The initial phase of the corona crisis has led to a
significant improvement in the levels of confidence
that Germans have in their state and government.
More than two-thirds of all people in Germany
currently regard the state as being “rather strong”
or “very strong.” This means that the level of trust
has risen by 23 percentage points since the end of
2019. At the same time, less than a quarter (23%)
still think the state is “rather weak” or “very weak.”
That is only about half as many people as at the
end of 2019. In addition, more than twice as many
people (49%) compared to last year, consider our
government to be “strong enough,” and only half
as many currently view the political system and
political stability as weaknesses. Satisfaction
with the government has also reached a high level
as compared to other countries. Thus, the initial
phase of combating the pandemic has led to a
massive return of trust in the state’s and the
government’s ability to act. The current trust levels
are the highest seen in more than twenty years.
Although there was still talk at the end of 2019 of an
“erosion of trust,” public sentiment has turned completely
around during the first phase of the crisis.
But how stable are these figures? In any case, one
thing is certain: The measured confidence levels
are situation-related “performance evaluations.”
In other words, they depict sentiments related to
an ongoing event. If the assessed event changes,
trust levels can also change again. In the process,
short-term setbacks are just as imaginable as
further consolidation or improvement. Therefore,
the measured values represent situation-specific
sentiments rather than basic convictions independent
of current events. Nevertheless, they do show
that the first phase of combating the pandemic has
led to a significant increase in popular trust in the
government. This freshly gained capital could still
be needed in subsequent phases, so it must not be
carelessly squandered in the phase of initial easing
that is just now beginning
