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ALBANY — After a six-month show of Democratic force ushered a raft of liberal legislation through the State Capitol this year, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo faced a political conundrum.

It was, in Mr. Cuomo’s words, “the most successful legislative session in modern political history.” But behind that effort was a fresh wave of progressive energy, much of it from newly elected state senators who have sometimes seen Mr. Cuomo as more of an obstacle than an ally.

So in recent weeks, the governor has begun to push back — against members of his party, against state lawmakers, against the populist notion of progressivism and, inevitably, against Mayor Bill de Blasio, a frequent foil for Mr. Cuomo.

In a recent op-ed in The Daily News, the governor implied that Mr. de Blasio and other progressive lawmakers in the city had failed on several issues, including a plan to close Rikers Island, the handling of the New York City Housing Authority, and the homeless crisis, which he said was “worse than it was under the Republican and independent administrations of Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg.”