In this week’s Monday Briefing we focus on Zohran Mamdani new tax proposal in New York. A shooting is attempted in the White House, while Mali’s Defence Minister is successfully assassinated. Milei faces crisis left and right, while the US turns on its historical allies after they refused to cooperate over Iran.
Spotlight: NYC mayor Mamdani moves to tax the rich
On the 15th of April, which is for all American Citizens Tax Day, Mayor of New York City Mamdani announced, in a brief YouTube video, a pied-à-terre tax on all properties worth more than 5 million dollars. This new proposed legislation has been achieved in collaboration with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a centrist democrat, who declared that it could contribute to solving the 5-billion-dollar deficit that the City runs.
Since the electoral campaign that led his historic victory in November, Zohran Mamdani has promised to “Tax the rich,” implementing one of the signature slogans of the Socialist branch of the Democratic Party. This specific proposal aims at targeting the most valuable properties in New York that are not primary residencies, increasing the Tax on the owners by a non-specified amount. The last proposal of this kind, first discussed in 2019, entailed a 0.5% surcharge between 5 and 10 million, followed by 1.5% and even 4% over 25%, all on top of regular property taxation. According to Governor Hochul, the tax would apply to 13,000 properties and would collect 500 million dollars a year. Further details of the legislation, including crucially if the value will be based on the market value or the administrative assessment, will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Although certainly popular among the over 1 million voters that backed Mamdani in the last election, the proposal has sparked wide criticism in the City. Ken Griffin, the billionaire whose house was cited in the Mayor’s YouTube video as an example of the type of properties that the tax will reach, has spoken against this legislation: according to him, billions of dollars of projects will be driven out of New York by this taxation, including the expansion of his own company Citadel in Midtown Manhattan. Another strand of criticism has arrived from the accounting expert Nathan Goldman, which highlighted how these arbitrary cutoffs will flood the judiciary system of the City with cases in a matter of months. Last but not least, the Tax Foundation has estimated that the actual revenues from this tax will be around 230 million dollars, less than half of the original announcement.
The details of the pied-à-terre tax and its effects on New York are yet to be seen and will probably spark controversy anyway. Now, the reader may ask why this New York specific legislation has taken the spotlight of the second to last MB of the year. The fact is that the Democratic Socialist mayor has a lot to prove: he run on a bold and unprecedented campaign in the city that embodies financial capitalism and wealth (NYC gdp is 1.35 trillion, 70% of the whole of Italy). Whether Mamdani can leave his mark, and how will he try to achieve it, is a question that should interest any leftwing politician in the US and in Europe. Moreover, the fact that your favorite Head of the MB has been leaving in the City for more than 4 months at this point might have something to do with Spotlight. Will New York Mayor achieve what he promised so loudly? Will the rich of the richest city of the country be finally taxed?
World News
Attempted shooting disrupts White House Correspondents’ Dinner
by Lisa Tomaselli
On Saturday evening, an attempted shooting disrupted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, an annual event that brings together journalists, politicians and public figures to celebrate press freedom and the First Amendment. Held traditionally at the Washington Hilton, the dinner is a longstanding moment of interaction between the media and the presidency.
This year marked President Donald Trump’s first time attending while in office. He had indeed skipped the event throughout both of his terms, last appearing in 2011, when he was a reality TV star.
Shortly after the evening began, a man carrying multiple weapons forced his way past a security checkpoint and exchanged gunfire with law enforcement outside the ballroom. Inside, witnesses reported hearing loud noises as panic spread, with guests ducking for cover. President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance were swiftly escorted out of the venue by Secret Service agents, along with other officials.
The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California, was taken into custody. Authorities said he was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and knives. His motive has not yet been fully established, though early indications suggest he may have intended to target members of the administration.
This is not the first time Trump has faced such threats. In July 2024, during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, he was struck in the ear by a bullet. Months later, another armed man was intercepted near his Florida golf club. These repeated incidents have intensified concerns over political violence and presidential security in the United States.
Argentina’s Milei Faces Crises on Multiple Fronts
by Diego de Carvalho
In October, when Javier Milei won a resounding victory in Argentina’s midterm elections, it seemed like nothing could stop him. Yet, six months later, Milei’s political winning streak seems to have been broken, as Argentina’s president faces both political and economic turmoil.
Milei’s mounting political difficulties have been compounded by yet another corruption scandal, this time against Manuel Adorni, his Cabinet chief and press secretary. This is yet another controversy involving the Milei administration, which has also been damaged by ongoing investigations against his sister, General Secretary Karina Milei, and Javier Milei himself. This pattern represents a rethorical challenge for Milei, who had campaigned as an outsider, anti-corruption candidate, yet now seems to engage in misconduct similar to his Peronist predecessors.
