Elections

#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Campaign to Subvert the 2020 ElectionTrump’s RoleKey TakeawaysExtremist Wing of G.O.P.AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyA Trump-Supporting Congresswoman in New York City Stands Her GroundRepresentative Nicole Malliotakis represents Staten Island, where new Republican voters out-registered Democrats during the Trump administration.Representative Nicole Malliotakis said it was her duty to represent her more conservative, pro-Trump constituents. “There’s more of a burden on me now to hear their voice,” she said.Credit…Samuel Corum/Getty ImagesFeb. 4, 2021Updated 8:08 a.m. ETWhen Representative Nicole Malliotakis voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud, constituents and local Democrats protested outside her New York office.An editorial in her local paper, the Staten Island Advance, said she “let America down.”On Monday, a new political action committee — NICPAC, or Nicole Is Complicit PAC — raised more than $20,000 within four hours of launching its website.But Ms. Malliotakis unseated Max Rose, a Democrat, this past November in no small part because of her allegiance to former President Donald J. Trump, who endorsed her. The congresswoman has continued to stand firm with the former president’s base, even if that means leaving others behind.She said her loyalty was to New York’s Republicans, but especially to the narrow, conservative pocket of New York City — a swath of Staten Island and a portion of Brooklyn — that made her the only Republican elected to Congress from the five boroughs.“There’s more of a burden on me now to hear their voice,” Ms. Malliotakis, 40, said in an interview. “They want someone who is going to fight to be better, who is going to bring their perspective to the forefront, who is going to push back when policies are being proposed that will hurt them or cost them money or make their lives miserable.”Her stance could alienate the majority of New York voters, overwhelmingly Democratic, whom she needs to rise to higher office — or it could cement her place in New York politics as a rare Republican voice. Though there are more registered Democrats on Staten Island, which makes up the majority of Ms. Malliotakis’s district, Republicans registered far more new voters during the Trump administration than Democrats did, creating an invigorated, Trump-loving base that Ms. Malliotakis plays to.Ms. Malliotakis campaigning door to door in September in Staten Island. She unseated Max Rose, who was the Democratic incumbent.Credit…James Estrin/The New York TimesBut if she runs again in 2022, Ms. Malliotakis may face a completely different playing field. Congressional districts will be redrawn following the results of the 2020 census. New York could lose up to two congressional seats, decreasing its representation in the House from 27 people to 25, according to a prediction by Election Data Services, a political consulting firm.New York’s 11th District, which Ms. Malliotakis represents, will likely extend further into Brooklyn or into Lower Manhattan, picking up more Democratic voters and putting her seat in jeopardy.Some residents have been so unnerved by the events of Ms. Malliotakis’s nascent term that they are already plotting for her removal. NICPAC officially launched on Monday, establishing itself as a bipartisan watchdog organization of constituents both outraged over her decertification vote and disappointed in her lukewarm response to the Capitol riot. (Ms. Malliotakis’s statement condemned rioters and thanked the law enforcement officers.)The group plans to buy ads and conduct outreach to Ms. Malliotakis’s constituents, in order to “keep her accountable,” said Jonathan Yedin, a Democratic political operative and founding member of the PAC.“Some of us voted for her, some of us didn’t, but we’re all united in the message that she’s unfit to serve, given her actions,” Mr. Yedin said.Dan Hetteix, host of Radio Free Bay Ridge, a progressive politics podcast based in the 11th District, said Ms. Malliotakis had to try to secure her base to fend off opposition.“She needs to keep these new voters engaged in a ticket that doesn’t have Trump on it anymore,” Mr. Hetteix said. “She needs to make the most of Staten Island’s red voters. The more she can whip them up, the more she can resist whatever redistricting does to her.”Ms. Malliotakis defended her vote not to certify the presidential election results in a tweet. “I voted against certification of the two challenged states not to ‘overturn an election’ but to highlight need for a proper hearing into unconstitutional rule changes, irregularities and alleged fraud,” she wrote. “I swore an oath to the Constitution and REFUSED to turn a blind eye.”Peers find her ambitious, hardworking and sharp, and she has positioned herself as the antidote to the state’s far-left politicians. The congresswoman has even joined the “anti-socialist squad,” to counter a fellow New York representative, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and “the Squad.”Ms. Malliotakis is as much against unauthorized immigration and universal health care as she is in favor of strengthening bail laws and protecting father-daughter dances. But some local Democrats say that she’s a reactionary ideological flip-flopper.