Political impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The pandemic has triggered broader debates about political issues such as the relative advantages of democracy and autocracy,[2][3] how states respond to crises,[4][5] politicization of beliefs about the virus,[5][6] and the adequacy of existing frameworks of international cooperation.

[8][9] There is evidence that the pandemic had initially caused a rally 'round the flag effect in many countries, with government approval ratings rising in Italy (+27 percentage points), Germany (+11), France (+11), and the United Kingdom between April and July 2020.

[23] In South Korea, health authorities launched a track and trace app which asked users to disclose personal information, leading to concerns over both privacy and the potential for discrimination.

[28] The 2020 Freedom House report also highlighted a variety of responses relating to government mishandling of the pandemic against the best interests of its citizens, such as denial of the existence of COVID-19 in Turkmenistan and Nicaragua, and the promotion of unsafe or unproven treatments in Brazil and Tanzania.

[32] Part of this long-term effect includes the increasing prevalence of democratic backsliding; while proportional responses to a global pandemic are necessary, excessive measures under abusive enforcement have raised concerns that democracy, in nations where it is already unstable, is declining worldwide.

[47][48] Corona bonds were discussed on 26 March 2020 in a European Council meeting, which dragged out for three hours longer than expected due to the "emotional" reactions of the prime ministers of Spain and Italy.

In response, Viktor Orbán expressed his willingness to discuss any issues relating to Fidesz's membership "once the pandemic is over" in a letter addressed to the Secretary General of EPP Antonio López-Istúriz White.

[88][89] Jean Rottner, the President of France's Regional council of Grand Est, accused the United States of disrupting face mask deliveries by buying at the last minute.

[95] Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that it would be a mistake for both their countries to limit trade of essential goods or services, including medical supplies and professionals, and remarked that this moves in both directions.

Trump's successor, Joe Biden, claimed that his Administration's "number one priority" is to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, which led to the passing of the American Rescue Plan stimulus package.

"[101] However some American public health experts, after being briefed by Reuters on the Pentagon's covert anti-vax campaign, had condemned it as unjustifiable, and that it had unethically endangered innocent lives for potential geopolitical gain.

4 5 6 Other slogans expressed opposition to the government, denial of the existence of the pandemic and demands for more freedom, among others.7 8[citation needed] The demonstrations were held in different parts of the country, with the epicenter in the city of Buenos Aires.

[citation needed] On 12 August 2021, a photo was leaked of a birthday party hosted by First Lady Fabiola Yáñez where President Alberto Fernández was present among many others during strict quarantine in July 2020.

[148] Outlets such as Politico, Foreign Policy, and Bloomberg have reported that efforts from China to send aid to other countries and claim without evidence that the virus originated in the United States are a propaganda push for global influence while deflecting blame for its handling of the outbreak.

[152] The Hungarian Parliament gave the government plenary power which authorizes it to override acts and to rule by decree to the extent that is "necessary and proportional" in order to "prevent, manage, and eradicate the epidemic and to avoid and mitigate its effects".

[153] Human Rights Watch described the legislation as an authoritarian takeover, due to the rule of decree supposedly without parliamentary or judicial scrutiny and for criminal penalties for the publishing of "false" or "distorted" facts, and gave support to the European Commission using Article 7 against Hungary.

Some observers suggest that any significant misuse of or, once the crisis subsides, failure to rescind the plenary powers by Orbán government could place Hungary at great risk of becoming the European Union's first dictatorship, in violation of E.U.

[168] On 18 March, Interior Minister Agim Veliu was sacked due to his support for declaring a state of emergency to handle the coronavirus pandemic which would have given power to the Kosovo Security Council chaired by Hashim Thaçi.

[184] During the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were detained and charged by the Tatmadaw over allegations of breaching COVID-19 restriction laws.

[198][199] Maintaining the quality of universal healthcare is paramount to South Korea, because the country's population is aging rapidly, and the government's health policy reaction to the long COVID-19 pandemic will remain a crucial issue in future elections.

[202] The decentralized nature of Spanish politics led to a situation in the first phase of the pandemic in which Spain had the fastest increase of COVID-19 cases of any country in Europe due to poor intergovernmental coordination.

[212] The Almedalen Week, considered to be the biggest and most important forum in Sweden for seminars, debates and political speeches on current social issues, held in Visby every summer,[213] was cancelled as a result of the ban on large gatherings.

[240] Health Secretary Matt Hancock became embroiled in a scandal in 2021 when photographs emerged of him breaching social distancing measures by kissing aide Gina Coladangelo in his workplace, which led to his resignation in June 2021.

[279] Four of the elections were held in a timely manner, while the fifth (in Tasmania) was brought forward by one year, apparently to take advantage of the anticipated elector sentiment for rewarding governments that have maintained COVID-safe status.

[322][323] On 13 March 2020, the United Kingdom local elections that were meant to be held on 7 May were rescheduled by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to 6 May 2021 following the advice of the Electoral Commission and in agreement with Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

[330] On 15 March, the first one-on-one debate of the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries took place between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders in CNN's Washington, D.C. studios and without an audience, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

[335] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) expressed concern in early April that the pandemic might lower voter turnout in November.

[340] On 13 March, the presidential primary in Louisiana was postponed to 20 June by Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin and Wyoming had its in-person portion of its caucus and all county conventions suspended and replaced with mail-in ballots.

[356] In October 2020, the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine unanimously published an unprecedented editorial calling for the current American leadership to be voted out in the November election, writing "countries were forced to make hard choices about how to respond.

[379] However, local media outlets reported that many voters had not received their requested absentee ballots by election day or, due to social distancing, were unable to satisfy a legal requirement that they obtain a witness' signature.