Perhaps more important than this is a slowdown in Argentina’s economy, whose recovery had been the backbone of Milei’s power. Even as official economic indicators continue to show strength, polls show that Argentinians are not overall satisfied with this Milei’s economic management, perhaps due to increases in inequality and the stagnation of key economic sectors, such as manufacturing. The overall scenario has resulted in a massive slump in Milei’s approval ratings: 61% percent of Argentinians reject administration, a rise in 9 percentage points when compared to November of last year.
It is often difficult to find a measured take on Milei’s presidency because reactions to his policies often function more as an ideological litmus test than actual analysis. Critics tend to downplay the miraculous reduction in inflation and the overall improvement in country’s economic outlook, while many supporters ignore the social and economic costs of his agenda in their enthusiasm for ruthless neoliberal reform. The same polarisation can also be observed when debating corruption and political extremism, which quickly collapses into whataboutism from both sides. As Milei’s presidency goes through its ups and downs, any meaningful evaluation must look beyond partisan disputes and short-term political outcomes to focus on what is tangibly changing, for better or worse.
Possible ‘super El Niño’ on its way
by Veronika Lizier-Zmudzinski
A ‘super El Niño’ may be developing in 2026, which has been raising concerns among scientists about the disruptions that it could cause to climate change. El Niño itself is a natural phenomenon caused by unusually warm surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, which alters atmospheric circulation and affects weather patterns worldwide. This time around, it may be considered “super” because the warming may exceed about 2 degrees Celsius, which has only ever happened a few times in the recent decades.
Current models that have recently been checked, suggest that there is a very high likelihood that these conditions will persist throughout the year, potentially driving temperatures to new record highs.
The impacts seem to be uneven throughout the world, but scientists are currently stressing the need to be prepared as a super El Niño could significantly amplify extreme weather events worldwide.
Mali Defence Minister killed while violence erupts across the country
by Riccardo De Ambroggi
On Sunday evening, the Malian government spokesman reporting the death of the Defence Minister Sadio Camara and his family in a suicide truck bombing in front of his residence, near Bamako.
The attack is part of an organized wave of violence that has been shaking the country in the last two days. The violence is primarily caused by the two main groups antagonizing the government in this historic period: the Azawad Liberation Front, a separatist rebel army seeking the independence of a Tuareg ethnic state in the north, and the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a jihadists group affiliated with Al-Qaeda pursuing the Islamic revolution in Mali, the group is held responsible for the death of the Minister.
On Saturday, along with the murder of Camara, the two groups conducted several attacks in 5 cities around the country: Kati, Gao, Sevare, Mopti and Kidal. The government announced his counteroffensive, displacing the military in the most critical areas. Many civilians were reported to be killed and many more will face a terrible risk in what resemble to be the beginning of a civil war, even if the country has already been unstable for many years.
European News
A Pentagon email threatens Spain and Britain for insufficient support to the war in Iran
By Alice Di Terlizzi
On Friday, April 24th, 2026, the Reuters news agency reported on an internal Pentagon email condemning any display of national disapproval for the U.S. military operations in Iran, targeting Spain and Britain’s denial of support to the latter. The email outlines the United States’ option to impose diplomatic punishments on both NATO allies, whose misalignment with U.S. military conduct would be respectively addressed by suspending Spain from NATO, and reviewing the U.S. position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands, privileging in turn Argentina’s interest in their control. DoD’s Press Secretary, Kingsley Wilson, stated that it is a priority of the Department of War to provide the President with viable options “to ensure that our allies are no longer a paper tiger”, to which Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer replied by making the case for the U.K.’s sovereignty over the Falkland islands, and that the right to self-determination resides with the islanders.
An even more assertive positioning was taken by the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who reaffirmed Spain’s opposition to the war in Iran, leading to the prohibition on U.S. use of Spain-based air bases. Mr. Sánchez clearly stated that Spanish government officials “do not work off emails” but rather rely on official documentation that fosters inter-ally within the limits imposed by international law. At the same time, several doubts are being cast on the viability of the U.S. threat to deny Spain its NATO membership, especially considering the military alliance’s founding treaty, which “does not foresee any provision for suspension of NATO membership, or expulsion”. Were the U.S. act upon their rhetoric, trans-Atlantic tensions would be amplified, especially with respect to Britain’s sovereignty, whose territorial questioning bolsters Argentina’s President’s, Javier Milei, support for U.S. military involvement in Iran. Mr. Milei counts on Mr. Trump’s threats for supporting the claim that the Falklands “will always be Argentinian”, hoping to reverse the course of history after the islands’ recapturing under British rule, as operated by 1982 Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Articles written by the various members of our team.