“She is someone who has changed everything she’s believed in every time she’s ever run for office,” said Kevin Elkins, a longtime adviser to Mr. Rose, whom Ms. Malliotakis defeated in November.Mark Murphy, a local businessman and former Democratic congressional candidate in the district, said he wants Ms. Malliotakis to move to the middle to better speak for all residents. “I want her to dial back the hard-core conservative ideology that is driving her, and think about who we, as a community, really are,” Mr. Murphy said.But Staten Island tends to vote Republican. In 2016 and 2020, it was the only borough in New York City that Mr. Trump won. Her base is expecting her to represent the sentiment of Trump voters in the district.In an interview, Ms. Malliotakis praised the successes of Mr. Trump’s term, proof, in her eyes, that he deserved to be re-elected: improved health care for veterans, low unemployment numbers, renegotiated trade deals. “People didn’t even know about the good things because the other side has been so busy criticizing him and trying to impeach him and investigate him over the four years, which I think was very unfair,” she said.Some believe that Ms. Malliotakis’s vote simply represented the wishes of a district that wanted to see Mr. Trump re-elected.“I really do believe she had a mandate from her constituents, who also overwhelmingly voted to support Trump, to object to the election results, as well as vote against impeaching the president,” said Peter Giunta, president of the Staten Island Young Republican Club.Allan Katz, a financial planner on Staten Island, voted for both Ms. Malliotakis and Mr. Trump last November. “Max Rose, when he was in office, voted for impeachment when most of his constituents wanted him to vote against it,” said Mr. Katz.In May, Ms. Malliotakis spoke at a rally in support of a tanning salon whose owner opened the business in defiance of coronavirus restrictions.Credit…Stephanie Keith/Getty ImagesSome of her supporters believe she is making all the right moves.“Number one, she is a rising star,” said Mike Long, the former chairman of the Conservative Party of New York, who has known Ms. Malliotakis for over a decade. “She knows exactly what she believes in and where she wants to go.”For years, Ms. Malliotakis has fought to be a significant Republican voice in the state.Born in New York in 1980 to Greek and Cuban immigrant parents, she grew up on Staten Island. Her mother fled the Castro regime in the late 1950s; her father arrived in the United States from Crete in 1962, with $50 to his name. One point of familial pride, she has said, is that neither of them took any public assistance.After working on state campaigns, Ms. Malliotakis was elected to the New York State Assembly in 2010. She gained citywide recognition when she faced Mayor Bill de Blasio in his 2017 re-election campaign, losing but ultimately seeing overwhelming support in her home borough, where about 70 percent of the population voted for her.In 2020, she challenged Mr. Rose in a particularly aggressive race. Ms. Malliotakis’s campaign seized on conservative backlash to the protests against racial injustice in the summer. Mr. Rose’s attendance at a single protest became a focal point of the campaign, enabling Ms. Malliotakis — who boasted the endorsement of five police unions — to accuse Mr. Rose of being a supporter of efforts to defund the police.She also grabbed Mr. Trump’s endorsement. Just four years earlier, she had served as the New York State chair for Senator Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign, and had openly criticized Mr. Trump’s behavior, using the #NEVERTRUMP hashtag on social media.But once Mr. Rubio lost the nomination, Ms. Malliotakis shifted from being against Mr. Trump to entrenching herself fervently in his camp. She even hosted a get-well rally for him after he tested positive for the coronavirus.Longtime friends and local politicians were confused by the sudden switch, claiming that she swung right to secure votes.Mike Arvanites, a surveyor for the city’s Board of Elections in Staten Island, has known Ms. Malliotakis for so long that he was present at her 40-day blessing and baptism in their Greek Orthodox Church. He pointed out that Ms. Malliotakis was elected to the New York State Assembly during the rise of the Tea Party, but she rejected the group’s extremism.“The year she was running for mayor, she explained to me that she was terrified of some Trump supporters,” Mr. Arvanites, a Democrat, said.He said he believed that Ms. Malliotakis has been radicalized by several in her camp, including Leticia Remauro, a Republican operative associated with Ms. Malliotakis’s congressional campaign and a longtime friend of the congresswoman. Last month, Ms. Remauro was pilloried for saying “Heil Hitler” in an earlier protest against coronavirus restrictions. (Ms. Malliotakis released a statement repudiating Ms. Remauro’s remarks.)Ms. Malliotakis made her loyalty clear, joining three New York-based representatives and other Republicans in Congress to vote to overturn the election results.But she said she would keep an open mind when it comes to President Biden.“I’m willing to hear him out,” Ms. Malliotakis said in her interview. “There are opportunities for us to work together where there is some common ground, when it comes to vaccine distribution, reopening the economy and returning the jobs that we lost.”“But,” she said, “I’m also mindful of the fact that I’m going to need to push back.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

