Sugarcoating and brutal honesty: How leaders are handling coronavirus crisis
Source: The New York Times
By Megan Specia,
World leaders have spent the past several weeks grappling with the unexpected, as country after country has seen the coronavirus arrive at its borders and an outbreak has exploded into a pandemic.
With the virus endangering citizens’ health and lockdowns ravaging the global economy, heads of government have taken different approaches in televised addresses and news briefings as they have explained their plans for combating the threat.
“The main questions for these leaders,” said Jill Rutter, a senior fellow at the London-based Institute for Government, “is, can they convey a clear message and give people the reassurance they need while admitting this is an incredibly fast-moving, difficult world of real unknowns?”
They also must “show that they understand that this is a massive human tragedy,” she added.
It’s “quite a difficult balancing act,” she said.
Click here to read the full article published by The New York Times on 13 April 2020.
By Megan Specia,
World leaders have spent the past several weeks grappling with the unexpected, as country after country has seen the coronavirus arrive at its borders and an outbreak has exploded into a pandemic.
With the virus endangering citizens’ health and lockdowns ravaging the global economy, heads of government have taken different approaches in televised addresses and news briefings as they have explained their plans for combating the threat.
“The main questions for these leaders,” said Jill Rutter, a senior fellow at the London-based Institute for Government, “is, can they convey a clear message and give people the reassurance they need while admitting this is an incredibly fast-moving, difficult world of real unknowns?”
They also must “show that they understand that this is a massive human tragedy,” she added.
It’s “quite a difficult balancing act,” she said.
Click here to read the full article published by The New York Times on 13 April 2020.