Two-thirds of the German population believe that the state is incapable of action and overwhelmed with its tasks, according to a recent survey by the DBB Civil Service Federation and Tariff Union. Despite this, the public’s opinion of those working in the public sector remains largely unchanged. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, only just over a third (34%) of Germans believed that the country was incapable of action and unable to fulfill its state duties. However, by 2021, more than half of the population believed that the state was overwhelmed. The recently published DBB Citizen Survey on the Public Service (PDF) reveals that two-thirds of Germans now believe that the state is incapable of action, while less than a third (29%) believe that the state can fulfill its duties.
The trend of declining trust in the government was already evident last year, but now it has become even more pronounced. Whether it is climate change, war, COVID-19, or cost overruns, the state appears to be poorly prepared for crises in any area of life. Unfortunately, society is now paying the price for having to haggle over every euro and every position in the public service with politicians. We now have only a fair-weather welfare state, and this is the sad truth that people experience every day. Despite the high level of dissatisfaction with the government, a large part of the population still differentiates between the work of politicians and those working in the public sector.
The survey also shows that Germans value a functioning social coexistence and efficient public institutions. In addition to maintaining social justice, respondents also identified climate protection, infrastructure, and modernization of the public sector as central state tasks. Despite the current high inflation, “relief for citizens due to rising prices” ranks lower in the list of important state tasks. This clearly indicates that without a strong public sector and a crisis-resistant welfare state, the government will not be able to regain the trust of the population.
