Survey Shows Autocratic Regimes Trusted More Than Democracies

Public trust in governments running the world's democracies has fallen to new lows over their handling of the pandemic and amid a widespread sense of economic pessimism, a global survey has found, Mark John reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Public trust in institutions in China stood at 83%, up 11 points, 76% in United Arab Emirates (+9) and 66% in Thailand (+5).

The Edelman Trust Barometer, which for two decades has polled thousands of people on trust in their governments, media, business, and NGOs, conversely showed rising scores in several autocratic states, notably China.

It also highlighted that business, thanks to its role in developing vaccines and adapting workplace and retail practices, had retained strong levels of trust globally, albeit with reservations about its commitment to social fairness.

"We really have a collapse of trust in democracies," said Richard Edelman, whose Edelman communications group published the survey of over 36,000 respondents in 28 countries interviewed between Nov. 1-24 of last year.

"It all goes back to: 'Do you have a sense of economic confidence?'" he added, noting high levels of concern about job losses linked either to the pandemic or automation.

The biggest losers of public trust over the last year were institutions in Germany, down 7 points to 46, Australia at 53 (-6), the Netherlands at 57 (-6), South Korea at 42 (-5), and the United States at 43 (-5). By contrast, public trust in institutions in China stood at 83%, up 11 points, 76% in the United Arab Emirates (+9), and 66% in Thailand (+5).

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