Deadlock drama in Washington

Barack Obama has appealed to his fellow countrymen, given that there is a possibility that the United States will have to default on its debt on August 2. With this appeal, the president is hoping that a massive citizen response will convince representatives in Washington ? Democrats and Republicans alike ? of the imperious need to reach an agreement before that date, when the government will be left without money to cover its commitments.

After exhausting and sterile negotiations, the Senate, with a Democratic majority, and the House of Representatives, controlled by the Republicans, will vote this week on rival plans to reduce the gigantic American deficit and raise the ceiling on its debt.

An increase in the government's borrowing limits is vital for servicing the debt, and for the continued functioning of the federal government. A default would weaken the strained economy of the superpower, and would be a political and logistical nightmare. It would also, as the IMF director's urgent message on Tuesday made clear, convey a gloomy message to a world financial system already against the wall thanks to the European debt crisis.

Apart from its very serious repercussions, the fruitless dialogue of snarls between Democrats and Republicans on such a crucial matter is a disturbing symptom of how the political panorama in the United States is changing; and of to what extent the almost zero capacity for compromise between adversaries is beginning to render the system dysfunctional. The public looks on with puzzlement at the deadlock that has been reached after a stubborn tug-of-war determined by bitter party intransigence ? greater among the Republicans, according to the polls.

Both sides admit that the United States cannot fail to fulfill its economic obligations; and their leaders proclaim that, come the moment of truth, the poses will be dropped. But the accumulated rigidity in their respective postures, and their mutual distrust, make them unwilling to lose face as the countdown progresses. For the right, which has the initiative, the tax rise called for by the Democrats is anathema. For the latter, a possible pact cannot rest exclusively on spending cuts, which are sacrosanct for the Republicans. Obama's proclivity to compromise has so far produced no effect.

A decisive element in the new and belligerent political climate is the emergence of the Tea Party. Its growing presence and its expectations are modifying the landscape in the direction of fundamentalism, diminishing, as in this case, the possibility of reasonable agreements. Its parliamentary representatives are generally influenced more by their condition as sharpshooters for the cause, than by loyalties to the Republican alma mater. It is alarming that, for the blindest among them, the date of August 2 is seen as a mere maneuver of intimidation contrived by the White House, a mirage without real consequences.