Sadiq Khan has finally met a would-be Mayor worse than him
Following Mamdani's shock victory in the Democratic mayoral primary a few weeks ago, in which the self-identified socialist triumphed over disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo, he has reportedly 'been in touch with a number of progressive mayors', including London's.
Khan's advice? Move to the centre, apparently. Having won the primary promising rent freezes and free buses, Mamdani needs now to reassure the moderates, just as Khan did in 2016, when he trounced his Left-wing challengers before taking the fight to Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith.
Say what you will about Khan, he has managed to win three elections, albeit in a city that has been a one-party state for some time. Beyond that, he should be keeping his advice to himself, given Calamity Khan has been a disaster for London on every conceivable front.
Out-of-control knife crime. The effective decriminalisation of petty theft. Anti-social behaviour apparently becoming mandatory. The inability to easily procure a pint past 11pm on a weekday, even in central London, all while our dearly departed 'night tsar' pocketed £132,000 a year. If this sounds like fun to you, NYC, you're welcome to it.
Khan might not be a Leftist in the Mamdani or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mould, but his tenure in London has shown us that his supposed 'centrism' can be just as damaging to a great city.
While he struggles to handle the fundamentals, from violent crime to building houses to keeping London's nightlife alive, he levies punishing Ulez fines against those who can't afford newer, greener cars, or engages in ostentatious beefs with Donald Trump.
His is the politics of virtue-signalling taken to an insulting degree. You might be struggling to pay your rent, but at least we have a mayor who bangs on endlessly about inclusion. You might fear for your son's life as he roams your estate, but at least our Sadiq has told him to call out his 'maaates' if they say anything sexist.
When all else fails, we are instructed to shelve all of our piddling concerns and simply bask in the warm feeling of being ruled over by London's first Muslim mayor, as if Khan's faith has anything to do with anything.
The crank wing of the Maga crowd were typically hysterical when Mamdani – who is also Muslim – won. Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Green shared an AI image of the Statue of Liberty draped in a burka – just as hard-Rightists over here absurdly suggest that Khan, who has never seen a Pride march he didn't want to join, is some kind of crypto-Islamist.
To be honest, having lived in Khan's London for all of his reign, I'd rather go full-blown Sharia than have to sit through another of those insufferable New Year's Eve fireworks displays, celebrating 'diversity' and taking potshots at Brexit. Give me a caliph over a woke troll any day. Who knows? A few severed hands later, shoplifting might finally start getting under control.
The Mamdani-Khan confab is yet another reminder of what a mess so-called 'progressives' of various hues seem intent on making of our respective metropolises. The sooner New Yorkers and Londoners alike wake up to this, the sooner we can make our cities great again.
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