And then there’s Sunday’s election in Berlin in which the Left Party got a plurality of the votes. The party’s campaign modeled itself after that of New York’s Mayor Mamdani. Fancy that [emphasis mine]:

In Sunday’s state election, the Left Party (Die Linke), the successor to the East German Communist Party, won first place with 26 percent of the vote. The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) trailed in second at 19 percent, followed closely by the AfD at 16 percent.

This came as the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) extended its winning streak in regional elections, taking first place in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, two weeks after winning in Saxony-Anhalt.

The Left Party sought its inspiration from Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign in New York and fielded a Turkish-origin candidate, Elif Eralp. Ahead of the election, Germany’s DW TV observed that the “party wants to replicate the ‘miracle of New York,’ where the socialist Democrat Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor despite significant opposition.”

“If a left-wing candidate can win in New York, then there’s no reason it can’t happen in Berlin,” Eralp hoped.

Berlin has a large and growing Muslim population that supports the party 51%. Here’s a description of the victory celebration – the usual incoherent and contradictory blend of red and green causes:

Visibly gay and queer party supporters chanted “Viva Palestina.” The party’s top candidate Eralp ended her victory speech with “Free Palestine.”

First Manhattan, then Berlin.

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This is a Leonard Cohen song that’s based on one of the Yom Kippur prayers:

“Who by fire” is Leonard Cohen’s version of the Hebrew prayer “Unetanneh Tokef”, chanted on Yom Kippur. It was released in the 1974 album “New Skin for the Old Ceremony.” This is one of the main songs of the album and one of Cohen’s best known songs.

The prayer Cohen heard as a child in the synagogue describes God reviewing the Book of Life and deciding the fate of every soul for the year to come – who will live, who will die and how. The line: “And who shall I say is calling?” can be understood as a break from faith in God. According to Cohen that element of doubt is what made the song into a personal prayer for him.

Here’s the relevant part of the prayer’s text:

On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed – how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die after a long life and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword and who by beast, who by famine and who by thirst, who by upheaval and who by plague, who by strangling and who by stoning. Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquility and who will suffer, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted. But Repentance, Prayer, and Charity mitigate the severity of the Decree.”

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And unfortunately, seemingly prophetic for this particular point in time – as you’ll see if you follow the words (note, for example “everybody knows the plague is coming…”):

I’ve always felt that the lyrics of that song are serious and ironic at the same time. In other words, is what “everybody knows” actually true all the time? Of course not. But sometimes it is.

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