Trust in Sweden's government coronavirus response declining, poll shows
Sweden's coronavirus strategy and focus on voluntary measures has been built on mutual trust between the population and authorities, but new polls suggest levels of trust in the government's handling of the crisis is falling. But trust in health authorities remains steady.
Only 34 percent of the population think Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has handled the crisis well, down from 49 percent in May, according to an Ipsos poll carried out for the Dagens Nyheter daily in August. The decline has been going on for some months, reaching 39 percent in June.
Asked whether the government as a whole had handled the crisis well, the number who agreed fell from 50 percent in May to 36 percent in August.
And even trust in the opposition is falling, with only 14 percent saying they had done a good job, down from 20 percent in May and 30 percent during the early days of the crisis in April.
"We're now back to the old pattern with greater polarisation and a higher level of conflict. Then trust in politicians, including the oppositions, falls," Ipsos opinions analyst Nicklas Källebring told Dagens Nyheter.
Trust in Sweden's state authorities, which are independent from the government, had also fallen, but less drastically.
Almost two thirds (63 percent) had trust in state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, up from 60 percent in June but still a decline on the figure of 69 percent in April. Trust levels in the Public Health Agency were also fairly stable, although slightly down on the figures for May and April.
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Only 34 percent of the population think Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has handled the crisis well, down from 49 percent in May, according to an Ipsos poll carried out for the Dagens Nyheter daily in August. The decline has been going on for some months, reaching 39 percent in June.
Asked whether the government as a whole had handled the crisis well, the number who agreed fell from 50 percent in May to 36 percent in August.
And even trust in the opposition is falling, with only 14 percent saying they had done a good job, down from 20 percent in May and 30 percent during the early days of the crisis in April.
"We're now back to the old pattern with greater polarisation and a higher level of conflict. Then trust in politicians, including the oppositions, falls," Ipsos opinions analyst Nicklas Källebring told Dagens Nyheter.
Trust in Sweden's state authorities, which are independent from the government, had also fallen, but less drastically.
Almost two thirds (63 percent) had trust in state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, up from 60 percent in June but still a decline on the figure of 69 percent in April. Trust levels in the Public Health Agency were also fairly stable, although slightly down on the figures for May and April.
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