New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo assured in his farewell speech Monday that he was the victim of a political and media ‘frenzy’. He was forced to resign on charges of sexual harassment.
‘There was a political and media boom. But eventually the truth will come out, I’m sure, ‘said the 63-year-old man, head of state that is home to America’s cultural and financial lung, in a pre-recorded message.
The fall is dizzying for this descendant of Italian immigrants, fed into politics by his father Mario Cuomo, who was governor of the state for three terms before him (1983-1994). He was expected to do better by aiming for a fourth term in 2022.
It is especially at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, in the spring of 2020, when New York was hit hard by the Covid-19, that Andrew Cuomo acquired the status of national star. With his daily, rational and reassuring press briefings, this experienced but reputedly hard and authoritarian politician had changed dimension, embodying the antithesis of Donald Trump, whose announcements on the health crisis were seen as erratic.
Eleven women harassed
But a year later, this status had been weakened by the first testimonies of sexual harassment, pushing the politician to accept that the services of his state conduct an independent investigation into these accusations.
The investigations, contained in a 168-page report, were unveiled in early August. They concluded that Andrew Cuomo had sexually harassed eleven women, most of them collaborators and employees, listing many inappropriate gestures or attitudes.
The governor has always rejected these accusations. But under pressure from calls to resign from his own political camp, including President Biden, he announced on August 10 that he would step down.
First woman in this post
In his farewell speech, he lamented a ‘media frenzy’ that was ‘neither fair, nor equitable, nor sustainable.’ ‘No governor in the country has passed as many progressive measures as I have’, s he is congratulated, extolling among other things the legalization of marriage for all or the minimum wage of 15 dollars an hour.
Andrew Cuomo will be replaced on Tuesday by Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat. She will be the first woman to hold this position.
/ ATS
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