The Impacts of Executive Responses on Democracy During the Coronavirus Crisis in Croatia, Slovenia and Austria

Abstract

In Croatia, Slovenia and Austria, the coronavirus crisis raised pre-existingdeficiencies in the democratic orders to the surface, i.e., issues infunctioning according to democratic principles in the circumstances of apublic health crisis. In Austria, the strained executive-legislative relationswere already visible in April 2020, when the opposition parties refused tosupport the second wave of crisis legislation without the appraisal processthat would justify its urgency. In Croatia and Slovenia, the governmentsdecided not to declare a state of emergency, arguably in order to avoidcooperation with the opposition and other state institutions in drafting andpassing crisis legislation. Finally, in Slovenia, the government used the crisisas a pretext to install its people into leading positions in several key stateand public institutions.