Mamdani Proves That Americans Want What We in Europe Already Have
On the warning signs we recognize and the hope we share
The city that belongs to all of us
As a European, I normally don’t follow mayoral elections in the United States or any other country. But New York is different. I can easily name five or more New York mayors: Ed Koch, Giuliani, La Guardia, Bloomberg, Adams, and now Mamdani. I doubt there’s any other city outside the Netherlands where I could mention so many mayors off the top of my head. (Note that we don’t name airports after mayors in the Netherlands, nor do we have a famous live concert of Simon and Garfunkel that reminds you of Ed Koch every time you listen to it. And oh, De Blasio. Six)
This says something about New York. Yes, it’s an American city with its iconic skyscrapers and Statue of Liberty. But it’s also so international, so unique, that it belongs to all of us somehow. Millions of people around the world feel completely at home when they’re there. I know I do. I have my own cafés, hangouts, and routines in that city. It feels like coming home.
When hope defeats fear
This dual nature of New York matters right now. Manhattan progressives choosing a democratic socialist doesn’t mean Kansas is about to embrace universal healthcare. That’s not the point. The point is that somewhere in America, voters just chose hope over fear by electing a 34-year-old assemblyman over the entire Democratic establishment with all its political muscle, corporate wealth, and banking connections.
This election comes at a time when we watch in horror as American democracy rapidly deteriorates. Unlike the United States, Europe has seen this type of politics too often before. We recognize the warning signs. The strongman rhetoric. The scapegoating. The rapid erosion of democratic norms. Been there, done that.
Although New York isn’t a typical American city, it’s refreshing to see a new kind of Democratic opposition emerging. One that embraces and celebrates diversity. The joy, the energy, the humor, the youth. I’ve been wondering for the past year what the Democratic answer would be to the attack on democracy by Trump.
I have noticed how the attacks on Mamdani became increasingly discriminatory. It just showed once more that the old generation of politicians didn’t have answers. New York needed a brave, creative spirit who better represents the city’s diversity, energy, and moral clarity.
What Europeans call normal
Mamdani’s victory feels different because we share the same sense of hope that many have felt in recent weeks and months in New York. Unlike many Americans, Europeans recognize his vision about free public transit and universal childcare. We expect our governments to make these kinds of services accessible to all of us. We pay higher taxes and get civilized societies in return. The debate here isn’t whether to have these programs, but how to improve them.
Der Spiegel called Mamdani “the anti-Trump.” Le Monde described his platform as “audaciously European.” The Volkskrant ran the headline “New York Kiest Voor Hoop” - New York Chooses Hope. But what strikes me most is a short discussion I overheard this morning in a café in Oslo: “Finally, an American politician who sounds normal.”
Normal. That’s the word. Here, taking care of one another through public programs isn’t radical socialism. It’s Tuesday.
Breaking the old playbook
The Democratic establishment spent months trying to stop Mamdani, warning he was too progressive, too young, too different. They wanted a safe, moderate, and electable candidate. Sound familiar? It’s the same playbook that’s been losing ground to right-wing populism across the Western world. Play defense, aim for the center, don’t scare anyone.
Mamdani did the opposite. He appeared on Joe Rogan and discussed rent control. He challenged Wall Street directly. He promised things that Europeans take for granted, but Americans are told are impossible. And he won by the largest margin in decades.
After Trump got elected, I started writing my other newsletter, Daybreak Notes & Beans, where I share stories of progress and positive news that inspire readers in these dark times. It’s an effort to provide hope when hope feels scarce. This morning, I found plenty to share. Not because I think America is about to become Denmark. But when young people decide that the old rules don’t apply anymore, things change fast. Innovation in business often comes from unexpected corners; the same rules apply in politics. It is one of the very rare instances— likely the only one —where Trump and Mamdani have something in common.
Lessons from Europe’s darkest hour
Trump represents a return to a past that Europe barely survived. We lost tens of millions of people learning that lesson. We rebuilt our societies with a simple principle: we take care of each other. Public healthcare. Free or very affordable education. Subsidized childcare. Livable pensions. Not because we’re socialist paradises, but because we remember what happens when societies fall apart.
Mamdani gets this. His parents lived in Uganda and South Africa before moving to New York when Zohran was about 7 years old. The family has strong ties to Uganda and India. He has worked as a housing counselor, seeing families destroyed by eviction. He knows what precarity does to people, how it makes them vulnerable to demagogues promising easy answers.
His victory speech wasn’t about defeating Republicans; it was about building something. “We’re going to make New York the city that proves government can work for working people,” he said. In Europe, we refer to that as a normal government. And if they don’t do their job, we vote them out and replace them with a government that does work for the people.
Building forward, not backward
What Mamdani represents isn’t some radical departure from democratic norms. It’s a return to the idea that government exists to improve people’s lives. That’s not socialism. That’s democracy working as intended.
Trump’s agriculture secretary is threatening to withhold federal funds from New York now. The president called Mamdani a “communist disaster” on Truth Social at 3 AM. Don’t bother, let them rage. While Trump tweets, Mamdani is appointing transit experts and housing advocates to his administration. While Republicans scream about socialism, he’s planning to make the subway free for anyone making under $50,000 a year.
Will it work? I don’t know. New York isn’t Amsterdam, and America isn’t Europe. But for the first time since January, I see Americans choosing hope over fear, and future over past. The past is what MAGA wants: Make America Great Again was always about looking backward to some imagined golden era. Mamdani is about making America great by building forward, not retreating backward.
From where I sit in Europe, that’s reason enough for hope. Even if it’s just one city. Even if it’s just a beginning. Especially because it’s a beginning.
Change starts with one person saying, “Enough.” Yesterday, 1.2 million New Yorkers said it together.
The future, as Mamdani says, is in our hands.
I am an independent journalist based in Europe, and I write about democracy, nature, and the intersection of politics and society. The Planet 🌎 is a reader-supported publication for those concerned about democratic backsliding and environmental collapse. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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Alexander, the Planet 🌎 today was a fantastic history lesson. I celebrated
Mamdani’s election
(in my birthplace) by reading your post not once, but twice. I am so proud to have been born in New York City😊
Your Planet post today renewed my enthusiasm for NYC
because it covered years of important historical facts in the hopeful manner that we readers admire in your posts! Thank you‼️
"His victory speech wasn’t about defeating Republicans; it was about building something. “We’re going to make New York the city that proves government can work for working people,” he said. In Europe, we refer to that as a normal government. And if they don’t do their job, we vote them out and replace them with a government that does work for the people."
I don't live in New York City but I do live in a large urban community and I am excited. Electing Mamdani was the first glimmer that we may come out of this hell. I listened to the old guard dems disparage this man or ignore him completely. Powerful dems were silent until after he was elected. You accurately describe the polarized view of government between this country and Europe. As vast as the ocean between us. Mamdani's election gives me hope the gap begins to grow smaller and faith in community grows larger.