Trust in the establishment fell sharply during the pandemic, with social media a key factor

The Eurofound report found that Irish people are slightly above the EU average when it comes to trusting institutions such as governments, police, and healthcare systems. Stock picture

Inflation and the influence of social media has led to trust in the so-called “establishment” waning across the EU, even among those relatively unaffected by rising costs.

Trust in national governments, policing, and healthcare systems has dropped significantly since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to some of the findings of major research from the Dublin-based EU agency European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, or Eurofound. 

Eurofound said that such trust is difficult to restore once it is lost.

“One concerning finding from the latest round of the e-survey is that groups who previously exhibited higher trust levels in governments, such as those in financially more secure positions, are becoming less trusting, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction among the electorate,” they stated.

"With the cost of living in the EU at an unprecedented level, and as the devastating war in Ukraine continues to spur socioeconomic uncertainty across Europe, it will be difficult to get trust in institutions back to pre-pandemic levels without strategic action from policymakers." 

The fifth round of Eurofound’s Living, Working, and Covid-19 survey, which took place between March and May of this year, brings the total number of viewpoints to more than 200,000 across the 27-member bloc.

Trust in the main national institutions has decreased by 13.4% on average since the beginning of the pandemic in spring 2020, the Eurofound report said.  

"This includes decreases in trust in national governments (-24.5%), healthcare systems (-10.2%), and the police (-8.1%)," the report added.  

“While trust in the police remained consistent in 2021 and 2022, both years recorded lower values than in spring 2020.”

It marks the first time since the survey began that people considered well-off compared to struggling counterparts have begun to have doubts about the establishment.

The Eurofound report says that people who depend on social media for their news are more likely to distrust establishment. Stock picture

Irish people are just slightly over the EU average when it comes to trusting the likes of government, health systems, and the police. The Danes and French are likeliest to have the most faith, while Bulgarians and Romanians are generally the most sceptical.

When it comes to trusting governance, Irish people remain in the top third, while also having a higher-than- EU average regard for the police. However, Irish people are less trusting of health systems than most of their EU counterparts, the survey found.

The findings correspond with people feeling the pinch across the bloc.

“Evidence that the increasing cost of living is affecting people’s financial situation comes from the finding that 53% of e-survey respondents reported that, in spring 2022, their household had difficulties making ends meet — a considerable increase on the 45% reported in 2021 and the 47% at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020,” the authors stated.

When social media is the preferred news source, trust plummets, they added.

Respondents who chose social media as their preferred news source have lower trust in established institutions than respondents who use traditional media.

The current crises “will mark the 2020s”, they predicted, and “places huge pressure” on governments and EU institutions when it comes to keeping citizens onside.