Giuliani's third term (What New York can ask from Michael Bloomberg)

In his eight years as Mayor of New York, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani made his city a safer place to live, a more attractive place to visit, a more fiscally responsible city and a better place to conduct business in. Today all these achievements are at risk and Mr Guiliani himself is about to stand down. It is a grave and important moment in the history of one of the world’s greatest cities.

The race to replace a Mayor who had been such a dominant figure in the city was always destined to be unusual. New York is, in theory, a staunchly Democratic place where Republican contenders should have no chance of obtaining high office. But it is also a social and political melting pot when ethnic identity and personality politics can play as large a part as party affiliation. This was proved again in this election.

The billionaire Michael Bloomberg spent a vast fortune on his victorious battle to succeed Mr Giuliani. He has bought himself a heap of trouble. Even before September 11 the city’s economy was slowing down but now it has fallen back badly. Tourists are staying away, fearing further attacks. The explosion at the twin towers also blew a huge hole in the city’s budget, perhaps as much as $2 billion, as tax revenues slumped.

Even in a city which likes to elect colourful characters as Mayor, Mr Bloomberg was initially considered rather too colourful. Others thought, indeed still think, that he is both naive about politics and very conventional in his thinking. For this reason Mr Bloomberg trailed his opponent badly for a long time. One thing turned the tables before election day and it was not the Bloomberg fortune. It was an endorsement from Mr Giuliani. What voters really wanted was another term for their current Mayor. Since election law forbade this, they turned to the next best thing, the man Mr Giuliani endorsed. Mr Bloomberg should now give voters what they want. He should envisage his first term as Mr Giuliani’s third term.

He should begin, as his predecessor would have done, with a confident drive to rebuild his city. New York lost 18 million square feet of office space in the terrorist attack. If it is not to face a serious crisis in two or three years time it needs to start now replacing that lost space. It will take at least a year simply to clear the rubble and rebuild the infrastructure at the World Trade Centre site. So steps will have to be taken to speed up work elsewhere. The highly respected Manhattan Institute, Mr Giuliani’s favourite think tank, proposes a radical reform of the City’s restrictive planning laws and rezoning areas, such as Manhattan’s Far West Side, which currently only allow small buildings.

With a looming deficit problem, Mr Bloomberg might be tempted to increase taxes. Mr Giuliani, one suspects, would tackle things differently. His cuts in hotel taxes raised revenues, from $110 million in 1992 to $235 million. A further cut in hotel tax and in real estate taxes could benefit the city budget, relieve the tourism drought and stimulate the economy.

Any budget gap that remains might be filled by pruning New York spending. Here again the new Mayor can benefit from his predecessor’s example. Mayor Giuliani inherited a $2.3 billion budget gap and began to fill it by negotiating hundreds of millions of dollars of concessions from the municipal workforce. Mayor Bloomberg should do the same, perhaps beginning with teachers, who are currently working without a contract.

Mr Bloomberg was once quoted as saying: “Adulation is great.” Now he has to go out and earn it.

I thought it was unusual for the The Times to offer advice to a foreign city's mayor, but still it is sound advice. One gets the sense from British nezs that Giuliani is everywhere. Yesterday, Rudy not only congratulated Michael Bloomberg, but also greeted the first Concorde that came in - and with panache and humour asked the passengers to spend a lot of money. ;)

Previously he was at the scene of the WTC, then posing with British tourists brought over by the Sun, the man is a perpetual motion machine. People like Giuliani are going to be remembered with statues - Bloomberg can best spend his time just continuing in this vein.

Regards, Ivan

But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour."

Today is Trinity Sunday. Centuries ago words were written to be a call and a spur to the faithful servants of Truth and Justice: "Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar. As the Will of God is in Heaven, even so let it be." - Winston Churchill, 1940

This then, my lords and gentlemen, is the message which we send forth today to all states and nations, bound or free, to all the men in all the lands who care for freedom's cause. To our Allies and well-wishers in Europe, to our American friends and helpers drawing ever closer in their might across the ocean, this is the message-lift up your hearts, all will come right. Out of depths of sorrow and sacrifice will be born again the glory of mankind. - Winston Churchill, 1941

"What kind of a people do they think we are? Is it possible that they do not realize that we shall never cease to persevere against them until they have been taught a lesson which they and the world will never forget?" - Winston Churchill, 1941

LET US GO FORWARD TOGETHER - CLICK ABOVE!

"Bloomberg can best spend his time just continuing in this vein."

Guiliani is one of those rare gems, he's not always saying the popular thing, but you know he has convictions and where he stands no matter what.

Besides the "personal touch" (not clinton's version) Guiliani employs to every situation, good or bad....I think people can sense his honesty. He's a 'real' person, and if he doesn't KNOW something, he says so and says he'll find out.

People can understand that...It's real.

Unfortunately for Bloomburg, and anyone who fills Guiliani's shoes - alot of Rudy's appeal is his personality too. From what I've seen of Mike Bloomburg - he's a bit dry (but not in that funny British way) ;)

And anyone who has issues with Bloomburg's version of GOP or thinks a "real" REPUBLICAN could ever win in NYC - well, forget that. The NYC version of GOP is the only thing that could ever be elected there.

It best to recognize that fact, and appreciate that the more conservative and fiscally sound guy won plus RUDY liked him!

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