Manhattan

Manhattan

The Friday before New York’s Democratic mayoral primary election, the 33-year-old candidate Zohran Mamdani walked the entire length of the city. ‘We’re outside,’ he told his videographer as they began their trek at Inwood Hill Park, ‘because New Yorkers deserve a mayor they can see, they can hear, they can even yell at!’ Like any good millennial, he documented every step. In his collared shirt and sneakers, he greeted and hugged supporters, who chanted his name.

The celebrating was premature but justified. Four days later, Mamdani won 43.5 per cent of the vote in the first round, defying almost every pollster’s prediction. Within hours, the self-declared ‘democratic socialist’ was the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City. Come November, he’s the favourite to win. But is New York ready for his promised experiment in ‘real socialism’?

It was only eight months ago that the city had one of the biggest electoral swings towards a very different New Yorker – Donald Trump. The President increased his vote share by seven points, reflected by the growing number of red MAGA hats that can be spotted in the city’s trendiest neighbourhoods. Mamdani is in many ways the opposite of Trump: a socialist Muslim immigrant from Uganda who moved to New York City when he was seven years old. But it seems New Yorkers are inclined to give the anti-establishment politicians a try.

‘It’s in those very conversations that I had with Democrats who voted for Donald Trump many months ago that I heard what it would take to bring them back to the Democratic party,’ Mamdani said last week, after his big win. ‘It would be a relentless focus on an economic........

© The Spectator