Two right-leaning leaders in the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective assessment of Brazil and Australia

Abstract

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia and Brazil were led by right-of-center leaders who have each been compared to Donald Trump. Nevertheless, despite their right-leaning political parallels, the pandemic responses of Australia's Scott Morrison and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro were drastically different. Bolsonaro adopted a strategy characterized by denialism, the promotion of misinformation, and the politicization of healthcare, resulting in some of the world's worst COVID-19 outcomes. Meanwhile, Morrison largely pursued science-backed measures, including early border closures, rigorous quarantine protocols, supporting contact tracing capabilities, and implementing widespread PCR-based testing, which led to relatively low infection and death. This retrospective analysis highlights the significant impact of each right-leaning leaders' choices in navigating public health crises. This reveals that despite prevalent trends, right-of-centre politics can coincide with science-backed public health policy. It also underscores that even moderate adherence to science and responsible health policies can protect lives, regardless of political affiliation.