Confidence gap will make US government’s work harder

Outlook

Democratic governments can only thrive when they command public confidence -- in November, the United States will put that to the test with a slew of elections.

However, recent years’ survey data has found evidence of declining public confidence in the presidency, Congress and Supreme Court, the three branches of US government.

Public confidence has also declined in printed and televised news media -- the main means by which voters monitor what their elected and appointed officials are doing, and access information.

Impacts

• More bipartisan cooperation could increase public confidence in government’s ability to operate.
• Building confidence in news media will be difficult: perceived ‘truth’ is often synonymous with existing beliefs and views.
• The Supreme Court could lose public confidence if it is seen to rule unfairly or selectively, especially on important or divisive cases.
• Loss of confidence in government will mean greater use of protests, lawsuits and lobbyists to change policy.