Eurotopics.net

The Summer Olympics slated for August will be postponed until 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was the decision arrived at by the IOC and host country Japan after a phone call between Prime Minister Abe and IOC President Bach. Shortly before the announcement Bach had said that he wouldn't make a decision until mid-April. The press uses the postponement to make fundamental considerations about the Games.

The poor and the rich are not equally exposed to the health, economic and psychosocial impact of the corona pandemic. This applies globally, but also in those countries that are generally considered prosperous. Commentators describe how the state of emergency is pitilessly exposing social inequalities.

In the fight against the coronavirus pandemic many European countries have gone into varying degrees of lockdown. Some states, like the Netherlands and Finland, continue to rely on recommendations and voluntary action rather than force. European media discuss what makes more sense - and what distinguishes a democracy from a dictatorship in a state of emergency.

The risk of contracting Covid-19 is much higher for older people. Photos of young people having a picnic in the park despite the pandemic are therefore triggering indignation. Some observers see coronavirus sparking a new generational conflict. But will the elderly really be worst hit? And isn't the crisis an opportunity to overcome the conflict?

Public life in Italy has been shut down for two weeks. In view of the Corona pandemic, disputes between the government and the opposition had initially died down. But when Prime Minister Conte recently decreed an almost complete shutdown of the economy, Lega chief Matteo Salvini in particular responded by calling for Parliament to be more involved in the decision making. Is he right?