NEW YORK – Claiming victory as New York City’s next mayor on Nov 4 , Mr Zohran Mamdani began his speech with a reference to Eugene Debs , the 19th-century labour leader and politician who stood as the long-time oracular voice of American socialism.

It is a role that now falls to Mr Mamdani, who has handed the organisation that backed him, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) ,