Trust is a serious thing, and it is given to serious things. So said the claim of a product in the 1960s, the meaning of which still remains valid. Trust is a resource that is as immaterial as it is concrete, because in its lightness it directs everyday choices: it is an orientation tool. Stock market operators know its meaning well, rather than investors when they have to decide where to capitalise. Information is a necessary element, but not sufficient. Trust and reputation are dimensions that encompass it and push it in one direction rather than another. All the more so in a highly uncertain environment such as the current one, they are a valuable element to hold on to. However, they do not grow spontaneously, but develop by virtue of tangible actions. It takes a long time to build up trust, just as it takes a very short time to lose it, as recounted by various political and economic news stories in recent weeks. In Italy, trust is a scarce resource. If we exclude family, friendship and more strictly community circles, the credit enjoyed by various collective and institutional actors is rather rarefied. The population appears reluctant and disenchanted, sometimes disgusted. On the other hand, even if only by referring to recent events reported in the media, it is easy to understand the reasons that drive Italians to such orientations. The survey on the population's trust in certain institutions largely reflects this detachment, but with some surprises.
La Stampa, p. 16, 25 April 2016
Firstly, there are only three aspects to which the majority of respondents give a positive assessment: small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (72.4%), the police force (59.7%) and the President of the Republic (51.9%). The exponents of the widespread economy, security protection and institutional guarantee constitute the three pivots in which the majority of Italians recognise themselves and attribute expectations. Everything else takes second place, and in several cases with absolutely marginal evaluations. So, Italians assign SME owners the highest reputation. Small and medium-sized enterprises constitute the connective tissue of the national production system, are generally rooted in the territory and over the years - despite the difficulties of the crisis - have been able to resist. Above all, they also represent a plausible horizon for many employees. Suffice it to say that just over half of today's entrepreneurs (52.4%: CMR-Centro Studi Confindustria) come from the ranks of technicians and blue collar workers. In this sense, there is a kind of reciprocity between broad spheres of society and companies, to which a positive value is attributed. Alongside these, we find two guarantee symbols. On the one hand, the police force as the guardian of citizens' security and coexistence. It is an appreciation that has increased over the years and, in particular, with the growing threat of terrorism takes on added weight. But also for the invaluable help and support they provide on several occasions in peace missions, as well as in humanitarian emergencies. On the other hand, the figure of President of the Republic Mattarella remains a stable point of reference within a political scenario characterised by constant fibrillations. More than twenty years after the breakdown of the political framework generated by Tangentopoli, in fact, the party system has still not found a sedimentation, making the political arena a terrain of continuous ruptures and recompositions, of which it is difficult to grasp a precise direction.
Secondly, distinguishing the trust attributed to the actors of the economy, from those of political and public institutions, it clearly emerges that among the former there is a clear polarisation in favour of SME owners over all the others. From the Bank of Italy (26.0%) to entrepreneurs' associations (16.2%), from managers of large companies (13.5%) to trade unions (10.7%) and insurance companies (6.9%), they all share a high degree of distrust. On the one hand, the largest companies, between relocations and closures, bear the brunt of the consequences of the crisis and the unemployment generated. On the other hand, the credit crunch, combined with the fraud perpetrated by some institutions, certainly does not help to build a positive image of the national banking system. The situation is different for institutional players. A feeling of mistrust prevails on this side too, but it is lower than in the economic sphere. The judiciary obtains 49.2% of the consensus, the EU 41.2%, trust in the government (21.8%) and the Church itself (21.6%) is more detached. At the tail end is Parliament (5.6%), reminding us once again of the population's detachment from politics.
Calculating the trust index, defined as the average value of the answers, a paradoxical outcome emerges. The highest trust goes to SME owners, but overall very little trust is placed in the other economic players (trust index: 15.5). Two are the institutional actors that are trusted (Police and President of the Republic), the others obtain lower values, but on average higher than the economic sphere. Thus, the trust index rises to 17.5. So, in general, Italians are distrustful. But, contrary to popular belief, to a greater extent towards the actors of the economy, rather than political and public institutions. In any case, without nourishing the cement of trust, it appears difficult to build Italy's future home.
Daniele Marini
Methodological note
Community Media Research, in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo for La Stampa, carried out the LaST (Laboratory on Society and Territory) survey, which was conducted nationwide from 22 March to 4 April 2016 on a representative sample of the population resident in Italy, aged over 18. The methodological aspects and the survey were taken care of by the company Quantitas. The total number of respondents was 1,997 (out of 13,287 contacts). The data analysis was reproportioned on the basis of gender, territory, age group, occupational status and educational qualification. The margin of error is +/-2.2%. The survey was carried out with a visual survey through the main social networks and with a random sample that could be reached with the CAWI and CATI systems.
