New York state governor refuses to resign following the allegations of sexual misconduct against him. He is unlikely to recover.
Andrew Cuomo is also strongly criticized for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributes to considerably darken his political horizons.
With the fall of the one we praised a few months ago and sought to recruit urgently on the Democratic presidential ticket, we are witnessing a political plunge worthy of Greek mythology.
But what myth is it? Narcissus, Icarus or both at the same time?
Narcissus
Like many adored personalities, it is not inconceivable that the Democratic governor has felt irresistible. In any case, this is what those who reported his inappropriate gestures noted.
He wouldn’t be the first. Isn’t it the “Narcissist-in-Chief” himself who proclaimed, in a famous video, that when you are a “star”, women let themselves be done?
The problem is, while Republicans turn a blind eye to this kind of behavior for their leaders, Democrats don’t. Former Senator Al Franken knows all about it.
While Republicans who have called for the ex-president’s resignation for these kinds of reasons are extremely rare, the number of Democrats demanding Cuomo’s departure is growing rapidly.
Icarus
Icarus had fled the labyrinth by flying, but his disproportionate ambition led him to his downfall.
For the past year, Andrew Cuomo has also flown above the fray in the fight against the pandemic, which has allowed him to get out of this political maze with some success.
For months, Cuomo was in every podium, and unlike the ex-president, he didn’t shy away from speaking the tough truths and following the directions of Public Health. It allowed him to fly high, very high. He even went so far as to publish a book extolling his crisis management.
Like the wings of Icarus, the crisis management that pushed Cuomo to the heights had some manufacturing flaws.
The fall
As we begin to envision the end of this pandemic, the problems that have favored the meteoric spread of the coronavirus in New York State are surfacing and the portrait that emerges is not entirely favorable to Cuomo.
The governor’s crisis management had several qualities, but it was not infallible. Like the first mythical character, the governor thought himself a little too irresistible. Like the second, he wanted to go too close to the sun and the light that will be shed on his management of the crisis is likely to precipitate his final fall.
This pandemic has not said its last word and those who have already been raised to the skies while the crisis was not over would be well advised not to try to fly too high. The fall is likely to be brutal.