how do people in countries other than the UK feel about their government?

[waterlane]

There is a general feeling here that our government have let this situation happen and people are very angry towards them. I wondered how citizens of other countries felt towards their government and if the sentiment is the same, particularly in countries such as Italy, France and Germany where the figures are similar

message from MNHQ - thread title amended, as requested by the OP

would also like to know this. I'm completely furious right now. Easy to say that it's going better in other countries but we don't really hear about what the view is on the ground.

That said I have friends in France and they say there is no serious complaint with the way it's been handled thus far, except for people not liking the restrictions.

That's interesting frazzled that's what I've heard from France as well. Purely anecdotal but French friends have said people don't like the rules and show a bit of disregard for them but do actually conform, they just like to play up to the rebellious stereotype

Totally disappointed. I have no faith in them at all. I wish they'd just make the right decisions instead of dragging things until until the death rate is ridiculous and cases are out of control. They are inadequate and slow to act. I genuinely don't think they give a shit how many people die. They need a new team to come in and sort it out.

How many u turns have they made too?!

Yes particularly in countries with similar figures

Whereabouts are you from mstumble?

I’m in NZ. Feel very thankful and relieved about our government’s actions.

I think this will have a lot of NZ and Aus

But hopefully similar figures will post

I am utterly furious with them.

At every single crunch point they appear to have made the wrong fucking decision.

My colleagues and I sacrificed a lot in the spring. We are doing it all again now.

But we shouldn’t need to. With. Sensible decision making ITU wouldn’t be bursting at the fucking seams again.

I have COVID (probably caught at work). It took test & trace 4 bloody days to contact me. Fortunately I had already contacted my minimal contacts.

But this is the response from our “world beating” system. It’s laughable.

Very disappoointed by the lack of an overall strategy. Decisions seem to have been driven by what was seen as politically palatable and not what was necessary from a public health standpoint. We sit between proper "zero covid" approaches and "herd immunity" approaches and have experienced probably the worst of both.

Watching the cronyism of the huge contracts going to mates in the private sector has been particularly egregious. A bankrupt ideology has been creating a car crash in slow motion. Why have we not invested properly in public health teams who know what the F they are doing? Even though other EU nations are also suffering our shower are uniquely full of shit in my humble opinion.

Disappointed and horrified at our Government in equal measure.

Manchester school worker here so effectively been in lockkdown throughout. Over 70,000 dead and counting and an economy in ruins. Its been an absolute shit show.

Boris Johnson shaking hands with Covid patients.

Herd immunity then not herd immunity.

Community testing (remember 111 in the early days?)

Lack of ventilators and PPE for the NHS.

Went into lockkdown too late, left it too early (especially in the North).

Ending Furlough then not. How are businesses meant to plan?

Not enough testing for a long time. Track and trace is still a disgrace.

Dominic Cummings.

Schools are safe. Lol

Any responses from France/ Germany/ Italy/ Spain? Thank you

Friends living in France, quite a rural area, say life is very quiet, most people being sensible, obeying curfews etc; one or two pleasing themselves as will always happen.
I haven't heard them complaining about lack of clarity in communication or mismanagement of resources etc. Obviously they're fed up with it all but not specifically with the government, among my friends at any rate.

You need to change your title. It should say 'how do people in countries other than the UK feel about their government?'

Otherwise you're inviting UK citizens to say what they think about Boris and co

Was talking to a friend in Belgium about this recently. Their rates were awful in Oct/Nov but have since come back down. When the rates climbed, they shut most things down but kept schools open.

My friend said the impression she gets is that while people are unhappy about the restrictions and there are obviously some rule breakers, people generally understand their government's approach and while it's tough, the decisions seem measured. For example, they were told at the end of November to assume Xmas mixing wouldn't be allowed as that was by far the most likely scenario (and what actually happened). People were understandably upset but had time to get used to it and make plans accordingly. The government have also said that bars and restaurants will remain closed until they're reasonably confident that they'll be able to stay open for a decent length of time. The government recognises that while being closed is extremely damaging, it's even worse for bars and restaurants to reopen for a couple of weeks then shut again, then reopen for a short period etc as so much stock gets wasted.

