Zohran Mamdani calls himself a democratic socialist. But what does it mean?
Galen Drook, founder and host of the GD Politics podcast, told DW that democratic socialism essentially means a government-funded program that is more liberal than Americans currently enjoy.
Drook said, “For a European audience, the policies he is promoting are not as exotic. For example, government-provided child care.”
The analyst said he would not describe democratic socialism as popular, because most Americans are negative about socialism and prefer capitalism. “But within the Democratic Party, the concept of democratic socialism is becoming popular,” he said.
Will Mamdani be able to implement his policies?
Druk said that there is a possibility that Mamdani will not be able to implement some of his proposed policies.
“The situation in New York City is complicated, because most funding is still controlled by New York State,” he explained, adding that New York State “is not as liberal, democratic or progressive as New York City itself.”
According to Druck, Mamdani said he wanted to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, but New York State Governor Kathy Hochul said she had no interest in doing so.
The analyst is confident that the Governor of New York and the next Mayor of New York City will be able to reach some kind of compromise in some areas, but it will partly depend on tonight’s margin.
“If he wins with a narrow victory and it doesn’t look like he’s leading with a major victory, as some polls have suggested, I think Democrats will approach him much more tentatively,” Druckey said.
“Whether he wins or not is a big question, but the way he wins is also a big question,” the analyst said.