Europe’s left-wing leaders are celebrating what they describe as a triumph for progressive politics with the election of Zohran Mamdani, the Socialist candidate running for city mayor on the Democratic Party line in New York.
The 34-year-old now mayor-elect ran on a platform for universal childcare, free bus transportation and city-run grocery stores.
Manon Aubry MEP, co-president of The Left group in the European Parliament and a leading figure in France’s left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI), praised Mamdani’s campaign as a model of political insurgency.
“Against the media, economic, and political establishment that spent tens of millions of dollars to block his path, he managed to turn the tables with radically concrete proposals — a rent freeze, free buses, public daycare — all while confronting racism and standing with Gaza,” she wrote in a statement posted today.
Aubry, who visited New York earlier in November as part of a European Parliament delegation, took time during her trip to meet and campaign with Mamdani.
Speaking to Brussels Signal today, she framed her visit as “an act of international solidarity supporting a left-wing candidate in a country ruled by the far-right.”
Following the victory, she added that Mamdani’s success “offers a huge breath of hope in the world of [US President Donald] Trump and a demonstration that one must never resign oneself.
“It’s a lesson for the Left everywhere: victories are won not by diluting economic Liberalism, but by confronting it step by step,” Aubry said.
Across Europe, similar sentiments echoed through the ranks of the continent’s left-wing parties.
In Spain, Irene Montero, former minister and a leading voice in the left-wing Podemos party, lauded Mamdani’s campaign for grounding its message in the experiences of immigrants and working people.
“The future is in our hands and it is won by the Left,” she said.
In Germany, Ines Schwerdtner, co-leader of the Die Linke party, pointed to Mamdani’s platform as an example of how democratic socialism can resonate even in the heart of capitalism.
“Zohran Mamdani shows in New York how it can be done differently: affordable rents, free childcare, free local public transport,” Schwerdtner said ahead of the New York ballot.
She celebrated the result afterwards: “If a Democratic Socialist can win in New York, one can win anywhere. A victory for working people.”
For the European Union’s left-wing movements, Mamdani’s win comes amid a modest resurgence.
Die Linke in Germany rebounded to 8.8 per cent in this year’s snap elections, marking its third-best result since its 2007 founding.
In France, too, LFI, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has been edging closer to power. In the 2022 presidential race, Mélenchon captured 22.5 per cent of the vote, narrowly missing a place in the run-off.
In Belgium, the PTB/PVDA (Workers’ Party of Belgium) also joined the chorus of celebration.
“This is a victory for the New York City working class and proof that the authentic left can win by putting left-wing issues front and centre,” said Peter Mertens, the party’s Secretary General.
The PTB/PVDA’s leadership has cultivated close ties with the US Socialist movement.
In September, Mertens met with Grace Mausser, co-chair of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and a key figure in Mamdani’s campaign.
