European Political Leaders and the Social Representation of the Covid-19 Crisis

Flaminia Saccà is Full Professor of Political Sociology at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; President of the International Sociological Association Research Committee ‘Sociotechnics-Sociological Practice’; board member of the ESA Political Sociology Research Network; and Director of the Science, Politics and Society Lab. Her latest publications focus on female leadership and gender violence.Donatella Selva is Assistant Professor in Sociology of Communication at the University of Florence, Italy. She works in the field of political communication, media and cultural studies. She has recently published a monograph to explore the relationship between social media, information disorders and the processes of emotionalization of the public sphere.

• Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Introducing women leaders: Merkel and Solberg.- Chapter 3: Angela Merkel’s approach to the pandemic.- Chapter 4: Erna Solberg’s approach to the pandemic.- Chapter 5: Introducing techno-populist leaders and their alternative: Conte and Macron faced to Sánchez.- Chapter 6: Giuseppe Conte’s approach to the pandemic Chapter 7: Emmanuel Macron’s approach to the pandemic.- Chapter 8: Pedro Sánchez’s approach to the pandemic.- Chapter 9: The Pandemic Turn: Populist government leaders facing the virus Chapter 10: Boris Johnson’s approach to the pandemic Chapter 11: Viktor Orbán’s approach to the pandemic.- Chapter 12: Conclusions.