Tony's Diary Package — page 217

ke But the devastation hit home in a way that prompted broad acceptance of lockdown measures. Political leaders largely embraced the need for personal protection and have even policed each other. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte regularly wears a mask in public -- and when he attempted to remove it to speak to his parliament in April, he was heckled by fellow lawmakers. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte regularly wears a mask in public -- and when he attempted to remove it to speak to his parliament in April, he was heckled by fellow lawmakers. I (LaPresse, Pool via AP Photo) When far-right populist leader Matteo Salvini tried to take a page from the Trump playbook, tweeting accusations that the virus came from a Chinese lab and occupying the parliament in protest of lockdowns, the move backfired. His party, the League, is still the most popular party in Italy's polls, backed by about 25 percent of voters, but support has dropped since February and its lead over the center-left Democratic party has narrowed considerably. "One issue that was amazing about all this: Italians took the quarantine seriously, they collaborated with the central orders and were able to follow the guidelines" despite widespread economic suffering, said Raffaella Sadun, a Harvard Business School professor who advised Italy's prime minister on the crisis. "This may be the primary point of difference with what we are seeing in the U.S." National leadership takes center stage The early wave of coronavirus cases blindsided leaders around the globe -- although those leaders adopted significantly different paths to respond. "Whoever the leadership was, we would've had an outbreak. Virtually every country has," said Jennifer Kates, director of the Kaiser Family Foundation's global health policy work. "The United States clearly performed poorly at many points along the way in January, in February, in March." In the United States, Trump's deputies struggled to convince the president to take necessary steps to fend off Covid-19 across February and March, ranging from mobilizing more parts of the federal government to ensuring the availability of adequate testing. Even after Trump recognized the severity of the crisis by midReleased by Chairman Rand Paul