Covid-19 has given most world leaders a temporary rise in popularity
Politicians who took the disease seriously have generally seen a boost in approval ratings
MANY A REGIME has been toppled by a plague, but so far covid-19 is having the opposite effect. Most leaders have seen their approval ratings rise, even as the disease has killed at least 250,000 people. Morning Consult, a pollster, has found that a group of ten politicians have enjoyed an average gain of nine percentage points since the World Health Organisation declared a pandemic on March 11th. The sentiment has been felt widely: in Australia and Canada, India and Germany.
This article appeared in the Graphic detail section of the print edition under the headline “Following the leader”
From the May 9th 2020 edition
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