What’s your favorite pizza joint? How do you like your bagel? Do you ride the subway? Shop at bodegas? Mets or Yankees?

Mayoral campaigns inevitably involve candidates facing questions about their New York pedigree.

In that vein, we asked 11 mayoral candidates to describe a quintessential moment that shows they are New Yorkers rooted in the city they seek to lead. More

Eric Adams

, 60

Dem

Brooklyn borough president; former New York City police officer

Mr. Adams is running as a blue-collar New Yorker with deep ties to the city and experience in government. As a police officer, he was an advocate for reform from within the force, and he is a sharp critic of police brutality but does not embrace the “defund the police” movement. He has proposed that schools be open year-round. His outspoken manner sometimes gets him into trouble, as it did last year when he told gentrifiers to “go back to Iowa.”

Maya Wiley

, 57

Dem

Former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio; former chairwoman of the Civilian Complaint Review Board; former MSNBC analyst

Ms. Wiley says it is time for the city to elect its first mayor who is a Black woman. An expert on criminal justice issues and a favorite among progressives from her appearances on MSNBC, she wants to reform the Police Department and focus on inequality. She proposed a “New Deal” for New York that would create 100,000 jobs. Her work in the de Blasio administration may counter her image as an outsider.

Andrew Yang

, 46

Dem

Former presidential candidate; former nonprofit executive

Mr. Yang has distinguished his campaign with bold, if unorthodox, ideas. He wants to give 500,000 low-income New Yorkers $2,000 per year — a version of his universal basic income proposal from the 2020 presidential race — and he has proposed building a casino on Governors Island. He has strong name recognition, but has faced scrutiny over moving his family out of the city during the pandemic and the workplace culture at his presidential campaign and businesses.

Scott M. Stringer

, 60

Dem

City comptroller; former Manhattan borough president

Mr. Stringer has worked in government for years and has suggested that his brand of being a capable, experienced manager is what New York needs. He is a public school parent, focusing his campaign on affordable housing and early childhood education. He has secured endorsements from a diverse set of progressive leaders and is the only candidate who has won citywide office before, but he is also a white man at a time when many Black, Latino and female candidates have been elected in the New York area.

Raymond J. McGuire

, 64

Dem

Former vice chairman at Citigroup

Mr. McGuire was recruited to run by members of the city’s business community who feel they have not had a voice at City Hall since Michael R. Bloomberg was mayor from 2002 to 2013; they want someone with a financial background to guide the city’s fiscal recovery. His first major proposal during his campaign was to create 500,000 good-paying jobs, but progressive voters may be wary of any candidate linked to Wall Street.

Shaun Donovan

, 55

Dem

Former federal housing secretary; former White House budget director

Mr. Donovan is a veteran of the Obama administration and the Bloomberg administration in New York City, and he has made his ties to the federal government a centerpiece of his campaign. He has released several policy proposals, including one to create “15-minute neighborhoods” to make sure every New Yorker has access to a good school, fresh food, transit and a park within 15 minutes of home.

