After New York City’s race for mayor catapulted Zohran Mamdani from state assembly member into one of the world’s most prominent progressive voices, intense debate swirled over the ideas at the heart of his campaign.

His critics and opponents painted pledges such as free bus service, universal child care and rent freezes as unworkable, unrealistic and exorbitantly expensive.

But some have hit back, highlighting the quirk of geography that underpins some of this view. “He promised things that Europeans take for granted, but Americans are told are impossible,” said Dutch environmentalist and former government advisor Alexander Verbeek in the wake of Tuesday’s election.

Verbeek backed this with a comment he had overheard in an Oslo café, in which Mamdani was described as an American politician who “finally” sounded normal.

  • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    From a unitedstatesian:

    Genuinely, thank you, European politicians and public figures, for pointing out that reasonably socialized public services are considered de rigueur by the vast majority of the rest of the developed world.

    • atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works
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      3 months ago

      It felt so weird when Tim Walz was lauded as a “gift to progressives” when he was running on a platform of “kids deserve food”.

    • bstix@feddit.dk
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      3 months ago

      Any day now… Any day… just wait. It will fall apart…

      It. Will. Fall. Apart.

      … cmmmmon, now.

      No: Now!

      Any time now just you wait and see goddammit.

      • Manmoth@lemmy.ml
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        3 months ago

        Europe will be majority foreign born and Muslim in a generation if they don’t do something now. They are not your friends and want to tear down your churches and instate shariah law. Look at crime and sexual assault stats in the most heavily affected countries.