Opinion

The Covid-19 epidemic has exposed poor leadership and governance worldwide. From Spain to the UK to the US, politicians have waited far too long before taking the dramatic steps needed to protect their citizens. Greece has been one noticeable — and perhaps surprising — exception to this trend. The government imposed severe social distancing measures at a much earlier stage ...

We finally have a plausible answer to a question that has haunted American government for more than half a century: Why should we bother balancing the budget? The answer, as practiced by political leaders of both parties, has been: We shouldn’t. It’s too hard. Spending has to be cut; or taxes have to be raised. These steps are unpopular. Meanwhile, ...

As the rise in Covid-19 infections stresses hospital resources, a legal and ethical fight is brewing over the distribution of ventilators. Activists are warning that rationing plans currently on the books, by favouring patients likely to live longest, discriminate against the elderly and the disabled. And whatever the outcome of any lawsuits, the debate tests our lofty national commitment to ...

This is a big deal. Apple and Google are combining their engineering prowess and dominant market positions to fight the coronavirus war in a smart and effective way. If successful, it may be the first step in turning the tide against the pandemic and moving society back to a more normal life. The two tech giants announced a joint effort ...

The most misleading cliche about the coronavirus is that it treats us all the same. It doesn’t, neither medically nor economically, socially or psychologically. In particular, Covid-19 exacerbates preexisting conditions of inequality wherever it arrives. Before long, this will cause social turmoil, up to and including uprisings and revolutions. Social unrest had already been increasing around the world before Sars-CoV-2 ...

There are a few hard truths worth grappling with when it comes to the Covid-19 pandemic. First, life may not fully return to normal until an effective vaccine is developed, manufactured in mass quantities and distributed worldwide. Anything but the cautious reopening of economies in the meantime will likely lead to significant second-wave outbreaks and renewed physical distancing. There’s no ...

California declared its independence from the federal government’s feeble efforts to fight Covid-19 — and perhaps from a bit more. The consequences for the fight against the pandemic are almost certainly positive. The implications for the brewing civil war between Trumpism and America’s budding 21st-century majority, embodied by California’s multiracial liberal electorate, are less clear. Speaking on MSNBC, Governor Gavin ...

With death rates beginning to peak in Western countries, the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis is moving towards the developing world. Yet bare hospitals, armies of informal workers and sprawling slums mean the poorest nations have struggled to pull down the shutters. Experiences in Asia and elsewhere suggest that limiting chaotic mass migration to rural areas can be a start. ...

President Trump’s vengeful dismissal of the intelligence community’s inspector general was part of a relentless campaign — waged even in the midst of the pandemic — against people and institutions that can hold him accountable. Critics often describe Trump as disruptive, erratic and poorly focussed. But in concentrating on these weaknesses, opponents understate Trump’s success in using power aggressively to ...

Few airlines can be entirely confident of their survival right now. Travel restrictions prompted by the new coronavirus have forced carriers to burn rapidly through their cash, with no guarantee of when any semblance of normality will return. The ones in most danger are those that overextended themselves financially before the pandemic. Among the big European carriers, nobody pushed boundaries ...