Carlos Menchaca

, 40

Dem

City Council member in Brooklyn

Mr. Menchaca is a progressive councilman who helped defeat a rezoning proposal to expand the Industry City complex in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. He supports the “defund the police” movement, is an avid cyclist and has helped create the municipal identification cards known as IDNYC.

Dianne Morales

, 53

Dem

Former nonprofit executive

Ms. Morales has focused her campaign on improving life for poor and working-class New Yorkers. She has called for providing many of those residents with a guaranteed minimum income; cutting half of the $6 billion annual police budget to fund social services; and desegregating public schools.

Kathryn Garcia

, 50

Dem

Former city sanitation commissioner

Ms. Garcia is running as an experienced manager who can lead the city during a crisis. She oversaw the city’s huge trash operation and is respected among many in city government. As part of the de Blasio administration, she helped distribute millions of meals to hungry New Yorkers during the pandemic.

Loree Sutton

, 61

Dem

Retired Army brigadier general; former head of the city’s Department of Veterans’ Services

Ms. Sutton is a centrist who has not run for office before. She says her leadership experience makes her the best person to help the city recover from the pandemic. She helped reduce homelessness among veterans and wants to address the city’s broader homelessness crisis.

Paperboy Prince

, 28

Dem

Former candidate for Congress; rapper

Paperboy Prince, from Brooklyn, is running on a platform of creating a universal basic income, abolishing the police and canceling rent — a campaign to forgive unpaid rent for those who cannot afford it. Last year, the rapper ran to be the first nonbinary member of Congress, but lost to Representative Nydia Velazquez.

Sara Tirschwell

, 55

Rep

Former Wall Street executive

She rose to high positions at financial firms like TCW, the giant asset-management company, and filed a prominent sexual harassment complaint against her boss. Ms. Tirschwell is running as a moderate and believes Democrats have moved too far to the left. She wants to reduce burdensome regulations and increase funding for the City University of New York.

Barbara Kavovit

, 55

Dem

Founder of a construction firm

Ms. Kavovit is best known for her appearances on the television show “The Real Housewives of New York City.” She is more conservative than some Democrats in the race; she does not want to cut the police budget and has said that Michael R. Bloomberg was her favorite mayor.

Fernando Mateo

, 63

Rep

Restaurant operator; former leader of a trade group for cabdrivers

Mr. Mateo has led groups representing livery drivers and bodega workers, and runs a restaurant in the Bronx. He was born in the Dominican Republic and has ties to the city’s Latino community. He has been involved in politics for years and was linked to a scandal over Mayor Bill de Blasio’s fund-raising, but was never charged.

Isaac Wright Jr.

, 59

Dem

Lawyer

Mr. Wright was wrongfully convicted on drug charges in 1991. The ABC television show “For Life” is based on his story, and he is a producer on the show, along with the rapper 50 Cent. He is calling for city control of the subway and desegregating public schools.

Art Chang

, 57

Dem

Former managing director at JPMorgan Chase

He ran a voter outreach program and wants to create universal daycare for all children from age 1, to serve “a city of people who primarily live on the edge.”

Joycelyn Taylor

, 54

Dem

Chief executive of a general contracting firm

She is running as a working-class New Yorker who grew up in public housing. She wants to cancel rent for New Yorkers who cannot afford it and convert vacant office buildings into housing for the homeless.

Aaron Foldenauer

, 45

Dem

Lawyer

He previously ran for City Council in Lower Manhattan and has several ideas to improve the environment, including a “Bicycle Superhighway” that would run down Third Avenue in Manhattan.

William Pepitone

, 53

Rep

Former New York City police officer

He wants to combat “anarchy” in the city by returning to the “broken windows” policing strategy that was first widely used in the 1990s, to target minor violations in an effort to prevent serious crimes. He is a nephew of Joe Pepitone, the colorful ex-New York Yankee.

