Disillusionment with politics and loss of confidence have been two important concepts for years that outline the relationship between politicians and voters. In a long-term study, pollsters and political scientists have now traced the change in the image of Austrian politicians. Peter Hajek and Peter Ulram spoke Tuesday at the presentation of the results of “reliable subjects” who had turned into “suspicious, critical citizens”.
Based on representative surveys from 1974 to 2022, the two opinion pollsters mapped out the relationship between citizens and politics. The current figures come from a representative survey in July 2022 with 800 interviews (by telephone and online, fluctuation margin plus/minus 3.5 percent). Previous studies come from the scientific fundus of Peter Ulram and are mainly GfK studies conducted over the phone or in person. These are in-house studies without a client.
Hajek and Ulram used the endorsement of some statements to show how much the image of politicians has suffered. In 1981, only 30 percent agreed that politicians are generally not good at what they do, compared to 64 percent this year. And approval of the statement that politicians are corrupt and bribery rose from 38 to 64 percent. 66 percent this year said politicians don’t really care about their voters, the increase since 1981 is just nine percentage points. On the other hand, agreement with the statement that politicians don’t care much about what people like me think has remained relatively stable – from 73 percent in 1974, when it was first surveyed, to 75 percent this year.
Higher demands on politicians
Hajek and Ulram attribute the explosion of education in the 1970s and the emergence of a media landscape outside party newspapers to the fact that people have moved over the past five decades from a culture of subjects to critical citizens. On the one hand, there was a population that experienced a diminishing concern from the political elite, while at the same time feeling increasingly politically competent and better informed. On the other hand, there were political officials whose demands became increasingly international and complex, and who had to deal with an increasingly better educated and better informed population. The mistrust of the political elites today cannot be attributed solely to the crises of recent years.
The assessment of the extent to which politicians care about citizens’ concerns has been at a consistently low level for decades. Overall, 81 percent rate their importance to the political elites as low. On the other hand, the assessment of one’s own ability to evaluate political events has increased significantly. In 1989 only 38 percent of the population considered themselves sufficiently qualified to participate in political events, now it is 60 percent. 65 percent of Austrians believe they have a good understanding of the main problems of the country, in 1993 this was 53 percent. 28 percent consider themselves fit to participate in political events. Another 30 percent consider themselves sufficiently qualified and 41 percent consider themselves insufficiently qualified.
The FPÖ has the most “suspicious citizens”.
In addition to the “suspect citizens” and the “trustworthy subjects”, which are the two opposites, the researchers have isolated two other groups: “suspicious subjects” and “trustworthy citizens”. When the respondents’ party preferences are brought into play, the FPÖ has the most “suspicious citizens”. The group of “trustworthy citizens” makes up about a quarter of the other parties, but only eight percent of the SPÖ, which Hajek explained with the SPÖ’s current opposition role.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
