he wants to cut government spending, especially social spending and Medicare. In short: Johnson is a southern redneck of the first order.

Furthermore, Johnson was a major factor in Trump’s Big Lie. He has refused to certify Joe Biden’s election and was one of 126 lawmakers who asked the Supreme Court to overturn the election results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. No wonder the ex-president and the ‘crazies’ around Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are thrilled with his choice. “Mike Johnson, get it done as quickly as possible,” Trump said on his platform.

However, the question is whether Johnson will enjoy his office for long. Difficult decisions await him. He will soon have to clarify the issue of approving the budget. His predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was removed from office by eight rebels from his own ranks for agreeing to a compromise that prevented a government shutdown. At least for the time being: this compromise is limited in time; the deadline expires in mid-November.

What now? Will Johnson accept the compromise or is he heading for another government shutdown? The hardliners of the House Freedom Caucus, an association of austerity fanatics within the Republican Party, have already issued their first threats. Chip Roy, one of the leaders, told Bloomberg News that he would only agree to a budget bill if at least 30 percent of spending were eliminated.

This demand is an illusion. A Democratic-controlled Senate and a Democratic president will never accept such a demand. So will Speaker Johnson agree to a shutdown, knowing that in the current geopolitical climate this is about the dumbest thing Americans can afford? Even knowing that such a shutdown would hurt the Republican Party far more than it would hurt the Democrats?

Speaking of geopolitics: here too the new chairman must step over his shadow if he wants to solve the still unresolved issue of aid to Israel and Ukraine. He himself voted against the latest aid package for Ukraine, with the stupid argument that this money could be better used to secure the border with Mexico.

Now he must decide whether or not to put Joe Biden’s new aid package, which includes $105 billion for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, to a vote. As speaker, Johnson can no longer afford to decline if he does not want to appear completely irresponsible. In view of the new “axis of evil” – Russia, China and Iran – he must change his mind, even the conservative commentators at the “Wall Street Journal” are urging him to change his mind.

As an untainted speaker, Mike Johnson will initially enjoy a honeymoon phase. This shouldn’t take long. Nothing more has been achieved within the Republican party than a short-lived ceasefire. The Republicans are “back in business,” as the Washington Post notes. “But as the first disruptive maneuvers of the hooligans in the hall made clear, it is just as dysfunctional as before.”