Which Country Will Triumph in the Post-Pandemic World?

[douglas9]

Imagine a country, a major Western economic power, where the coronavirus arrived late but the government, instead of denying and delaying, acted early. It was ready with tests and contact tracing to “flatten the curve” swiftly and limited its death rate to orders of magnitude lower than that of any other major Western industrial nation. Containing the virus allowed for a brief and targeted lockdown, which helped limit unemployment to only 6 percent. Amid a shower of international praise, the country’s boringly predictable leader experienced a huge spike in popular approval, to 70 percent from 40 percent.

This mirror image of America under President Trump is Germany under Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her surging popularity has politically marginalized the extreme right and extreme left. German unions have worked closely with bosses to keep factories open and working conditions generally safe (the country’s meatpacking industry was a notable exception). Ms. Merkel’s government has coordinated with all the German states to contain the pandemic and with fellow European Union members to establish a recovery fund for nations hardest hit by the virus.

The strengths Germany is showing make it the large economy most likely to thrive in the post-pandemic world.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/19/opinion/coronavirus-germany-economy.html

[keithbvadu2]

1. But Merkel is a leader

Trump never wanted to lead or govern. He wants to rule.