Amid a rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment across Europe, how should the historic success of Sadiq Khan in the London mayoral election be interpreted? The first Muslim to hold such a post in any European Union capital resoundingly beat the Conservative candidate and those from three other parties.
However there is a strong argument to be made that this result is to do with meritocracy rather than with religion. As the son of an immigrant and as someone who grew up in public housing, Mr Khan’s background resonated with voters far more than that of his Conservative opponent, Zac Goldsmith, the son of the late Anglo-French billionaire Sir James Goldsmith.
Mr Khan’s plans to help ease the capital’s accommodation crisis by building more public housing was also a hit with voters. His record for working for the public good – whether as a human rights lawyer helping ethnic minorities and then as a local councillor and member of parliament – was also the antithesis of eight years of Boris Johnson’s right-wing mayoralty.
But while, as the saying goes, all politics is local and Mr Khan’s championing of the issues that really matter to Londoners was an important part of his victory, there is another point that deserves examination. The Conservatives’ campaign against him failed because voters overwhelmingly rejected their tactic of smearing him through intimations about his faith and supposed radical ties.
As the Conservatives began their post-mortem on losing the mayoralty, former party chairman Sayeeda Warsi decried the “appalling dog whistle campaign”, saying it not only cost the Conservatives the mayoralty but also the party’s “reputation and credibility on issues of race and religion”.
With the refugee influx into Europe causing a lurch to the right in favour of anti-immigration parties, many other EU politicians will have kept a close watch on the London mayoral campaign to see how they can balance western liberal values with electability. Mr Khan’s success in London showed that these seemingly conflicting goals can be compatible.
The message to emerge is that even in a city that clearly remembers the 2005 terror attacks, the politics of fear and division do not always prevail. That is a heartening message for politicians across Europe who want to act in accordance with their values of tolerance and compassion, rather than more cynical politicking.
