April, 2020
Washington – Countries with the best responses to the coronavirus, so far, are Taiwan, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Finland, and South Korea. Their leaders are, respectively, Tsai Ing-wen, Jacinda Ardern, Mette Fredericksen, Erna Solberg, Angela Merkel, Sanna Marin, and Moon Jae-in.
Is there a pattern here? Yes. These countries are led by women, with the exception of South Korea (which "proves the rule").
But there is another explanation. These leaders achieved their positions by demonstrating competence to govern; they worked their way to the top. That is the way women are now becoming leaders, so it is no surprise that the countries with the best responses to the pandemic are led by women.
As I suggested in an earlier post, the countries with the worst coronavirus records have selected their leaders not on the basis of competence, but on their "govertainment" value. That includes Italy, until recently under Berlusconi, America under Trump, and China under Xi Jinpeng, whose staged adulation is the admitted envy of the American president. Xi, with his massive rallies, is the authoritarian version of a govertainer.
As the 2020 campaign unfolds, will Americans, paying dearly for their lesson about the value of competence, start to look differently about what must be expected and demanded from our leaders? Surely we will, especially if we open our eyes to the experiences of other nations.
