In JMW Turner’s ‘The Fighting Temeraire’, we see a majestic warship that once ruled the seas, now reduced to being towed towards its final destination: the scrapyard. The image is a visual poem about transience, a meditation on the inevitable decline of that which was once great. The ‘Temeraire’, which had been a pillar of the British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, is now being driven towards its end, marking the close of a glorious era and the arrival of a new one, driven by industrial progress.
Like the Temeraire, leaders who have ruled powerful nations like Mexico and the United States are facing the twilight of their political careers, a moment that always seems far away until it suddenly becomes an inescapable reality. Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) and Joe Biden, both men of long standing, are at the crossroads of farewell. This process of withdrawing from power is not simply an administrative event; it is an emotional and philosophical journey deeply rooted in the human psyche.
The Void of Goodbye
What does it feel like for a leader to leave power behind? There is a looming loneliness in the act of stepping away, a sense of emptiness that grows as the final day draws near. This feeling is analogous to that of the Temeraire on his final voyage: a giant stripped of his grandeur, stripped of his masts and sails, and swept away by a new force that will carry him to a place where he will no longer be needed. It is a farewell to relevance, to battle, and to the identity that, for so long, was inseparable from office.
For AMLO, whose tenure has been as much a personal crusade as a political one, retirement means leaving behind a life project. His presidency has not simply been an administration; it has been the culmination of decades of political struggle, of being the voice of the people, of building what he perceives as a historic transformation. Yet now, like the “Temeraire,” he must confront the fact that every leader is replaceable. As Claudia Sheinbaum takes the helm, AMLO finds himself in the paradox of the former leader: knowing that his era is over, and that a new generation will take his place, but without him at the helm.
In the United States, Joe Biden is also facing this twilight. After a life dedicated to public service, his retirement is both a relief and an existential challenge. Biden, like the Temeraire, has navigated the tumultuous seas of politics for decades. Yet Kamala Harris’s succession marks not just the end of his presidency, but the end of a political era that he represents: the era of traditional, white, older, moderate-minded leaders. The world he leaves behind will be shaped by forces he no longer controls, just like the steam tug that drags the Temeraire to its doom.
The Twilight
What doubts and feelings are plaguing a leader at this moment? The biggest doubt is perhaps about relevance: Was it enough? Did I achieve what I set out to do? How will history remember me? These questions echo a ‘Temeraire’ who no longer carries the British flag, but a simple commercial banner, a reminder that, once stripped of power, greatness is reduced to a shadow of the past.
Fear also plays a crucial role. The fear of irrelevance, of being forgotten, of new generations seeing their achievements as mere links in a chain that will inevitably break or transform. The image of the “Temeraire” being towed by a small, dark steam engine is powerful precisely for what it suggests: the great ship is now powerless, and its fate is in the hands of a smaller force more adapted to the new times. For AMLO and Biden, this image resonates at the heart of their farewell to power.
How to Follow?
After ruling nations like Mexico and the United States, how do you move forward? For leaders who have been the visible face of their governments, retirement is not simply a step aside; it is a personal reinvention. AMLO will have to redefine his role, possibly as a moral figure or a political commentator, but always with the shadow of having been a president. Biden will face a similar challenge, although perhaps with a more introspective approach, given his history of personal loss and his advanced age.
The Temeraire has no choice in his fate, but human leaders do. Still, the question remains: How does a leader live on after the twilight? The answer lies in how they handle the void left behind by power. Like the sunset in Turner’s painting, which illuminates the Temeraire with a final glow before fading into the night, these leaders will have one last moment of light before their presence dissolves into history. But while the Temeraire has been dismantled, leaders have the opportunity to continue to influence, even if from the shadows.
Goodbye my friends
Turner’s “The Fighting Temeraire” doesn’t just capture the end of an era; it’s a warning about the transience of greatness. AMLO and Biden, like the great battleship, have reached the end of their voyages, and must confront the fundamental questions about the meaning of their legacy. The parting of power is painful, filled with doubts and fears, but it is also an inevitable process. History always moves on, dragging along with it those who were once its architects, leaving them on the shore as new forces take over.
