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The Italian government response to Covid-19 and the making of a prime minister
- Source :
- Contemporary Italian Politics. 13:149-165
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Informa UK Limited, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Italy was the first European democracy to be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The government’s response, especially in the first wave, was confused, dilatory and inadequate, and the country found itself in an unprecedented public health crisis, leading to a national lockdown between March and May. The easing of restrictions in May and an improved situation in the summer did not prevent cases rising again from the autumn onwards, and Italy finished the year in a series of mini-lockdowns. The government was confronted with a debate over Italy’s high death toll and the role of the executive’s own failings in it. Yet, the pandemic did not prompt a political crisis. Rather, it had the effect of blunting the frontal opposition of the League and strengthening the standing of the government with the public. This especially applied to the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, whose personal ratings soared, as the public rallied behind a leader facing the greatest challenge of any peacetime Italian prime minister.
- Subjects :
- Peacetime
medicine.medical_specialty
Government
Sociology and Political Science
media_common.quotation_subject
Public health
05 social sciences
0507 social and economic geography
Opposition (politics)
League
050701 cultural studies
Making-of
Democracy
0506 political science
Political science
Political economy
Political Science and International Relations
Pandemic
050602 political science & public administration
medicine
media_common
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 23248831 and 23248823
- Volume :
- 13
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Contemporary Italian Politics
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....7fd899e0a5cd2deb288b520ad13d3934