Trust, expectation and a ‘trust bounce’
Trust thought for today - trust, expectation and a trust 'bounce'?
Lessons from the elusive backlash to vaccine mandates
Sorry about paywall here, but provocative article exploring among other things the perhaps surprising finding of 'the public's grudging tolerance of mandates' on vaccination in most countries. Janan proposes that "people want to be led" and that "hatred of those in government is not the same as hatred of government. If anything, populism was a howl at the failure of elites to use their powers: against immigration, industrial decline and other species of social change." I would also propose that the public is not daft and sees the overall benefit of mandates to themselves and society and it's not that much of a surprise.
This distinction between government and politicians came up in a conversation I had on holiday about some people's trust in government per se somehow being separated from their clear belief that Boris is an incompetent buffoon etc etc. Their trust in 'Government' over-rode their despising current politicians and Boris got a trust 'bounce' and benefit of the doubt. Wondering was this about trust in the civil service, or just a generic trust in institutions that many of us middle-aged middle-class folks have by default on account of nothing really that bad happening to us at the hands of governments. (He doesn't get it from me however!)
I am making a tangental link with the 2020 Satisfaction with Democracy report which concludes that '...if satisfaction with democracy is now falling across many of the world’s largest mature and emerging democracies... it is not because citizens’ expectations are excessive or unrealistic, but because democratic institutions are falling short of the outcomes that matter most for their legitimacy, including probity in office, upholding the rule of law, responsiveness to public concerns, ensuring economic and financial security, and raising living standards for the larger majority of society.”
Must have a look at Edelman Trust Barometer to see if Trust in Politicians and Trust in Government is different. (Perhaps I am just labouring a non-point in desperation to get my TTFT done whilst busy on holiday catch up!)