Blind trust or informed citizenship? A longitudinal analysis of political trust among Finnish citizens during COVID-19

Trust in public institutions is an integral part of epidemic management and prevention, as it affects how people follow the recommendations and restrictions. During the pandemic situation, special attention is paid to trust in politicians who are responsible for crisis communication and who make restrictions and recommendations based on little information. This study analysed how political trust developed in Finland during the first wave of Covid-19 outbreak. In particular, we were interested in both the quality and quantity of political trust during the crisis by examining the longitudinal relationship of political trust with political efficacy and political interest. Moreover, we examined how the quality and quantity of political trust was associated with adherence to Covid-19 recommendations. We used a three-wave panel data (N=2,205) to study changes within and between individuals during 2017-2020. The last round of the survey was conducted at the peak of the first wave of Covid-19. The measures included political trust, political efficacy, political interest, multiple background variables, and measures for adherence to Covid-19 recommendations. We found that Finns' political trust increased significantly during the first wave of the Covid-19. However, the within-individuals analysis suggested that citizens' political efficacy did not increase as their trust in politicians increased. The results also indicated that citizens' adherence to the Covid-19 recommendations was related to political trust but not political efficacy, indicating that the positive impact of political trust was hardly based on an increase in informed citizenship.