Christopher Krietchman

, 40

Ind

Health and wellness leader

A “futurist” and former bodybuilder, he once ran a meal delivery program. He wants to improve the city by combating greed and “white male privilege,” and allowing New Yorkers to “rent to own” a home.

Quanda Francis

, 40

Dem

Former New York City crime analyst

She was a crime analyst for the New York Police Department who has talked about the struggles she faced when she dropped out of high school. She wants to focus on maternal health for women of color after she almost died in childbirth.

Edward Cullen

, 34

Dem

Entrepreneur

A founder of the Harlem Tech Summit, he issued a 110-day plan to help the city rebound from the pandemic, with a focus on public-private partnerships. More

AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyOpinionSupported byContinue reading the main storyletters‘The Courage to Put Country Over Party’: Arguments in Trump’s TrialReaders call on Republican senators to “do the right thing, not the easy thing” and hold the former president accountable.Feb. 3, 2021, 12:56 p.m. ET“If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” Donald J. Trump told his supporters at a rally in Washington on Jan. 6.Credit…Kenny Holston for The New York TimesCapitol Police officers and lawmakers paid their respects to Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick at the Capitol Tuesday evening.Credit…Pool photo by Brendan SmialowskiTo the Editor:Re “House Case Calls Trump ‘Singularly Responsible’ for Rampage at Capitol” (front page, Feb. 3):Open Letter to Republican Senators:As I watch the memorial for Officer Brian Sicknick in the Capitol and reflect on his courage and integrity, I cannot help but think about the lack of courage and integrity that has been on display by Senate Republicans. This brave man gave his life because it was his job to save yours. It wasn’t political. You are alive because Officer Sicknick and the rest of the Capitol Police stepped up to the plate on Jan. 6.Your job now is to honor them by holding Donald Trump accountable for inciting the insurrection that led to Officer Sicknick’s death. It shouldn’t be political. It shouldn’t be about re-election. It shouldn’t be about holding onto support from the same people who stormed the Capitol. It should be about doing the right thing, not the easy thing.My hope is that you take your lead from the 10 House Republicans who had the courage to put country over party.Sharon S. OchsFallston, Md.To the Editor:Let me get this straight.The lies about the election being stolen plus his words that incited his followers to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6 have been publicly broadcast and quoted in print, and even many Republican members of Congress initially acknowledged that the former president bears some responsibility for the riot. But since according to decades-old policy a sitting president cannot be indicted, Donald Trump has faced no legal consequences for his role in the riot.And now for the coming impeachment trial, his defense team is arguing that it is unconstitutional to impeach a former president, a position that many Senate Republicans are rushing to support as a way to let Mr. Trump escape any form of responsibility for what many would claim was domestic terrorism.So it’s looking as if Donald Trump may get away scot-free. All this from the party of law and order?James G. GoodaleFort Myers, Fla.To the Editor:I try to imagine what would have happened if the mob had gotten Mike Pence. Donald Trump’s impeachment and conviction would have been a foregone conclusion. Why should Mr. Pence’s narrow escape lead us to a different conclusion?Michael B. HeckmanPine Bush, N.Y.To the Editor:The Senate trial’s constitutionality may be in question. But that can be answered only by the Supreme Court, not individual senators in the minority claiming the trial to be unconstitutional and therefore moot.Republicans wrap themselves in the Constitution. So walk the walk, senators. Don’t dodge your duty. Vote on the evidence of incitement of insurrection. And if Donald Trump is found guilty, he may resolve the question of constitutionality with an appeal to the Supreme Court.Ned GardnerApex, N.C.To the Editor:Although a great deal of attention has, appropriately, been focused on the trial of the impeachment charges against former President Donald Trump and whether his enablers in the Senate will vote to convict him, the principal focus should be on the criminal investigation and prosecution of serious crimes that endangered (and continue to endanger) our democracy and caused several deaths during the Jan. 6 assault on our Capitol.It is clear from incontrovertible recordings, and other sources, that there is substantial evidence to conclude that Mr. Trump engaged in criminal conduct in violation of both federal and state laws. Grand juries should be impaneled immediately to consider the evidence against him (and his co-conspirators) and take appropriate action.Throughout his life Mr. Trump has avoided responsibility for actions he has undertaken — most recently the immunity from prosecution afforded to presidents while in office. That immunity has expired, and Mr. Trump should be held accountable for his serious crimes.Richard SchaefferRye Brook, N.Y.The writer is a lawyer and former assistant district attorney.To the Editor:To all the Republicans who don’t think that inciting a violent insurrection to overthrow a lawful election is a crime meriting conviction, I would like them to complete the following sentence: “It would be an impeachable offense if Donald Trump _______.” It appears they would never fill in that blank.Laurie WoogWestfield, N.J.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

