Young, socialist, Muslim NY mayoral candidate is the start of a revolution

The Age

21 hours ago

Zohran Mamdani just pulled off the political upset of the year in New York's Democratic mayoral primary. It was a David and Goliath moment, powered by young, working-class New Yorkers fed up with the cost of living and political neglect. Mamdani's rise signals a shift in urban politics – one that's echoing far beyond New York.
In backing Mamdani, 33, a Muslim democratic socialist, voters chose representation that's both lived and loud. New Yorkers chose someone to defeat former governor Andrew Cuomo, a political heir with a history of sexual harassment allegations. They chose someone who would help them afford to live in the city they love. Someone who TikToks speaking Hindi, clipping Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, and has Emily Ratajkowski wearing a 'Hot Girls for Zohran' T-shirt. Someone who uses the term 'genocide' when discussing the Middle East. Mamdani is upending politics, and it isn't a surprise to me.
I'll admit my bias. I'm a 28-year-old Indian Australian corporate lawyer with a lot of HECS debt and no real assets. I get called 'Greg' once a fortnight because my name appears 'Garg, Tushaar' in Outlook. So when Mamdani corrected Cuomo for butchering his name again, spelling it out, letter by letter, he had me dead to rights. 'The name is Mamdani', he told New York and Cuomo.
Unlike the Australian dream, the American dream isn't built on owning the home you live in. But even renting is becoming untenable in many major cities. New Yorkers now spend more than 50 per cent of their income on housing. For every 100 low-income households in New York, there are just 36 affordable rentals.
In an early debate, the Democratic mayoral candidates were asked what they each pay in rent. Adrienne Adams owned her home. Cuomo? $US7800 ($11,846) per month. Mamdani? $US2,300 per month. Unable to own the homes they live in or spend close to $US2000 a week on rent, many young voters identified with Mamdani. This support only grew as New York's Robin Hood unveiled plans to tax the rich and build for the poor. Mamdani plans to place an additional 2 per cent tax on those earning over $US1 million and increase corporate tax rates. He will also freeze rent for more than 2 million tenants and fast-track 200,000 new affordable homes.
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In Sydney, the picture is just as bleak. Over the weekend of March 15-16, Anglicare found that of 13,334 private rentals advertised across Greater Sydney, only 21 were affordable for a single person on minimum wage.
If you're a young professional hoping to live anywhere near Sydney city, you'll need to pile a generous premium on top of the asking price, just to be in the running for a rental. At my age, the hip-pocket nerve is the most sensitive, and it's starting to pinch.
Mamdani spoke to voters who are tired of seeing their faith politicised. Unsurprisingly, he resonated with New York's large Muslim population. More significantly, he began gaining support from across the aisle, including parts of New York's Jewish community, the largest outside of Israel. This kind of cross-cultural support is rare in today's political climate, where campaigns thrive on division and xenophobic rhetoric.