How firms like Amazon are vital in the war on coronavirus

Politicians are excellent at winning elections. But it’s no secret that often the resulting governments are terrible at getting things done. The failure of Western governments to roll out mass testing before the coronavirus exploded into a global pandemic proves this. So do numerous other shortcomings that can help prevent this global pandemic from becoming a globally devastating event.

Countries like South Korea have shown that comprehensive testing, tracing and identification – following World Health Organisation guidelines – along with extensive community cooperation, can not just ‘flatten’ but stop the curve of rising cases and fatalities. But these governments have shown an extraordinary capacity to rapidly mobilise multiple sectors of industry in the cause of a public good.

Western governments are still dawdling trying to catch-up to the reality of how bad the crisis is. The fact is that politicians have a proven track record at getting elected, not at managing or leading huge and complex projects.