Joe Biden paid his respects at the US Capitol on Tuesday night to the police officer killed by the violent mob of Donald Trump supporters who staged the insurrection on Congress on 6 January.The remains of Brian Sicknick, 42, are lying in honor in the Capitol’s towering central rotunda where rioters had rampaged on the day, ahead of a ceremony for the fallen officer on Wednesday.Sicknick was hit on the head with a fire extinguisher as the mass of rioters, egged on by Trump at a rally near the White House immediately prior, swarmed into the Capitol four weeks ago. He later collapsed and died in hospital.The ceremony for Sicknick, a former member of the National Guard whose ashes will be buried at Arlington National Ceremony, comes less than a week before the impeachment trial of Trump is due to begin.Prosecutors from the House of Representatives have accused Trump of creating a “powder keg” among his supporters which eventually led to the insurrection which caused Sicknick’s death, accusing him of being “singularly responsible” for inciting the insurrection.After losing the presidential election Trump repeatedly made false accusations of widespread voter fraud, before holding the rally on 6 January as electors met in both chambers of the US Congress in Washington DC to confirm Joe Biden’s victory.There, Trump encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” and urged them to march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol.On Wednesday hundreds of congressional staff signed a letter to the US Senate, urging them to convict Trump.Five people, including Sicknick, died in the 6 January riot, as Trump’s supporters broke into the building and threatened violence against members of Congress. A reported 60 Capitol police officers were injured.Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, arrived at the Capitol late on Tuesday night, as the viewing ceremony for Sicknick began.The president briefly placed his hand on a wooden box containing Sicknick’s ashes, Associated Press reported, before saying a prayer and sadly shaking his head as he observed a memorial wreath nearby. Sicknick’s ashes stood next to a tri-folded American flag in a polished wooden case.Nanci Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the most senior Democrats in the House and Senate, announced in late January that Sicknick would lie in honor, a procedure usually reserved for government leaders.Sicknick’s actions on 6 January “helped save lives, defend the temple of our democracy and ensure that the Congress was not diverted from our duty to the Constitution,” Pelosi and Schumer said. More

