’It Takes Two to Do The Trust Tango’: Politicians’ Trust Perceptions and Why They Matter
| Published date | 01 December 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/20419058231218327 |
| Author | James Weinberg |
| Date | 01 December 2023 |
36 POLITICAL INSIGHT • DECEMBER 2023
Trust in politics has always been
important, but it has taken on
added signicance in recent years.
Major political events, from Brexit to
the election of Donald Trump as US President,
have been characterised by low trust and
increasing cynicism and scepticism about
politics and politicians.
In 2022, the Edelman Trust Barometer
went so far as declaring a ‘collapse of trust
in democracies’. Countries such the United
States, Germany and the United Kingdom
were all deemed to be existing in a state of
‘default’ political distrust and politicians were
ranked by citizens in those counties as the
least trustworthy group of societal leaders. An
average of 66 per cent of people, surveyed
across 27 nations, expressed concerns that
their political leaders were purposefully trying
to mislead them. Other polls, such as the
The public’s trust in politicians has seldom been lower. But how do
politicians perceive trust in them? Do they realise the scale of the
problem? What can they do about it? James Weinberg investigates.
Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Monitor conrm
similar trends over time. (See Figure 1.)
At the same time, decades of academic
research has shown that trust matters
in politics. When citizens believe in the
trustworthiness of their politicians, they are
also more likely to vote for incumbent and
mainstream political parties, more likely to
support public policies that require sacrice
or compromise, and more likely to comply
with the law. Yet despite the widespread
assumption that political trust is responsive
to what politicians do and say, we know
very little about how politicians themselves
appraise, cope with, and subsequently
‘It Takes Two to
Do The Trust Tango’:
Politicians’ Trust Perceptions
and Why They Matter
Political Insight December 2023 BU.indd 36Political Insight December 2023 BU.indd 36 10/11/2023 11:4010/11/2023 11:40
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