Coronavirus: The Politics

Coronavirus, and the anxiety it provokes, have spread far beyond China. More than 1,200 additional cases are now confirmed across more than 30 countries. Fears are growing that the outbreak has reached the early stages of a global pandemic, because infections in South Korea, Italy, and Iran have no apparent connection to China, where the first reported cases emerged.

Alongside its obvious public health and economic effects, coronavirus is also shaking up politics—especially in a few countries where governments have good cause to worry how citizens will judge their performance.

In South Korea, there are now hundreds of confirmed cases, and President Moon Jae-in must worry that his handling of the crisis will become a central issue in parliamentary elections scheduled for April 15. The political stakes were high well before coronavirus appeared in the headlines. If his Democratic Party of Korea performs poorly, Moon may soon find himself a lame duck.

In Italy, tens of thousands of people in northern provinces have been quarantined. A government composed of awkward political bedfellows, the Five Star Movement and Democratic Party, wants to avoid early elections that might well oust both from power. As public anxiety rises, they'll have to prove they can stop squabbling and work together to manage this metastasizing problem.

In Iran, an embattled government admits the virus has become a "national problem," even as it denies charges that it's hiding the true number of infections and deaths. This government was already contending with the impact of US sanctions on an enfeebled economy, the public admission that Iran's military accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, and record low turnout in national elections that many say were manipulated to boost conservative regime loyalists. Now coronavirus has given the public another reason to question its competence.

In the United States, Trump administration officials are reportedly discussing the impact of a potential outbreak in the US on public health, US markets, and the president's re-election prospects. Yesterday, Trump backed off a plan to house American coronavirus patients in Alabama.

Fear and loathing

It's too early to know whether we're heading toward a global pandemic. For now, more than 99 percent of deaths have occurred in China. But credible (and potentially deadly) threats to public health can have big political and economic impacts even if the worries turn out to have been exaggerated.

A few observations:

Fake news feeds the fear. Last week, residents of a small town in Ukraine attacked a bus carrying 72 people, 45 of them Ukrainian citizens, who had been evacuated from China. This fury was triggered by an email campaign, which Ukrainian officials say originated outside the country, spreading the false rumor that the passengers had been infected. None had.

The anger is usually targeted at foreigners. Social media have both spread and highlighted coronavirus-related xenophobic attacks on Asians in many countries. There are leaders in a number of countries who have argued in recent years for tighter border controls and a country-first approach to crisis. In that sense, coronavirus may help them.

The true political impact of coronavirus will be tough to measure. Under normal circumstances, angry citizens vent their fury through public protest. We've seen plenty of that in countries in every region of the world over the past year. But this is hardly the moment when your average angry citizen wants to be part of a crowd.

More from GZERO Media

Five years ago, Microsoft set bold 2030 sustainability goals: to become carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste—all while protecting ecosystems. That commitment remains—but the world has changed, technology has evolved, and the urgency of the climate crisis has only grown. This summer, Microsoft launched the 2025 Environmental Sustainability Report, offering a comprehensive look at the journey so far, and how Microsoft plans to accelerate progress. You can read the report here.

Punjab, Pakistan - Photos show flood-hit areas in Punjab, Pakistan, on August 26, 2025. Pakistan has evacuated tens of thousands of people to safer areas after neighboring India released water from overflowing dams and swollen rivers into low-lying border regions, officials said Tuesday.

150,000: Pakistan has evacuated at least 150,000 people from areas around three rivers of the Punjab province. Flooding risks are driving the evacuations, as monsoon rains continue to batter large portions of South Asia.

Graph of new college graduate unemployment compared to the national average, with new graduate unemployment surpassing the national average for the first time in 2022, when ChatGPT was released and the AI revolution began.
Eileen Zhang

You can’t step outside these days without hearing someone talking about AI’s impending slaughter of white-collar jobs.

- YouTube

The world is shifting from an “Age of Impunity” to an “Age of Cruelty,” says David Miliband on GZERO World, where power is exercised without accountability, human rights are ignored, and civilians increasingly suffer the consequences.

- YouTube

America’s retreat from global aid is leaving a massive funding gap that no other country is stepping in to fill, leaving the world’s poorest to pay the price, warns IRC president & CEO David Miliband on GZERO World with Ian Bremmer.

College graduate unemployment rate.
Eileen Zhang

“Pain and agony and suffering,” wrote Sam Angel, about his job hunt. He recently graduated with a masters in Cold War military history from Columbia University in New York, having decided to go right into a masters program after finishing undergrad.