It was not long ago that I had cause to suggest that Plaid Cymru's victory over Reform and Labour in the Caerphilly by-election was a reason for hope, and nothing has changed my view on that since then.

Now we have another cause for hope. As the New York Times has reported:

Zohran Mamdani, after a triumphant campaign built on progressive ideas and a relentless focus on affordability, will become the city's first Muslim mayor, and its youngest in more than a century.

They added:

In nearly every facet of Mr. Mamdani's identity — his ethnicity, his religion, his democratic socialism, his age, Mr. Mamdani represents change. And in his first remarks since he was declared the winner of Tuesday's election, Mr. Mamdani, 34, shied away from none of that.

Then they noted this

“I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older,” Mr. Mamdani said, in one of several laugh lines of the night. “I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.”

This is a stunning victory, with Mamdani taking more than 50 per cent of the vote.

Why does this matter? Firstly, because he is:

• Of Indian descent
• A Muslim
• A democratic socialist, and unashamedly so
• And young at 34.

Secondly, because he beat the old-school corporate Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent with vast financial backing after failing to win the Democratic nomination, and could not turn his high-powered support and money into victory.

Third, because the Republicans came nowhere for all practical purposes, having backed Cuomo in a sign of their desperation.

But, fourth, most of all, because this result is so fundamentally upsetting for the status quo of politics in the USA and elsewhere, by showing that if a person of conviction, using arguments based on justice, and with the gall to display both those things in public, stands up to power, a mass of people welcome them with open arms.

The people of New York (who are admittedly not representative of the USA as a whole, but are nonetheless a bellwether for what might be true in many cities elsewhere) have shown:

• They don't want those associated with corruption and abuse, as Cuomo was
• They reject the existing hierarchies of power, as Cuomo again was
• They do not want the status quo of neoliberalism
• They do not accept that there is no alternative
• They are willing to believe change is possible
• They will trust those who say that it is, if they can communicate the message in ways people understand.

Of course, the pressure on Mamdani now is huge. People will expect overnight change and he will not be able ot deliver it. But something will have changed, nevertheless. From the Clintons, to the Obamas, to the Bidens and the Harris camp, the message is clear: your days as cowardly politicians who saw problems and then walked away from them because neoliberal economics said that only markets could solve the issues you refused to address are over.

Markets have not delivered, and nor has politics of your sort. It has, instead, failed, and now it is time for those who understand that only action by elected officials can change things to take the reins and deliver what people do not only want but desperately need if they are to have a chance of surviving in places that are as inhospitable to economic (and every other form of) well-being that cities like New York now are, through no fault of those living there.

That is the Madani message.

It is one of hope.

It is one of clearing the dead wood.

It suggests that change is possible.

It signals the end for the old-style Democrats, and simultaneously for Labour as we have known it here in the UK.

Those who have corrupted supposed left-wing politics by forcing it rightward have had their day.

Now it is time for real change.

I live in hope.

Taking further action

If you want to write a letter to your MP on the issues raised in this blog post, there is a ChatGPT prompt to assist you in doing so, with full instructions, here.

One word of warning, though: please ensure you have the correct MP. ChatGPT can get it wrong.

Comments 

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