In the United States, 52 percent said they thought their government had done poorly, and 54 percent in Britain said the same.

Among U.S. respondents, 77 percent, a far higher share than in the other countries surveyed, said the pandemic had heightened political divisions. Spain came in next, at 59 percent.

High levels of division are unexpected during a crisis and could affect the fight against the novel virus, experts say.

“Typically, a tragic event like this would have the ‘rally around the flag’ effect and increase social cohesiveness,” said Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

In five wealthy countries, a majority of respondents said that the country had become less divided since the pandemic hit. Just 25 percent of Danes said their country was more divided due to the pandemic, the poll found, while 72 percent said it was more united.

An equal number of respondents in Britain said their country was more and less …continued .
[Source: Washington Post]