For many, Rudy Giuliani retains the features of the mayor of New York at the time of the 2001 attacks because of the energetic role he played in the anguished days that followed.
Michael Bloomberg will be remembered as the mayor who helped New Yorkers focus on the future after the biggest tragedy in their city’s history.
“Michael Bloomberg did not have a political future. Without 9/11, he would now lead (the band) Bloomberg LP with no chance of becoming mayor.“says Douglas Muzzio, a political scientist at Barcuh College in New York.
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“Rudy becomes the hallowed man giving his blessing to Mike, who mobilizes his financial means to take advantage of it through publicity stunts“, he adds.
“MAYOR OF AMERICA“
Billionaire, Michael Bloomberg left the service and information group he founded to run in the 2001 election, joining the Republican Party after having been a Democrat for a long time. Now independent, he is fulfilling his third four-year term.
Former prosecutor, who later became an effective mayor but accused of authoritarianism before September 11, Rudy Giuliani was consecrated “mayor of america“for the compassion he has shown following the attacks.
His attempts to harness this capital of sympathy in a national role, however, have so far failed.
Campaigning for the Republican nomination in the 2008 presidential election, and after spending $ 15 million, he had only gotten one delegate to the Republican convention and had given up.
However, it could still have a lasting weight on the national political scene. In recent weeks, he has been cited as a possible running mate to Rick Perry, governor of Texas who announced his candidacy for the White House on August 12.
“After 9/11 he had a national reputation as a leader. Why he didn’t succeed, honestly I don’t know“said Ed Koch, another former New York mayor who, for having criticized Giuliani’s style, nevertheless voted for him twice.”It was due to his campaign more than to himself.”
Michael Bloomberg’s name has also been cited as a possible independent candidate, but he appears inclined to take over the private life of a philanthropist when his term of office ends. “I won’t run for president, period“he told CBS News in December.
TAKING A DISTANCE
More than one political scientist acknowledges Michael Bloomberg’s good management of the situation in New York following 9/11.
He was sworn in in the presence of Rudy Giuliani shortly after midnight on January 1, 2002 in Times Square, as the city remained reeling from the loss of life from the destruction of the World Trade Center twin towers. The new mayor has extended the policy of combating delinquency and criminality that had marked the Giuliani years.
Over the 9/11 birthdays, Michael Bloomberg has encouraged New Yorkers to distance themselves from the attacks. “It’s in his psyche – don’t look back – but it also reflects a lack of introspection and self-analysis.“, comments Prof. Muzzio.
In three municipal campaigns, Michael Bloomberg spent $ 260 million out of his pocket. His third term ends on January 1, 2014.
Critics consider him to have used the influence of wealth to pass legislation that allowed him to run for a third term.
With or without the tragic background of the 2001 attacks, the mayors of New York in recent decades have tried in vain to run for the US presidency or the Senate.
“New York City Hall is typically a graveyard for those aiming for higher national functions“, says academic Robert Polner, editor of a book on Rudy Giuliani, also emphasizing the character”very apart“from New York State to the country.
Philippe Bas-Rabérin for the French service
