Is optimism back in fashion? Mamdani and Rob Gitten’s victories pay the price for the return of “Yes We Can”

Polanski’s value is trading on the rise. The rate of voting intention is about 15%, according to the average of polls, which puts the Green Party ahead of the Liberal Democrats, which is almost equal with the Green Party. Conservatives And less than four points behind Labour.

The group has reached 150,000 members since Polanski won the primary in September. A hardening record was also experienced by the Dutch D66, although to a lesser extent.

return Yes we can

Echoes of Yes we can Which prompted the White House to Barack Obama In November 2008. In fact, Gitten himself used it as a logo Could it be so? (Yes you can, in Spanish). But Stefanoni does not believe that “we are ahead of a linear return to positive campaigning. Mamdani’s campaign also had many elements that rejected, among other things, Trumpism.”

However, the author of the article realizes that his victory “infused a good dose of optimism into the souls of the emotionally depressed global left. Winning in the ‘capital of capital’ through socialist or social democratic rhetoric is no easy feat.” Stefanoni says Mamdani was able to “combine his personal charisma, build a progressive narrative and a very professional campaign.”

The young immigrant from Queens also won without stopping smiling. “(His smile) was neither empty euphoria nor a superficial slogan (…) It is associated with deep thinking, which is unusual for a politician, especially one who is at the end of an election campaign and has answered the same questions hundreds or thousands of times,” writes The Economist. Robert ReichMinister of Labor during the administration Bill Clinton.

“(Mamdani) radiates hope and infectious enthusiasm,” Reich adds. “It’s the opposite of Trump’s scowl. This is what Americans want and need, especially now.”

Stefanoni himself points out in this sense that “the bitter left will not be able to re-enchant the world.” “Humor is very important. That is why it is advisable to stay away from seriousness, from excessive doses of moralism and pastoral progressivism. This is not enough, but it may help in reconnecting with ordinary people.”

The left wants the formula

Mamdani swept New York with the title of democratic socialist. He is not the first to achieve this, it is true. The city is one of the beacons of progress in the United States. But this label rarely works in the land of stars and stripes.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders He was responsible for opening the path that other figures such as the Democratic Congresswoman are now following Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Or Mamdani himself.

The European left wants to understand this phenomenon to know whether it can be replicated in one way or another on the Old Continent. That’s why dozens of organic officials from European progressive parties flew over the Atlantic last week to attend the lesson Maurice KatzMamdani’s campaign manager, with whom he met, among others, the French co-chair of the Left Group in the European Parliament, Manon Aubryleader of La Francia Insomisa (LFI). Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Other cadres of the post-communist Die Linke party, such as the co-chairman of the German formation, Ines SchwerdtnerYou also passed through the city that never sleeps to learn the recipe for success. Although, as Stefanoni warns, “It’s not about trying to imitate him or thinking that doing what he did will achieve the same results, and it’s not about looking for Mamdanis everywhere.”

“The problem in Europe,” the writer recalls, “is that experiments like Podemos or Syriza ended in major disappointments. Therefore, any reshaping of the left cannot ignore the balance between those experiments.”

The center is looking for space

The left does not alone aspire to benefit from the Mamdani phenomenon. The Center seeks new momentum in its fight for survival in the era of extremism. For now, it is Giten himself who is leading the way.

Former Minister of Climate and Energy in the fourth government Mark Ruti I understood the importance of networking a little before Al-Mamdani, and applied her recipes Roy KramerHis former advisor suggested it in his book Warum Wilders Welcome (Why Wilders Wins, in Spanish) They fight the populists with their own weapons: “Only through struggle, polarization and simple language can the populists be defeated.”

It is true that the leader of the D66 party took advantage of the fatigue of Dutch voters, who went to the polls for the third time in less than five years after the collapse of the coalition led by Wilders’ party, a government characterized by chaos and internal disputes. It is also true that liberal progressives have made it profitable to fragment Parliament. A portion of Wilders’ voters have also migrated towards other extreme options such as the Forum for Democracy (FvD) and the more moderate JA21.

But this does not detract from its merit. He explained in a conversation with this newspaper that “Citen’s appeal was based in part on the optimistic and energetic campaign he ran, in which he presented himself as a bridge builder between the left and the right.” Sting Van KesselProfessor of Comparative Politics at Queen Mary University of London. “He focused less on the more progressive issues on the D66 agenda, such as climate change and gay rights, and took a tougher stance on immigration.”

“The Dutch people not only want to welcome with dignity those fleeing war and violence, but they also want to be tough on the corrupt elements who are destroying the system,” Gitten declared midway through the campaign.

On the other hand, Mamdani emphasized in his acceptance speech that New York “will remain a city of immigrants, built by immigrants and led by immigrants. And starting tonight, it is led by an immigrant.”

The ideological gap that separates Mamdani and Jatin on this issue shows that the left and center do not have a common position to counter the arguments of the right.

But the basic current that unites them is the same. “There is a demand for authenticity, and exhaustion,” he said Giuliano da Empoliof the Davos Consensus, with its technocratic vision of politics, where everything settled at the centre. “There is a strong rejection of political elites,” says Stefanoni.

Don’t be disappointed too much

What’s complicated is what comes next. “You campaign in poetry and rule in prose,” Mamdani himself declared the day after his electoral victory, paraphrasing his rival’s father: Mario CuomoAnd also Governor of New York State.

Both Mamdani and Jitin will try not to disappoint too much. The Queens native won’t receive the New York mayor’s keys until January 1, but his administration isn’t off to a bad start. She was excited about the presentation to her new transition team, made up of five women with extensive management experience.

Jitin will have to wait a little longer. He has sensitive negotiations to form a government ahead of him, and will have to work hard to integrate the coalition of greens and environmentalists, PdvA-GroenLinks, into the next government, something the conservative liberals in the Liberal Party for Democracy rule out.