On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization officially defined the epidemic crisis generated by COVID-19 as “pandemic”. What do Italians think of the action of the government and of the European Union to face it? How do they judge the behaviour of the prime minister, the government, the regional governors and the specialists? Do they trust China? Are they more or less favourable than before to international cooperation and the free movement of goods and people? Have conspiracy theories about the spread of the virus persuaded them? What are the prevailing opinions in the electorates of the different parties? The report offers answers to these questions starting from the analysis of the data collected through an opinion survey carried out by the Political and Social Analysis Laboratory of the University of Siena and by IAI as part of its strategic partnership with the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo. The survey has examined a sample of individuals above the age of 18, who have been selected in order to ensure the representativeness of the population residing in Italy.

Report presented at the web meeting “Emergenza coronavirus e politica estera”, 15 May 2020.