Best articles: International NEWS 2128 March 2020 THE WEEKBolsonaro’sdrastic denialof realityHuffpost
(New York)Far-rightpopulists areill-equipped to deal withacrisis as grave as Covid-19, says Ana Beatriz Rosa.
DonaldTrump initially viewed the outbreakas ahoax –but at least nowhe’stakin gitseriously.
LesssoBrazil’sPresident JairBolsonaro,an ardent Trump admirer,whos ehandling of the issue
has seen millionsprotestby banging potsandpans onthebalconiesof the biggestcities.The country
hasrelatively few cases,but with autumn arriving,ahuge spikeisexpected.Seventeen government
members tested positive afterarecenttriptothe US,and th epresidentis at risk himself. Yetthe
65-year-oldignored advice,greetingcrowdswith fist bumpsanddismissingprecautions as“hyst eria”
and “fantasy”.Like otherdevelopingnations,Brazil ishugely vulnerable, with “tinderbox” concen-
trations of urban poverty.Social distancingish ardly possiblein Rio de Janeiro’s pa ckedfavelas, but
residentswill get no help from Bolsonaro, an advocateof“harshjusti ce”who viewsthem largely as
criminals.Even though he hasrecentlystarted to adoptamore seri oustone,the damage hasbeen
done :manysupporters willcontinue to thinkthe virus isahoax, undermining efforts to control it.How to halt
the panic in
the eurozone
Politico
(Washington)
This pandemic posesaworse threat to the European Union than Brexitor the 2008 financialcris is,
says Dalibor Rohac. So the“pitifullyweak”initial responsetoCovid-19bythe EuropeanCentral
Bank was cause forconcern. On 12 March, the bank’schief,Christine Lagarde, announced shehad
no intentionofemulating herprede cessor MarioDraghi–who in2012 famously declared he’ddo
“whateveritt akes” tohelp member states weather the European debtemergency.Nor, shesniffed,
was it up to the bank to “closethe spreads”between theborrowingcosts ofdifferent member
states–tot he consternationofItaly’sgovernment,whichsaw bond yieldssoarasaresult.But then,
under firefromall sides, shedidaquickU-turn :the bank nowsaysitwilldiverts750b ntoprotect
eurozone economies.That sort of “muscular” action is theonlythingthatcan haltthe panic.If
Europeanssense EU institutions aren’t helping it will reinforce their anxieties, andpopulist parties
everywherewill be strengthened.The“conventional wisdom”in B russel sisthat the Brexitshambles
hascuredEuropeansofwantin gtoleave the EU.Alas,thatcan no longer betake nfor granted.In2018,theanti-immigrationSwedenDemocratsparty won itsfirstmayoralty,in thesouthern
townof Hörby,saysJennyWennberg.And sofar,thisexperimentinfar-right governance hasbeen
adisaster.At least 25municipalmanagers havequit sincethetakeover, citing“bullying,abuses,
harassmentand slander”. Unionrepresentatives say theyhave been threatened.Thefederal
government hasalreadybeenforcedtostepin, orderingthecitycounciltoimprove itswork
environment byJuneorfacestifffines.Yetthebullyingethosisn’tjust limited tothosewhowork
forthetown.Residentswhoprotestedcutstomunicipalservicesweren’tlistenedtorespectfully,as
isthenorm inSweden,butweretreatedasif theyhadmade“anattack onthepeople’s government”.
Thecitycounciliseventryingto block thework ofjournalists reportingon it: whenareporterfrom
thispaperwenttoreviewthedailycityplanner–standardoperatingprocedureforlocalreporters
–hewasflankedbytwocityworkers,wholoomedathisside thewholetime.Thisiswhathappens
whena“racist movement”takespower:we endup with“fear,silenceand adyingdemocracy”.When the
far-right takes
control
Aftonbladet
(Stockholm)
BRAZILEUROPEAN UNIONSWEDENIranhastheworld’sfourthhighest
deathtollfromCovid- 19 ,afterChina
andItaly,butitsofficialfiguresmay
onlybethetipoftheiceberg,said
ShabnamvonHeininDeutscheWelle
(Bonn).ByWednesday,the
governmenthadreported2,077dead
and 2 7,000infected.However,the
WorldHealthOrganisationthinksthe
truescalecouldbefivetimeshigher.
Nooneknowswho’sincharge.Cur-
fewswereexpectedwhensupreme
leaderAyatollahAliKhameneihanded
responsibilitytothearmy.Butthenhe
changedhismindandgaveitinstead
toPresidentRouhani’sgovernment–
which hasavoidedstrongmeasures,suchasputtingTehranin
lockdown,arguingthatthepublicwouldnotcomply.Last
FridaywasNowruz,thecountry’snewyear,whichsawcitizens
widelyignoreadvicetostayhome:1.2millionpeopletookto
theroads.Withoutdraconianaction,expertsatTehran’s
respectedSharifUniversityofTechnologypredictthatthe
epidemicwillpeakinMay,havingkilled3.5millioncitizens.Iranianofficialswereculpablyslow toreact,said ArminArefi
in LePoint(Paris).Theoutbreakstarted intheholycityof
Qom,wherepilgrimsshow theirdevotionbytouching and
kissingshrines.Thefirstdeathwasrecordedon 19February–
ofabusinessmanreturnedfromChina. Yet the regimeinsisted
shrines were tobekept open,so thevirus“spread like wildfire”.USsatelliteimagesshowhugetrenches
beingduginthecitycemeterytobury
thedead.Khameneihimselfaccused
Iran’s“enemies”ofexaggeratingthe
threat.Twoweekslater,healthofficials
werestillrefusingtoissuemasksto
medicalpersonnel“toavoidpanic”.
ThegovernmentblamesUSsanctions
fordevastatingtheeconomyand
blockingmedicines,saidSoulayma
MardamBeyinL’Orient-Le-Jour
(Beirut).IthasappealedtotheIMFfor
a$5bnloan.Butthatcouldbestymied
byWashington,whichhasadopteda
policyof“maximumpressure”.Thecrisisisanopportunityfora“humanitariande-escalation”,
saidRobertMalleyandAliVaezinForeignPolicy(Washington).
Iranhastemporarilyreleasedtensofthousandsofprisoners,
amongthemtheBritish-IranianNazaninZaghari-Ratcliffe.
NowUSSecretaryofStateMikePompeohasappealedtoIran
tosendhomealljailedforeignnationals.Tehrancouldagree,in
returnformedicalsupplies,andthatmightpavethewayfora
widerdetente. Alas,neithersideseemswillingto back down.So
far,Covid-19has infected Iranian ministers,MPs andtopbrass,
saidGraeme Wood in TheAtlantic(Washington) .Atleastone
ofKhamenei’saides hascontractedit,andrumoursareswirling
aboutthe80-year-old’s own health. Itmightseem“grotesque”
tospeculate,butthe virus could cutaswathe throughIran’s
geriatricleadership, posingarealthreattothe regime’s survival.PresidentRouhani(right):“culpablyslowtoreact”Iran: adeadlyfailure of leadership