Virus panic and the rise of solidarity

Kenny Farquharson asked which government would loom larger in our lives in Scotland in the coming weeks – the one at Holyrood or the one in London.

“A reflex reaction, if not always a helpful one, is to retreat from the world, behind national borders,” he said. “Conversely, the crisis could encourage faith in international co-operation. Hadrian’s Wall is no barrier to any virus, any more than the North Sea or the English Channel.

“I think the effect on Scottish opinion will be a renewed respect for a United Kingdom that, for the first time in a while, is working as it should. Working in common cause with Westminster is the right thing for Nicola Sturgeon to do but it does not support an SNP narrative.”

He argued that the SNP’s internationalism was selective. “It is enthusiastic about political union with the nations of continental Europe, but not Scotland’s most immediate neighbours. This is like choosing to work with people in the tower block across the road rather than your neighbours in the tower block where you live. It makes no sense.”

In the end, he said, “on an island like ours, what matters most during an epidemic is working with your immediate neighbours. The coronavirus crisis will be a learning experience for us all. My guess is that the lessons will do no favours for the cause of Scottish independence”.

The Scotsman

Martyn McLaughlin said that restoring order in the UK amid the panic of the potential pandemic depended on “the smooth operation of the machinery of the civil service and good faith on the part of the public” which were, he added, “two things Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings have undermined more than any other”.

“Perhaps the most galling comment made by Mr Johnson was his exhortation for people to behave responsibly and think about others,” he said. “A time of crisis requires reason and logic and, for leaders, the most important quality is moral authority. Sadly, Mr Johnson forfeited the right to such virtues a long time ago. What possible example can be set by a man who wrote that Muslim women wearing burkas ‘look like letter boxes’ and who has referred to black people as ‘piccaninnies’ with ‘watermelon smiles’?

“Mr Johnson fulfilled his ruthless personal ambitions thanks in no small part to spreading fear and mistrust of marginalised sections of society. He cannot now invoke his Churchillian fantasies and urge the public to ‘look out for one another’ and to ‘pull together in a united and national effort’ and expect to be taken seriously.”

The Guardian

Jamie Mackay, a writer based in Florence, said the “largest limitations on freedom of movement since the Second World War” – with travel restricted, police on the streets and visiting relatives banned – are, in part, down to the authorities being too slow off the mark initially.

He said the leak – from regional government opposition sources – of the plan to lock down northern Italy on Saturday night – meant thousands of people immediately headed south to join family and friends. “This was a huge political blunder,” he said.

“Yet, despite these political tensions, it would be unfair to dismiss the work of the Italian authorities as a whole.

For the first time since this crisis began, a sense of togetherness is beginning, tentatively, to emerge.

“The hashtag #iorestoacasa (I’m staying at home) is trending on Twitter. Italians have an opportunity to show the rest of the world that solidarity can triumph over panic.”

The Daily Mail

Matthew Bell, also in Florence, said “a new and unique spirit” has settled in a country “not known for its team spirit”.

“It is hard to imagine such draconian measures being taken in Britain where the instinct to keep calm and carry on still – just – prevails,” he said.

But he pointed out that an Italian doctor talked on Facebook about a tsunami that has overwhelmed us.

“Suddenly emergency services are collapsing, ventilators are like gold dust. Italy has a sixth more hospital beds available than Britain. Could Italy provide a glimpse of Britain to come?”