Rally 'round the Flag: The COVID-19 Crisis and Trust in the National Government

Sylvia Kritzinger (Corresponding author), Martial Foucault, Romain Lachat, Julia Partheymüller, Carolina Plescia, Sylvain Brouard

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

During international crises, trust in government is expected to increase irrespective of the wisdom of the policies it pursues. This has been called a ‘rally-round-the-flag’ effect. This article examines whether the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in such a rally effect. Using multi-wave panel surveys conducted in Austria and France starting from March 2020, in the article it is examined how government trust was affected by the perceived threats to the nation’s health and economy created by the pandemic as well as by the perceived appropriateness of the government’s crisis response. A strong rally effect is shown in Austria, where trust was closely tied to perceived health risks, but faded away quickly over time. Perceptions of government measures mattered, too, while perceived economic threat only played a minor role. In France, in contrast, a strong partisan divide is found and no rally effect.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1205-1231
Number of pages27
JournalWest European Politics
Volume44
Issue number5-6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Sept 2021

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 506012 Political systems
  • 504007 Empirical social research
  • 303011 Health policy

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • MODEL
  • OPINION
  • ORIGINS
  • PARTY
  • crisis management
  • panel data
  • rally effect
  • threat perceptions
  • trust in government
  • panel data; threat perceptions; crisis management

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