Coronavirus has exposed Europe’s stark differences

The coronavirus crisis has exposed Europe’s varying attitudes to state intervention and individual liberties. It has revealed just how different the continent’s countries are. While there is some convergence around the policy of self-isolation, there is a divergence in the level of gusto with which governments are implementing this policy. The reluctance Boris Johnson has shown in coercing the British people into lockdown reflects his, and the country’s, libertarian instincts. State control is understood to be something that is to be used as sparingly as possible. This contrasts with more statist countries which appear only too eager to crack down, and their people, who appear only too willing to tolerate this state crackdown.

In this way, coronavirus has revealed Europe as a place in which each country fends for itself. Differences between the European countries may at first glance appear subtle, but their instincts are poles apart. France’s Macron seemed all too keen on the outset of the prospect of a lockdown and the suspension of social life, setting the scene for mounting tensions between the state and the people.