It is often forgotten that Franklin Delano Roosevelt - America's most radical president of the 20th century - was considered mediocre by many of his peers. And Joe Biden was never among the leaders of his generation.

But in his inaugural presidential address, he announced an agenda like no other US president since the FDR. Biden outlined the "cascading crises of our era" he plans to face - the raging pandemic, the decline of democracy in the United States, systemic racism, America's damaged reputation in the world, and "the cry for survival that comes from the planet itself." Any of these individual crises would confuse the president even in normal times. But 2021 is a time of concentric crises. Biden chose to "attack" all of the above at once.

The breadth of Biden's ambition will surprise many. As a lifelong moderate democrat, Biden's philosophy is assumed to be conservative with a slight "k", with the addition of progressiveness with a small "p". But politics is always driven by circumstances. Just as hyperambitious presidents impose their thirst on those circumstances - remember Bill Clinton - others experience historical dramas piled up on their presidential "trays." The most radical changes in America have come more often from the political center than from the left or right of the ideological horizon.. Its most consistent presidents - George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and the FDR - were all moderate-tempered leaders. Their skill was to draw others to their agendas.

Biden inherited the political whirlwind. Does he have the ability to use his energy?

His first presidential address will not stand out as one of America's biggest inaugural speeches. But he said he planned to advance his agenda. The basic core is civilization. At other times, such a buzzing language can cause fainting - especially since it comes from Biden. But after the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6 - and the fact that more than a third of Americans still believe he is an illegitimate president - Biden's hand of friendship could be a good weapon. Many on the Democratic Left are demanding a showdown with Republican Trump activists. Biden may point out that the fact that the balance of power is 50:50 in the Senate deprives him of such a possible luxury. His first instinct would be to charm, not embarrass, Republicans.

It is quite possible that such tactics will fail. Shortly after taking the oath of office, Biden's White House sent a bill to Congress that would open the way for citizenship to 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. It is unlikely that this bill will pass. Republican senators immediately labeled the project an "amnesty." Unlike purely budget bills, which can be passed with 51 votes - with the vote of Vice President Kamala Harris - the bill to legalize immigrants in the Senate will require 60 votes to become law. The same goes for Biden's plans to improve US electoral rights, which are sure to run out in the Senate. After a four-year hiatus from fiscal conservatism, Republicans, meanwhile, will once again sound the alarm over rising US national debt, meaning Biden will be tricked into passing his $ 1,9 trillion pandemic bill.

But the president has a big trump card that goes in his favor. Most Americans, including many Republicans, are thrilled to see Donald Trump on his back. The fact that no significant Republican, including even outgoing Vice President Mike Pence, was there to say goodbye to Trump as he left the White House or Andrews Air Force Base says a lot. Trump still has a very loyal base of tens of millions of Americans. But he left Washington as a "native" and as the author of his own destructive humiliation. The only circumstances under which he is likely to return to the scene are to defend himself in the Senate impeachment process - or any other legal hearing. This week, Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, said Trump had "provoked" an attack on democracy in the United States. That suggests a condemnation of Trump's impeachment in the Senate cannot be ruled out. By the way, in his inaugural speech, Biden did not use the word impeachment.

It is often said that American presidents are different from their predecessors. The public reacts in a way that, for the next president, chooses the opposition of the person of the current president. This time it is exactly "on angro". Biden is everything that is not Trump. By that logic, Biden would be a boring president - with no personal reckoning, no invented coronavirus drugs or calls for the system to be overturned by the White House itself.

However, it all depends on how you define boredom. In his address, Biden outlined the "winter of threats and significant opportunity" facing America. In practice, the first 100 days of Biden can be very interesting.

The article was published in the weekend edition of Free Press. (January 23-24, 2021) in the article SP. weekly. The text is taken from Financial Times (LONDON) with prior permission from the publisher.