Rally ‘round the flag: but which? Political trust and changing perceptions of local, national and EU responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands

Political trust is an important resource for government’s legitimacy, especially during the times of crisis. Initially, an external shock may provide a short-term boost in government’s support, the so-called ‘rally ‘round the flag’. However, prolonging crisis is likely to significantly drain these trust reservoirs. In this paper, we examine the dynamics of rally round the flag effects in the multilevel governance context. In particular, we ask: how does the rally round the flag effect affect people’s trust in governments at local, national and EU levels of governance? With panel data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands (survey waves in April, July and December 2020), we examine the relationship between changes in people’s trust and perceptions of different aspects of the local/national/EU crisis management. With that, we draw conclusions about resilience of political trust during the externally induced crisis, and legitimacy it provides for governments throughout the pandemic.