The Hindu : 'Trust in leaders declining'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 17, 2003

International

International

'Trust in leaders declining'

Geneva Jan. 16. Following the release of a first poll in November 2002 which revealed very low levels of public trust in institutions across the world, the World Economic Forum launched an unprecedented survey of 15,000 citizens across 15 countries to explore the role of leadership in the public trust equation. The survey highlighted the following key facts: — The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 have on the whole generated a decrease in the trust of government leaders across all countries (40%), with just 10% of respondents saying these attacks have increased their level of trust. — A majority of citizens do not agree with the direction in which the world is moving. This disagreement is up significantly from last year, especially in the United States (+16 percentage points) and its allies.

Confidence is the greatest in China (90%), and has improved significantly in Turkey and India. The least trusted are the leaders of the United States (27%). — Over the past year, trust in executives of domestic companies has dropped more sharply than trust in executives of multinational companies, in most countries (40% against 34%). — The most trusted leaders are those leading NGOs (56%), followed by the leaders at the United Nations (41%) and spiritual and religious leaders (42%). — The attribute of leadership most likely to generate trust is honesty (50%), while "not doing what they say'' is the factor most likely to cause distrust (45%), significantly before self-interest (28%) or arrogance (8%). In commenting on the results, José María Figueres, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum, said, "The magnitude of the public trust deficit is a worrying and urgent challenge.

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