US midterms and the emerging paradoxes

Nothing lasts forever. Last week, the US held highly consequential midterm elections — part of the cycle of elections held every two years in which all members of the House of Representatives, a third of the Senate and a number of state governors are elected.

Important as it is, the election remains an ordinary exercise of democracy and experience has taught us that every election has its circumstances and its heroes, just as it has its issues and its casualties.

In my estimation, President Donald Trump had not been expecting these results. Indeed, I would almost swear that many Democrats, politicians and supporters alike, did not dare take such an optimistic view of what their candidates actually achieved across the length and breadth of the country.