Poly-Crises and Political Trust in Southern Europe: Evidence from Italy and Spain

The succession of overlapping crises that has characterized the European Union over the past decade—including the sovereign debt crisis, the migration crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the energy and cost-of-living shocks—has profoundly affected patterns of political trust across Europe. This article examines how Europe’s poly-crises have reshaped political trust in Southern Europe, with a specific focus on the emergence and consolidation of populist and Eurosceptic parties in Italy and Spain. Building on theories of political trust and crisis politics, the article argues that repeated episodes of economic insecurity and institutional stress have eroded trust in both national and European institutions, creating fertile ground for actors that challenge mainstream parties and EU integration. Using comparative evidence from Italy and Spain, the analysis highlights both common dynamics and divergent trajectories: while declining trust has fuelled Eurosceptic and populist mobilization in both countries, differences in party system structure, crisis framing, and government participation have shaped distinct patterns of political contestation. The findings suggest that populist and Eurosceptic parties function not only as beneficiaries of declining political trust but also as agents that actively reconfigure trust relations by reframing responsibility and legitimacy across levels of governance. By linking political trust to crisis-driven party competition, the article contributes to broader debates on democratic resilience and the future of political representation in Europe’s multilevel polity.