Pandemic Boosts Support for Europe’s Autocrats

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The reason, experts say, is that people prioritise security in times of terror — an instinct easily exploited by illiberal governments keen to tighten their grip on power.

"People gather around political leaders in crisis times and they look for a saviour because of fear and anxiety," Sezin Oney, an Istanbul-based political scientist, told BIRN. "People around the globe have started to support their leaders more because of this." 

In Turkey, a poll released last month by the Metropol Research Company showed public support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rocketing to 55.9 per cent in March.

That compared with 41.9 per cent in February — a record low for the strongman following losses in the Syrian conflict and a deepening economic crisis.

"Public support for President Erdogan increased nearly 15 percentage points," Oney said. "Governments have record high support and this trend is everywhere, even in Italy and Spain, which are the countries suffering the most from the pandemic."

In former communist states in Europe that have long drawn criticism for democratic backsliding, swift action in the early days of the pandemic has helped keep a lid on COVID-19 infections — winning praise for authorities.

While Belgium, Spain and Italy have Europe's highest per-capita death rates from the virus, counties in Central and Southeast Europe have some of the lowest.

In Belgium, the virus has killed 692 people per million, according to data compiled by Worldometer. In Spain the figure is 548 per million and in Italy it is 481 per million.

That compares with 44 deaths...