Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy….
Most of the free world could not wait to congratulate Joe Biden when the American networks called the election on Saturday.
But not the aspiring “Vishwa Guru”, which was a picture of equanimity and detached amusement in keeping with the best practices in high diplomacy and in contrast to the hordes going nuts about an election in a foreign country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of whose avowed goals is to make India a Vishwa Guru in a few years, did congratulate Biden on Saturday night for the “spectacular victory” but not before the heads of government or state of several other countries had showered praises on the President-elect.
The US networks declared Biden the winner around 10pm in India. Modi took around two hours to post the congratulatory message and a picture of himself with Biden.
The order of messaging need not be of much consequence in the serious business of diplomacy, especially with Chinese President Xi Jinping having been among the first to congratulate Modi when he won the 2019 election with a brute majority. Now Modi does not utter Xi’s name and India-China ties are at an all-time low.
Yet Modi’s caution drew attention because he had thrown it to the winds last year when he parroted in Houston Trump’s “Ab ki baar Trump sarkar” slogan.
Unwittingly or otherwise, Modi’s circumspection on Saturday night reflected the despondency that had shrouded the Right-wing ecosystem in India as soon as it became evident that Biden had beaten Trump.
Some were poor losers too. One Right-wing commentator tweeted that Biden’s “win does not pass the smell test”.
Among the early birds to congratulate Biden were Canada’s Justin Trudeau (no surprise) and Boris Johnson (surprise, considering Trump calls the UK Prime Minister “Britain Trump”).
Johnson was not as effusive as the others but he did single out Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris for her “historic achievement”.
“The US is our most important ally,” Johnson said, “and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities from climate change to trade and security.
Modi’s message cannot be faulted for over-familiarity. “Congratulations @JoeBiden on your spectacular victory! As the VP, your contribution to strengthening Indo-US relations was critical and invaluable. I look forward to working closely together once again to take India-US relations to greater heights.”
Modi also resisted the temptation to follow Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, who added in his tweet congratulating Biden and Harris: “London looks forward to working with you — it’s time to get back to building bridges, not walls.”
And, of course, in keeping with the stature of the leader of the aspiring Vishwa Guru, Modi was not as audacious as Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland.
Sturgeon did not wait for the race to be called, tweeting on Friday evening: “The world can be a dark place at times just now — but today we are seeing a wee break in the clouds.”
For all their bonhomie, Modi had no message for Trump – at least publicly -- unlike Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After congratulating the Biden-Harris duo in a tweet, Netanyahu posted a message of thanks to the outgoing President for his friendship and support in recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, standing up to Iran and signing the recent peace accords.
In the other corner, one country stood out.
Saudi Arabia, which may have more to lose from Biden’s victory than other Arab states, took its time to comment.
As other Arab states raced to congratulate the Democrat challenger, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, remained silent on the US vote for hours even as he sent warm words to the President of Tanzania on his re-election.
The prince, known as MBS, has a close rapport with Modi whose West Asian policy has been a bright spot in an otherwise bleak foreign affairs landscape.
MBS’s close personal ties with Trump had provided a vital buffer against a tide of international criticism over Riyadh’s rights record, sparked by the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, its role in Yemen’s war and its detention of women activists.
Those areas may now become points of friction between Biden and Saudi Arabia, a major oil exporter and buyer of US arms.
In India, BJP leaders on Sunday said Modi knew Biden “well” and the two would take the bilateral partnership to the next level.
In an interview to PTI, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav – who used to handle the Prime Minister’s foreign visits in the early years of the Modi government – appeared to voice the sense of resignation within the party over the turn of events when he said that the people of America had made their choice and now it was for the rest of the world to welcome their decision and congratulate their leadership.
“The US and India stand on a strong bipartisan bilateral relationship based on the principles of democracy, mutual benefits and global peace. I am sure (that) under the new leadership of Biden-Harris, US-India ties will continue to progress as strong as they have been,’’ Madhav said.
Additional reporting by Reuters and NYTNS
