Populist nations fared much worse during Covid outbreak, new research says

Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, delivers a speech at the Fidesz party headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, on April 8, 2018.

The risk of death from Covid-19 is higher in countries ruled by populist governments, according to a new study.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy, found that populist governments had performed worse than non-populist governments at handling the crisis.

The first year of the Pandemic was analyzed by researchers. They found that populist-governed countries had more excess mortality than non-populist countries.

The rise of radical and anti-establishment leaders, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, was seen before the epidemic.

The study defined Populism as an ideology that considers society to be divided into two groups, the pure people and the corrupt elite.

The U.S., Brazil, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the U.K., India, Israel, Mexico, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey were all classified as populist-governed in 2020. Japan, Canada and Sweden were considered non-populist.

One of five major emerging economies were included in the analysis.

In non-populist countries, Covid caused an additional 8 deaths.

In populist countries, Covid led to an additional 18 deaths for every 100 non- Covid deaths.

The authors of the study attributed this to higher citizen mobility in populist-governed countries. They found that movement was twice as high in populist countries as it was in non-populist countries.

There are two reasons behind the disparity. The study said that populist governments were less likely to implement long-term, unpopular policies that interfered with the public's ability to live relatively normal lives.

The communications of the Populist governments were designed to downplay the severity of the Pandemic. The citizens of these countries were less likely to take the virus seriously and make choices to limit the risk of contracting or spreading Covid.

While the policy response of non-populist governments is dependent on the positive test ratio, the policy response of populist governments is indifferent to the spread of the virus.

In June 2020, when the U.K. had the highest death toll in Europe, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his government.

The U.K. became the first country in Europe to record 150,000 deaths from the coronaviruses.

The numbers show that populists are the worst crisis managers in the Covid-19 pandemic and responsible for many avoidable deaths in the countries they govern.

The high excess mortality is caused by too much mobility and a lack of restrictions. The link between mobility and death toll is the only good news, and people can protect themselves by limiting their contacts during the Pandemic.