Governments are desperate for global trade to return to previous levels and for global travel to resume as it once was. And, in real time, certain prominent populists are providing case studies in how not to reckon with a pandemic. Critics argue that the dithering and denials by Trump and Bolsonaro may have cost tens of thousands of lives. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the consummate anti-populist, has emerged as one of the political heroes of the past few months. “I don’t think there’s any correlation between being a democracy and doing well or poorly [in dealing with the coronavirus].

Source: Washington Post July 17, 2020 03:56 UTC