Pandemic Emergency and Regional Powers. Patterns of Opinions at the Individual Level

This chapter examines the impact of Covid-19 on citizens’ perceptions of their local and regional governments, utilizing original survey data. The quantitative analysis considers various aspects, including trust in regional and national institutions, perceptions of regional inequality, and opinions on governance and the allocation of powers between sub-national and national governments. Our findings reveal that the favourable assessment of both regional and national health systems played a crucial role in enhancing the reputation of regional institutions during the pandemic. Additionally, we emphasize the significance of personal social media communication by regional presidents in bolstering their popular support. In general, while variables related to the regional level significantly influenced trust in regional governments, they appeared to have a lesser impact on shaping citizens’ views of national institutions. We demonstrate that increasing trust in the national government and achieving political congruence between regional and national administrations helped mitigate perceptions of territorial fragmentation and regional differences. Support for decentralization was substantially influenced by trust in regional governments, whereas trust in national institutions, along with political factors such as congruence and voting for national ruling parties, had the opposite effect, favouring centralization.