Irish Examiner view: How pothole politics paves the way for trust

New York mayor argues that citizens asked to believe the government is capable of delivering ambitious things — affordable housing, childcare, or better public transport — must first see evidence that it can accomplish smaller ones

Micheál Martin and Zohran Mamdani on the subway in New York. 

Micheál Martin’s encounter with New York mayor Zohran Mamdani this week felt strikingly ordinary. They met elderly Irish New Yorkers, called bingo numbers together, and rode the subway.

Yet the meeting came amid the less ordinary political noise that has followed Mamdani since he emerged as one of America’s most prominent democratic socialists.