THE OBSERVER: Fears of civil unrest grow as people across the continent no longer trust leaders to protect them during the crisis
As the second wave of Covid-19 filled hospital wards across Europe last week, and countries inched reluctantly towards varying degrees of partial lockdown, television schedules were cleared to allow leaders to address weary nations.
Announcing a 6pm curfew for the country’s restaurants and bars the Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, called for national unity. “If we all respect these new rules during the month of November,” he said, “we will succeed in keeping the epidemiological curve under control. That way we will be able to ease the restrictions and move into the Christmas festivities with greater serenity.”
Speaking from the Elysée, a sombre Emmanuel Macron decreed a new national lockdown, lasting until at least 1 December, and warned France the new wave of infections was likely to be “deadlier than the first”. In Belgium, where Covid is spreading faster than in any other European country, the new prime minister, Alexander De Croo, hoped “a team of 11 million Belgians” would pull together to follow tighter regulations.
In tone and spirit, the messages echoed those delivered in March, when shock and fear led populations to rally round leaders and consent to restrictions unknown outside wartime. Eight months on, that kind of trust and goodwill is in short supply. » | Julian Coman | Sunday, November 1, 2020
