Unlike the Spanish govt., the Portuguese govt. seems to have done everything just about right. But the authors of the article say the cooperation of the opposition in Portugal has enabled the country to "take decisive action...(cont.) https://www.businessinsider.com/portuguese-covid-19-died-infected-outbreak-pandemic-crisis-2020-4

and implement the appropriate policies in time." In my opinion this is a very misleading statement. Pedro Sánchez placed the handling of the crisis under his sole command by declaring a "state of alarm", suspending the powers of regional governments. All the decisions on the...

#COVIDー19 crisis in Spain have been taken by Pedro Sánchez's government. He has not been prevented by the opposition in the Spanish parliament or by regional opposition from implementing ANY of the measures he has decided to apply. There has been plenty of criticism from the...

start from some regions, notably Catalonia & Murcia. The governments of these two regions wanted to impose a full lockdown two weeks earlier (14 March) than Sánchez (30 March). However, under the state of alarm decreed by Sánchez they were unable to do so. Sánchez's indecisive...

action prevailed. Pedro Sánchez centralised the procurement of medical supplies. In a country where healthcare management is devolved, Spain's ministry of health, headed by a philosophy graduate entirely unsuited to the job, suddenly found itself with a lot of new tasks to do.

It has not coped well. By contrast, Germany's federal system has been left untouched (no centralisation) and the administrative, scientific & medical experts in each German state, familiar with local needs & idiosyncrasies, have been left to get on with their jobs.

Pedro Sánchez made a power grab. Nothing and nobody have prevented him from doing exactly what he has wanted to do. He brought the handling of the #COVIDー19 crisis under his sole command and it is therefore his sole responsibility.

The loyalty argument has been used endlessly by the Spanish government as a diversionary tactic, but in practical terms it has had the first and final say on every single measure. No obstacles have been placed in its path. Public criticism is not in itself an obstacle.

Criticism has not impeded the actions of the Spanish govt. in any way. The many U-turns of the Spanish government are its own work. One example was the decision announced this week to allow under-14s out of confinement only to accompany a parent on a trip to the supermarket,...

pharmacy or bank, or to accompany a parent in walking the dog (if they happen to have one). After a fractious government meeting that same day, this decision was corrected. All under-14s (incl. those without dogs) would be allowed out for walks. Trips to supermarkets were now...

NOT recommended. This was the government's own chaos. Indeed, the junior partner in the coalition, Podemos, claimed all the credit for the U-turn. What the Spanish govt. wants is to have its cake and eat it. It made a power grab but it wants to make everyone feel responsible...

for its decisions. This authoritarian approach has been compounded by the continued presence of military personnel in press conferences and the worrying signals sent out about the monitoring of social networks for opinions hostile to the govt.'s crisis handling (later denied).

If the Portuguese govt.'s handling of the #COVIDー19 crisis had been as inefficient and cack-handed as that of the Spanish govt., you can bet there would have been criticism. This is normal, or should be, in any democracy. The Spanish govt. should stop playing the loyalty card.

Enough hubris. The Spanish govt. should own its decisions and stop insisting that everyone not only comply with them (which they have, at all times) but also keep their criticism to themselves. It's an authoritarian, undemocratic attitude. And it's counterproductive.
#COVIDー19