#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesSee Your Local RiskVaccine InformationWuhan, One Year LaterAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyMario Draghi Gets Nod to Form New Government and Guide Italy Out of CrisisThe sudden ascent of the man credited with helping save the euro was a pipe dream for Italians frustrated with a coalition paralyzed by ideological schisms and incompetence.Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, knows well the machinery of government at both the European and Italian level. Credit…Andrew Medichini/Associated PressFeb. 3, 2021Updated 8:43 a.m. ETROME — Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank who is largely credited with helping to save the euro, accepted a mandate from Italy’s president on Wednesday to try and form a new unity government that would guide the country out of the pandemic and through economic recovery.“To overcome the pandemic, to complete the vaccine campaign, to offer answers to the daily problems of the citizens, to relaunch the country are the challenges we face,” Mr. Draghi said after meeting with President Sergio Mattarella for more than an hour at the Quirinal Palace. Italy, he said, faced a “difficult moment.” And he said he had accepted Mr. Mattarella’s appeal because the emergency “requires an answer equal to the seriousness of the situation.”Until as recently as Tuesday, the idea of Mr. Draghi replacing Giuseppe Conte as prime minister remained a pipe dream for the many Italians frustrated with a governing coalition that seemed paralyzed by ideological schisms and incompetence, especially as the coronavirus pandemic raged and economic devastation set in.But on Tuesday evening, Mr. Mattarella summoned Mr. Draghi and appealed to “all the political forces in the Parliament” to support a “high profile government” to meet the historic moment.He made it clear Mr. Conte’s tenure was over and the new players, potentially political leaders proposed by the parties supporting Mr. Draghi or an all-star cast of politically unaffiliated economists, judges and scientists, was ready to take the stage.Italy’s stock market rallied on Wednesday in response to the news that Mr. Draghi had been lined up to lead the Italian government. He immediately began consultations with party leaders that will continue in the coming days in an effort to form a new Italian government.“I am confident that from the exchange with the parties and the groups in the Parliament and from the dialogue with the social forces,” Mr. Draghi said on Wednesday, “there will emerge unity and the capacity to give a responsible answer to the president’s appeal.”Mr. Draghi is himself no political novice. He has served in past Italian governments, was a director of Italy’s treasury and knows well the machinery of government at both the European and Italian level.His name has been mentioned for years as a potential candidate to replace Mr. Mattarella as Italy’s head of state in 2022. But now Mr. Mattarella himself has called on Mr. Draghi, whom he has publicly praised in the past, and brought him directly into the fray.“Now everyone of good will must heed the call of President Mattarella and support the government of Mario Draghi,” Matteo Renzi, the wily former prime minister who engineered the collapse of Mr. Conte’s government by pulling his small party’s support in Parliament. “Now is the time for sobriety.”A former prime minister, Matteo Renzi, triggered the previous government’s collapse.Credit…Pool photo by Alessandro SerranoParty leaders on the right and left quickly expressed support for Mr. Draghi after it became clear that Mr. Mattarella would ask him to form a government.Among them were leaders who had made great shows of their loyalty to Mr. Conte. Nicola Zingaretti, the leader of the Democratic Party that Mr. Renzi once led, released a statement that on the one hand referred to the government crisis as a “disaster provoked by the irresponsible choice” of Mr. Renzi, but he then welcomed Mr. Mattarella’s decision. “We will stand ready to discuss the common good for the country.”The Coronavirus Outbreak More

#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Coup in MyanmarWhat We KnowA Deadly GameMilitary’s AuthorityAung San Suu Kyi Is DetainedWho Is Aung San Suu Kyi?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyDe la gloria a la oscuridad: la vida de Aung San Suu Kyi, lideresa política de BirmaniaDiez años después de que dejó el arresto domiciliario y prometió luchar por la justicia, la lideresa civil de Birmania se ha convertido en la carcelera de sus críticos y una apologista de la matanza de las minorías.Partidarios de la Liga Nacional para la Democracia desfilaban con un retrato de Aung San Suu Kyi en Rangún, Birmania, durante la jornada electoral del domingo.Credit…Sai Aung Main/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images3 de febrero de 2021Actualizado 08:03 ETRead in EnglishHace una década, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi fue liberada luego de pasar varios años de arresto domiciliario —sin haber podido usar un celular o Facebook— y cuando celebró el fallo de la corte en la oficina de su partido político, que estaba prohibido, emanaba un fuerte olor de humedad por los informes de derechos humanos que estaban amontonados en el piso.Armada con una colección de premios internacionales, lucía un tocado de flores frescas en el cabello cuando se sentó con una postura impecable y le prometió al mundo dos cosas: que lucharía para que los presos políticos de Birmania fuesen liberados y pondría fin a la lucha étnica que ha mantenido las fronteras del país en guerra durante siete décadas.Pero ambas promesas no fueron cumplidas y el icono más resplandeciente de la democracia perdió su brillo. Aung San Suu Kyi, de 75 años, se ha convertido en una apologista de los mismos generales que la encerraron, minimizando su campaña asesina contra la minoría musulmana rohinyá. Como pertenece a la mayoría étnica bamar, sus críticos más fuertes la acusan de racismo y falta de voluntad para luchar por los derechos humanos de todas las personas en Birmania. More