22% of Britons trust senior politicians, a survey says.

Trust in government is falling continuously.

I wonder - is this unique to Britain? How much do other countries 'trust' their government? Are the British just uniquely super-cynical? (which wouldn't surprise me).

How can this problem be addressed?

I'm supprised it's that high!

*snorfle*

Don't you guys have these annual job rankings about how trustworthy the following professionals are?

Politicians are almost always at the very bottom, worse even than car salesmen.

At the top you get the doctors, firefighters and (here in Austria) lawyers.

Lawyers? Really? Heehee

That article gives no detail of what the question was (typical media treatment of statistics) so it is hard to draw conclusions.

I doubt it is unique.

I do not think it can be addressed. People usually think others are being untrustworthy because they themselves are not in command of all the facts. To educate them, even if they were interested, would take far too long.

That isn't to say that politicians don't do underhand things, just that, in my view, most of the time they are trying to do the right thing with the facts and power at their disposal.

i'm generally okay with most politicians - i don't agree with their policies but i don't see them as inherently bad. i imagine they'd be a whole lot better if they didn't have four year limits and such and had to campaign all the time, but that is the trade off in our system.

I'd trust them more if there wasn't such an epic track record of lying through their teeth in the past ten years...

Also, most people are instinctively suspicious of people who say 'Trust me' repeatedly.

I love politicians! Someone has to do it and because of there sacrifice, good honest folk can avoid that line of work and get respectable jobs instead.

I think lying is a human condition and anybody who believes there is such a thing as someone who could hold public office without being tarnished with the brand 'liar' is dreaming.

Simply having responsibility gets you covered in mud.

Well the US is on par with the UK

Honestly beign a politician relies heavily on spin, the art fo the debate,, and arguing one side while trying to not give the other side too muchcredibility or too much leverage, the line between spin and lies is so thin most people can't see the difference, elt alone politicians whose jobs are on the line!

It's human nature to present yourself in the best light, politicians jsut try to do this on a much larger scale than others, and their actions have a much larger impact. That is why very little can ever be accepted at face value, whether it comes from a priest (wiccan officiant, rabbi, Richard Dawkins, whoever you might consider to fall within the unflappable category) or from a career politician.

I do think that the politicians who aer reluctant, such as Isenhower, or Washington migth be the most honest, as they do nto actively pursue the course that would lead them further down the road of spin.

Reluctant leaders are a fine thing. They're rare in the UK at least, as the greasy pole is such a central element of politics here. It appears less so in the States. Or maybe that's me.

well it is a rare thing, there were only 2 large scale examples that i could think of, at the local level they are a big more prevalent, and by this i mean maybe 2% rater than .3%. I like the rarity of them as well as their unique perspective on leadership, less as a prize, more as an obligation (Isenhower particularly felt this).

However human nature being what it is, even reluctant leaders will want to only show their positive characteristics to the world, thus spin is inherent not jsut in the political frame work, btu also in our daily office politics, or interactions.

Actually, there's a few random Lords that I think you could classify as reluctant, in the sense that they never set out to achieve membership of Parliament, but that they couldn't turn it down when it was offered them.

Agree entirely Hive, but it's not purely an executive function, more a scrutinising/legislative one, with few exceptions.

But then I think it might not be too bad if the convention of the Prime Minister residing in the Commons would go into abeyance

quote:

Originally posted by Liliaharas:

It's human nature to present yourself in the best light

I don't know if I agree with that. I think that many people are naturally humble. Unfortunately this trait rarely does one good in an election atmosphere. I think we are trained to oversell ourselves as a part of competition.

Trust is something people have to earn with me. Politicians, in my experience, do not have the best record of being trust worthy.

i take the point regarding hiumility being a natural trait for some people, but when they get into a competitive environment they either adapt to the circumstances, or fade, i.e. a humble person can maintain a natuarlly gracious demeanor while still putting forward proof of his accomplishments.

It is hard to trust anyone, regardless fo occupation, but politicians are in a job market that almost requires them to walk the line of lying all the time. Tehy have to be extraordinary to come accross as trust worthy without making a personal connection with the people that they represent. I think that might be the reason that when a politician is why sometimes we retain people in office who have obviously commited crimes, or are known to be unscrupulous, simply becaseu we know this about them already. An odd idea i know, but the devil you know...

Actually, the entirety of the Irish Dail got in on roughly that basis.

'Ah, well, at least he's not as bad as Haughey' was actually said out loud during the last election in regard to Bertie Aherne and the corruption tribunals.

*loves that the other half of the island is just as batshit crazy as this one*

quote:

Originally posted by D M:
22% of Britons trust senior politicians, a survey says.

Gosh, cue to massive envy from Finnish politicians! In last year's survey, only 10% of Finns trusted them.

(Finns trust pilots, firefighters... and policemen. The mind boggles.)

honest people generally can't survive in politics. i know of more than one person who quite politics because they weren't corrupt enough to fend off the attacks from others in their own government.