These days the once celebrated governor is fighting for his political survival.
(Photo: Reuters)
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New York A year ago in New York, when the ambulance sirens were the only background noise in what was actually a lively city, the residents were on his lips. Andrew Cuomo, the now 63-year-old Governor of New York State, cast a spell over millions with his daily Corona briefings.
Sober and yet sensitive, he presented data and facts: how many hundreds of new deaths the city has recorded, when the hospital ship arrives, where the hospital tents are built in Central Park, where the unknown dead are buried. Andrew Cuomo was the man who kept track of the panic that made New Yorkers feel like they weren’t completely lost.
With slogans like “New York tough” or his switch to his brother, the famous CNN presenter Chris Cuomo, who was sick with Covid himself, he kept morale high in the desperate city. In the past few months, too, he mostly seemed to find a pragmatic mix of opening up the city and caution – depending on the number of cases.
But these days Andrew Cuomo is fighting for his political survival. Allegations of sexual harassment and cover-up of death tolls in New York retirement homes could cost him the office. The demands for resignation are now not only coming from the Republicans. His political adversary, the also Democratic Mayor Bill De Blasio, is calling for his resignation, as is the Democratic spokesman in the Senate, Chuck Schumer – also a New Yorker.
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Several women in the party – including prominent New York MP Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – also want him to step down. “Governor Cuomo can no longer lead effectively in the face of these many allegations,” said Ocasio-Cortez.
Joe Biden: “You should take the allegations seriously”
Most recently, the US President even spoke up. Joe Biden said in a television interview on Wednesday morning that Cuomo should step down if investigations reveal the women’s allegations are correct. “It takes a lot of courage to make it public. And that’s why you should take the allegations seriously, ”he said.
For Cuomo, who had meanwhile been traded as a presidential candidate for the Democrats, it would be an abrupt end to a long career and perhaps an entire dynasty. The lawyer grew up as the son of Governor Mario Cuomo and was familiar with politics at an early age. He was married to Kerry Kennedy of the powerful Democratic clan for 13 years and has three daughters with her.
His family also played an important role in his briefings. Again and again he mentioned his mother, whom he could not see for so long because of Covid, and his deceased father and his teachings. He brought one of his three daughters – as an unpaid volunteer – into the Corona task force.
But now he is on trial. Several former employees accuse the governor of sexually harassing her or treating her inappropriately. Among other things, he is said to have given her animal names, made inappropriate comments about her appearance, kissed and touched her without prompting, and asked her about her sex life. Cuomo apologized for his behavior, but denied touching women inappropriately.
But there are other allegations that could also weigh heavily politically: Cuomo is said to have covered up the true deaths in several old people’s homes in New York. More than 13,000 people have died of Covid in the state’s homes. However, the governor kept these figures secret for a long time or given them significantly lower. Various media outlets have reported that their reporters received threatening phone calls from Cuomo employees while researching the death toll.
Support in the population
Cuomo has so far rejected calls for his resignation – and he can at least partially count on popular support. In a poll by Siena College this week, 50 percent of respondents opposed an immediate resignation. 35 percent were for it, 15 percent were unsure.
There is one woman in particular who could be really dangerous to Cuomo right now and that is Attorney General Letitia James. She has launched investigations into the number of deaths in old people’s homes as well as allegations of sexual harassment. James is considered a tough prosecutor who has brought companies like Juul and opioid manufacturers to their knees.
“We have already gone through hell once, we don’t want to go back there” – with this saying Cuomo convinced the New Yorkers of the strict Corona rules in summer and autumn too. Right now he’s going through his own hell.
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