Zohran Mamdani describes himself as a democratic socialist. But what does that mean?
Galen Druke, the founder and host of the GD POLITICS podcast, told DW that democratic socialism essentially means government-funded programs with more generous funding than Americans currently have.
“For a European audience, the policies he is promoting are not that foreign. Government-provided childcare, for example,” Druke said.
The analyst added that he wouldn’t describe democratic socialism as popular, though, 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?
Druke said that it is likely that Mamdani won’t be able to implement some of his proposed policies.
“The situation in New York City is complicated, as much of the funding is still controlled by New York state,” he explained, adding that New York state is “not nearly as liberal, democratic, or progressive as New York City.”
According to Druke, Mamdani said he wants to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, but the governor of New York state, Kathy Hochul, said she’s not interested in doing that.
The analyst is sure that the governor of New York and the next mayor of New York City will be able to come to some sort of compromise in certain areas, but this will depend partly on tonight’s margin.
“If he squeaks by with a narrow victory and it doesn’t look like he’s walking away with a blowout victory that some of the polls have suggested, I think Democrats will approach him much more tentatively than if he wins in a blowout,” Druke said.
“Whether or not he wins is a big question, but a manner in which he wins is also a big question,” the analyst added.
