This paper tackles the question of how women leaders in executive positions have tackled the debut of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-July 2020). For granularity I will restrict the analysis to two particular cases, Sebia (Prime Minister Ana Brnabić) and Germany (ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel), but the conclusions can be tested in future crisis situations. Drawing on analyses of the measures implemented and the political discourses/interviews of the two leaders related to the pandemic I will describe and evaluate their decision making strategies. Subsequently I will analyze how the context/ specificity of the significantly different socio-political characteristics of the two states interfere with the leader’s decision and meaning making process. In order to do this I will also use and analyze data provided by the Varieties of Democracy Institute. The final results show different approaches for Brnabić (failed to successfully fulfill the roles expected of leaders in crisis situations) and Merkel (resembles the leader “prototype” in times of crisis). However, among other factors, I take into consideration that the state of the regime in Serbia (tendencies of democratic backsliding) can be held accountable for Brnabić’s poor performance as a leader in crisis.
Key Words: Serbia, Germany, women leadership, COVID-19, political discourse