We live in strange and alarming times. The uncontrolled spread of a deadly virus has often been mooted but mostly via Hollywood. What feels like a terrible film script is now a reality.
We will, one hopes, overcome this virus; but not without distressing casualties. What strikes me, however, is the way governments have responded to contain it. Gone is a good deal of formal cross-border cooperation along with the authority of the UN and EU. In such an emergency, it is individual nation states who have acted first to protect their people.
The timing and severity of measures taken by countries to minimise the impact of the virus has differed widely at least until now. But what is striking, is that there has been no nod at cross-border political institutions, only the World Health Organisation. The EU, for example, has been powerless and almost silent on virus containment. It is individual governments that have led initiatives and are accountable for keeping their people safe. Whilst slow initially to react, Italy has now implemented extreme lock-down measures in the face of a surge of coronavirus casualties. France and Spain have now followed suit, with France even fining people if out on the streets. In the UK more widely, compulsory lock down has yet to come. People are only advised not to frequent bars, restaurants etc with schools and universities currently mostly open until Friday. Germany has largely closed its land borders. The EU has finally banned all non-essential travel in the Schengen free travel zone.
The list of individual actions goes on from Singapore to Canada. Trump has managed things in the US with his usual chaotic style. A virus, initially branded as a bit of fake news and recently ‘Chinese’, is now consuming US government actions. Only time will tell if this ends his presidency, assuming elections are held at all in November.
On the economy, there has been some coordinated central bank intervention to protect finances but, to be frank, when interest rates are already at rock bottom it won’t make much of a difference. Only now has the ECB responded after internal divisions. It is the scale of individual economic rescue packages introduced by individual governments which have led the way. They are truly breath-taking in their scale. Sadly, they will have to be.
All actions will look very similar in due course as the relentless spread of the virus takes hold; but the frailties of globalisation and supra-national institutions have been uncovered. It is national governments across all continents who have full control. Only they are able to garner the required consensus to move quickly and access extraordinary powers, unprecedented in peacetime.
Incredibly, from only a few months ago in the UK, those all-consuming Brexit versus Remain arguments have been swept aside. You now wonder what all the fuss was about. Sovereign countries rule the roost with ease, and it will be them, not the EU or any other international body, who will face the consequences of their actions when this crisis is all over.
Political debate has changed in a wholly unexpected way. After this crisis, nobody will analyse or worry about the balance of power between cross-border institutions and nation states in quite the same way again.
But that is for the future. In the meantime, please keep safe.
Inside Right Politics 