By contrast, the approach in the UK seems to consist of last minute panicky decisions and attempts to give false hope that can't be delivered.

I’m in Italy. You can draw a lot of comparisons with the UK.
Similar size, population, NHS, death toll, victim age and until recently infection rates.
But we’ve been doing it for about 4 months longer.

There is lockdown fatigue but people are following mask rules and social distancing.
The government has made sweeping rules recently. Nationwide Christmas lockdown until 7/1 except next Tuesday, 10pm-5am curfew, two visitors max and no traveling outside your region. You need to carry a declaration if you set foot out of your home and you can be stopped and challenged or fined if your journey isn’t necessary. Massive testing numbers and vaccinations rolling out to hospital workers now and the vulnerable/over 80s soon.

I’ve had to think again about Italian vs British attitudes to rule bending. I always thought the British had a slightly subservient attitude to rules made “from above” and that Italians each considered themselves an exception to the rules. Maybe Boris and Co are such a blatant set of rule breakers and opportunists that nobody trusts the rules they dish out any more.
Italy has a strong regional identity. The region governs schools, hospitals and police . People identify with their region and see that, like London, Veneto is struggling with a super-spreader strain of Covid while the neighboring regions are not.
I’m personally in one of the regions with the lowest incidence of COVID, but rates are rising now, as expected. We were like a tinderbox waiting to ignite. A bit like New Zealand could be.

On the news we see empty London streets and Boris getting Brexit in the back door while the nation is being hypnotized by the COVID pendulum.
Or maybe that’s just my point of view!

(Posted on another thread)

@Elephant4

You need to change your title. It should say 'how do people in countries other than the UK feel about their government?'

Otherwise you're inviting UK citizens to say what they think about Boris and co

I've reported my original post and asked to do so, thank you. I think that's how to do it anyway! It is a bit misleading and I just wanted to hear from other countries, thanks

And although the Italian government is a crowd of infighting opportunists, too, they are making plans for the EU Recovery Funds to help the future economy.

Not seen much of THAT in the UK.

I believe the British media have made the biggest difference for us. If you look at Le Monde, El Pais etc you see much calmer, matter of fact reporting rather than complete saturation on the situation.

I am French, but I live in the UK. My family and many friends are in France (mostly Paris and surrounding regions).

From what I am told from them, there is a lot of frustration and rule fatigue, particularly at things which are seen as the typical French pointless bureaucracy (like the famous piece of paper). In the summer things went very slack (more so than here) but their rates began to rise sooner than UK's did and that led to greater compliance.

There's very split opinions in regard to Macron and his handling of the situation, but he was divisive beforehand anyway. He is suffering from a bit of what we call Chirac syndrome, where he's behaving as though he won a massive mandate, when in fact many people were just voting... against... Lepen.

The protest when it happens is probably more extreme than here, but the general compliance is possibly also higher.

I read a lot of French press (now comma more than ever) and the difference in tone amd balance is very notable.

To clarify that last statement, the lack of hyperbole seems to have a moderating effect on both sides.

There is a perception that communities in the banlieues are less inclined to follow the laws and that has led to some increase in racial tensions ('twas ever thus).

Do other Democratic countries have governments that lie so much?

Trust is at an all time low point here in the U.K.

Hi there, @waterlane - we've amended your thread title as requested. HTH.

Honestly, I have lived in a variety of countries (including some of the european ones mentioned) so am in touch with friends, and read forums and newspapers in local languages too.

I can't stay that any population is thrilled with their government's. Some are obviously better at some aspects than others. For example, despite the vaccine being approved and ready for the use. The Netherlands has only some vague plan to start vaccinating in one location at the end of January.

In Belgium recently, a hospital was as busy as usual for normal appointments, which didn't feel very safe to my friend as people weren't distancing well.

In France, I know plenty who are travelling or hosting overseas guests etc.

The only friends who seem satisfied with their government response are those in NZ, Aus, Korea and China.

There is a lot of surprise that an island country like the UK remained so open.