Local government fighting COVID-19: The Case of Slovenian Municipalities

Abstract

When the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus broke out, it was initially assumed that Slovenian municipalities would successfully cope with the crisis situation due to their experience in dealing with natural and other disasters. Nevertheless, the unprecedented pandemic posed significant challenges to local governments, especially in the first wave, from managing responses to an unknown crisis situation to ensuring the safety of citizens in times of extreme uncertainty. Using a four-dimensional framework, the article analyses the results of the first post-COVID-19 survey of mayors of Slovenian municipalities, which reveals differences and similarities in policies to contain and prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus disease. The analysis proves that there is no single and well-established procedure for dealing with a crisis situation. Indeed, responses varied from municipality to municipality, and the intensity of action depended to a large extent on the commitment, initiative and innovation of the individual mayor.