September 24, 2001. Copyright, 2001, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Statesman-like Giuliani rises above rubble of Manhattan
By Elisabeth Ribbans

LONDON, September 24, Graphic News:  FOUR days after the September 11 terrorist attack on the United States, New York mayor Rudy Giuliani took time out from his exhausting schedule to walk a young bride down the aisle. He had met the woman a month before at the funeral of her brother, a New York firefighter. She mentioned that with her father gone, and now her brother, there was no one to escort her to the altar on her wedding day. The mayor promised Ð and, despite the extraordinary atrocity that had engulfed the city, kept his pledge Ð to be her surrogate father.

In the very grimmest of circumstances, it is a role that Mayor Giuliani is also playing for New Yorkers at large. The man whose approval ratings had slid to 50 percent before the tragedy, whose pugnacious style of politics had alienated many citizens, whose private life had turned into a media circus act, has become their rod and staff and comfort. More than nine out of 10 New Yorkers Ð according to Gallup Ð admire the way their first citizen has handled the crisis; even prominent opponents have rallied to praise the Republican mayorÕs style of leadership.

Calm, stoic and ever-present Ð he was on the scene at the World Trade Center even before the towers fell Ð Giuliani has displayed qualities of character that few imagined he possessed. In AmericaÕs dark hour he has been reassuringly visible without ever seeking to steal the limelight. He has spoken, with unscripted sincerity, the language of tolerance, perseverance and resolve. Never shirking from the grim daily duty of relaying to the world the latest bad news, he has done so with compassion that has never resorted to mawkish sentimentality.

Although barred from seeking a third consecutive term in NovemberÕs elections, thereÕs little doubt Giuliani would walk back into Gracie Mansion with a landslide majority were state officials to consider an amendment to state legislation allowing him to run again. Giuliani himself has indicated that he may call for an emergency extension of his term in office.

If, however, he does leave office as scheduled on December 31, Giuliani knows he will be unwillingly relinquished by a grateful city; his eight years at the helm of AmericaÕs largest metropolis judged principally in the light of his exemplary last weeks.

It might not always have been so. Rudy GiulianiÕs achievements in office were not, however, inconsiderable. A lawyer by profession, his crackdown on crime made New York into the safest large U.S. city, with crime dropping in 2000 to its lowest level since 1968. He championed education, improved road safety, cleaned up the streets and expanded parkland. Ridding the Big Apple of its maggoty bits gave the city a fresh allure: between 1993, when he took office, and the time of the terrorist strike on Manhattan, tourist numbers had risen 44 percent.

But the zeal with which the maverick and often grouchy Giuliani pursued his Òquality of life agendaÓ irked as many as it pleased. A week before the attacks, one journalist likened the mayorÕs mission Ð in what now seems deeply inappropriate language Ð as a Òholy warÓ. He slapped fines on jaywalkers, prohibited sex shops within a 500ft (150m) radius of homes, schools and places of worship, tried to block Òobjectionable artÓ from city galleries and banned traditional firecrackers Ð on safety grounds Ð from Chinese New Year celebrations.

Although he was a killjoy to some, his legislation was popular enough to get him re-elected with a wide margin in 1997, his approval rating peaking around that time at 74 percent. Thereafter, he was on a downward trend. Several high-profile incidences of police brutality prompted widespread protests, including indictments from Amnesty International.

Standing against Hillard Rodham Clinton for a Senate place in the 2000 elections, the Brooklyn-born grandson of Italian immigrants saw an initial lead whittled away as even his admirers feared he was too uncompromising for political life on Capitol Hill. He was eventually forced to withdraw from the race after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. The sympathy factor soon became overshadowed by news of the sudden split from his wife of 16 years, the actress and broadcaster Donna Hanover, mother of their two young children. He accused her of being cruelly unsupportive of his cancer treatment, while she made clear her unhappiness with the increasing presence of his Òspecial friendÓ Judith Nathan. Until a few weeks ago, the messy divorce had been the staple of Giuliani-centered news, with headlines such as ÒCourt bars lover from MayorÕs homeÓ being the order of the day.

That they now read: ÒRudy for PresidentÓ represents a remarkable turnaround. Some suggest Giuliani will bide his time and run again for mayor in 2004. Others that he will take some commanding role in New YorkÕs recovery programme. If he is encouraged to seek the White House Ð whose present incumbent he has recently outshone Ð his statesman-like mien over the rubble of Manhattan would give any campaign a firm foundation.
/ENDS

Sources: New York City Hall official website, Gallup