However you look at it, Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York is a marvel. A 33-year-old state assemblyman with barely four years in office handily defeated Andrew Cuomo, a former three-term governor who was discussed as a formidable presidential contender just five years ago. Cuomo had much of New York’s Democratic party establishment in his corner, while Mamdani had the city’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter in his. Many prominent billionaires, including former mayor Mike Bloomberg, paid for advertisements attacking Mamdani. Cuomo’s allies spent, at last count, $36m (€30.7m) on the race; Mamdani’s just $9m (€7.6m).
 
How Mamdani managed to pull it off is no mystery. The Uganda-born son of a Columbia University professor and an Oscar-nominated filmmaker monomaniacally focused his message on the ways that the largest US city had become unaffordable for working-class people. Mamdani’s platform consisted of a handful of bold if fanciful policy promises – free buses, a rent freeze, city-run supermarkets – that he said would bring down costs. It was a pitch that Mamdani made in unconventional venues, such as on podcasts with sceptical hosts, alongside a charming social-media campaign that didn’t look like anything else in politics. A 90-second video in which Mamdani interviewed food-truck operators about why they had increased the prices of their meat-and-rice plates – a type of “halalflation” – became an instant classic of the form. The candidate suggested that the problem could be fixed by loosening regulations. 

Mamdani turned most of Cuomo’s advantages against him. Backing from big business demonstrated that the former governor had picked the wrong side in a populist conflict. Endorsements from other politicians (including Bill Clinton) became evidence of unimaginative establishment-style thinking; his decades in government were suddenly an albatross around his neck. The contrast between Cuomo – who departed the governor’s mansion amid scandal in 2021 – and the upstart half his age was best captured in a Murray Kempton line that John Lindsay, another young, dashing mayoral candidate, put on his campaign posters in 1965: “He is fresh and everyone else is tired.”
 
For Democrats beyond New York thrashing about for a new direction after the Biden-Harris debacle of 2024, Mamdani’s success offers plenty to mull over. Should they move further to the left or lean into class-war politics? Perhaps a focus on cost-of-living and pocketbook issues is the way forward? As they seek candidates for 2026 and 2028, should they look past traditional credentials and connections, and instead recruit outsiders unsaddled with the baggage of the party’s previous leaders? Is the most valuable communication skill not the ability to give a speech or navigate a debate but fluency in the language of Tiktok and podcasts?
 
There is plenty to study and probably only so much that can be learned. If Mamdani ends up beating incumbent Eric Adams in November, the spotlight will not be his alone. The likely winners of the year’s two other big races – for governor of Virginia and New Jersey – will cut a very different profile. And what works in the politics of the Empire City famously does not travel well. There is a reason that it has been more than 150 years since a former New York mayor went on to win another office. 

As Democrats dive into localised neighbourhood data in a bid to forensically analyse Mamdani’s unlikely path to victory, they shouldn’t overintellectualise the nature of his appeal. A winning personality goes a long way. 

Issenberg is Monocle’s US politics correspondent. For more insights into Mamdani and the New York mayoral race, click here. 

The current edition of Paris Fashion Week is a tale of two cities (writes Natalie Theodosi). Much of the event, which began on Tuesday and will run through the weekend, is dominated by storied brands and luxury conglomerates, many of which have shaped the history of the French capital. But some smaller, lesser-known labels are making their mark too.

The clothes on display are only part of the equation – live music, historic venues and famous brand ambassadors combine to create a series of highly produced events. Louis Vuitton is a master of putting on such shows; for its spring/summer 2026 presentation, the brand took over the square outside the Centre Pompidou to showcase 76 looks largely inspired by Indian dress. The soundtrack was provided live by L’Orchestre du Pont Neuf. A larger-than-life show is also expected this afternoon, when Jonathan Anderson makes his highly anticipated debut at Dior and presents his initial vision for “One Dior”, uniting the brand’s men’s and women’s wear departments.
 
Yet alongside these carefully choreographed productions is a new generation of specialists making their presence known with perfectly executed wardrobe staples and future collectors’ items. Among them are Tokyo’s Auralee, celebrated for its striking colour palettes, and London’s Wales Bonner, which presented sharp field jackets and tuxedos inspired by the 1930s. Over the past few years, they have slowly but steadily been establishing themselves in the Paris Fashion Week community and now they’re beginning to steal the show. 

Jakarta is a metropolis in motion – loud, relentless and impatient. It isn’t the easiest city to love and some will be daunted by the sprawl and the traffic. But for those who are willing to dive in and adjust to its rhythms, it’s a place of many wonders. In the quieter corners of the city, conversations happen unhurriedly over tea to the soundtrack of slow-turning ceiling fans. Elsewhere, a new generation is turning crumbling buildings into creative spaces, reinventing Javanese cuisine and keeping the archipelago’s ancient drinking culture alive. Boozy evenings often start over dinner in old colonial-era mansions and stretch into the early hours in smoke-filled cocktail bars and late-night clubs. Here’s a pick from our new Jakarta City Guide.

En Par, Selong, Kebayoran Baru
The playlist is as smooth as the cocktails at this not-so-hush-hush speakeasy in the south of the city. Founded by DJ duo Leonard Theosabrata and Daiva Prayudi, En Par is a place for intimate gatherings, boasting modern-tropical and neo-vintage interiors accented with Peranakan details and gentle lighting. In terms of booze, the focus here is on Balinese arrack. Ark and Marak, the house brands, shine in concoctions such as the “marakgroni” – a fine tribute to Indonesia’s craft spirits.

For more top tips and insights into the Indonesian capital, click here.

If you have ever visited one of Paris’s public gardens, you might have stopped to perch on its outdoor furniture: green chairs and loungers scattered around fountains and flowerbeds (writes Julia Webster Ayuso). Whenever the sun comes out, residents and tourists alike take to the city’s parks, where outdoor furniture is arranged around tables for a picnic or under a tree for a nap in the shade. On a hot day it can be hard to find a free seat.

Along with the Wallace drinking fountains, rattan chairs outside cafés and dark-green kiosks that came to prominence during Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s prefecture in the mid-19th century, the seating found in Parisian parks and gardens has become a symbol of the French capital. The sturdy yet stylish outdoor furniture, made by a few trusted companies, silently expresses something of the city’s spirit. One of the biggest suppliers is Fermob, whose chairs can be found in the Luxembourg Gardens, as well as on café terraces, in squares and on the banks of the Seine.
 
This piece first appeared on monocle.com. Click here to read how Fermob’s classic designs are helping to turn the Champs-Elysées into a more pedestrian-friendly avenue.

Fernando Augusto Pacheco gives you another taste of our Summer Playlist 2025, from Mexican indie jams to sunny Brazilian pop.