There is a clear trust deficit in many parts of the world, as political unrest, conflict and labour disputes spring up with more frequency.
According to findings published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), there is a big problem in countries across Europe, Latin America and the Asia Pacific. In the OECD survey, released on Wednesday, of 50,000 people across 22 nations, 41.4 per cent say they trust their national government and 41.1 per cent say they do not.
While the data does not cover the world’s biggest economies, the US and China, it is indicative of a global picture. In Sri Lanka, for example, months of protests culminating in the seizure of government buildings followed a breakdown in faith that existing leadership could resolve the country’s economic crisis and raise standards of living.
Last week, amid efforts to secure a workable majority in parliament, French President Emmanuel Macron described the political landscape in his country as "exceptional". In the UK, where a leadership contest to replace outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under way, only 35 per cent of people said they have faith in the government.
Brazil’s upcoming presidential race is already mired in a deluge of fake news online about the candidates, that is stoking distrust in the electoral system. Argentina’s farmers have gone on a 24-hour strike to protest against economic policies.
In 2022, people are increasingly looking to themselves for answers
And at the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali last weekend, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi urged the group to find ways to co-operate amid the war in Ukraine, and food, energy and climate crises. “Honestly, we cannot deny that it has become more difficult for the world to sit together,” she said. At the same meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks, which it is hoped will “enhance understanding, reduce misunderstandings and misjudgements”.
Trust in economic and financial institutions and systems seems to have gone, too. Workers demand better pay and conditions now, unable to rely on employers’ assurances about the future with the cost of living spiralling. Italian air traffic controllers will strike this weekend. Swedish pilots are already taking industrial action. UK railway workers plan to walk out for a day at the end of the month. There are many more examples.
“Trust is absolutely essential to everything in society working well,” Tonia Reis, director of Edelman’s Trust Barometer surveys, told AP this month. “It’s one of those things that, like air, people don’t think about it until they realise they don’t have it, or they’ve lost it or damaged it. And then it can be too late.”
So, how can we fix this situation?
On Wednesday, OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann said: “Ultimately, to boost trust, governments need to get better at taking people into their confidence, by better communicating the need for reforms and their impact.” But he is not quite grasping how bad things have become. Trust cannot be won back through speeches and news releases.
The loss of trust can be traced back to at least the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The support for the war in the US and Britain was built on a false argument that Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction he was able to deploy against countries around the world.
When people understood how they had been misled, it was the first major break in the foundation of trust in the world order that had been laid at the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. Added to this, the response to the financial crisis in 2009 – when central banks and governments pumped trillions of dollars into the financial system – further eroded faith in the entire system. Then there has been the realisation of how Big Tech companies have abused consumers in the past decade, coupled with the rise of fake news.
The erosion of belief has led to the rise of populism and other political consequences as the economic situation of individuals deteriorated. Now many of these populist leaders have also failed to deliver on expectations. It is arguable today that no individual, or party, or institution, is in a position to restore levels of trust on any kind of scale.
This is because, in 2022, people are increasingly looking to themselves for answers rather than reliance on authority to achieve their goals. Self-reliance is not the same thing as the individualism and free market economics championed by former US president Ronald Reagan and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, in the 1980s.
The free market has failed us, too. And the shrinking of government has made it unequal to the challenges of the 21st century. Authorities are also unable to adequately regulate the private sector, which has grown both too powerful and inefficient.
The next era will be one where technology is harnessed to help people remove the institutions that they no longer trust from the bulk of their day-to-day lives. It is the empowering of individuals, so that they can enjoy radical levels of choice and control, that will begin to restore the confidence and faith in societies, governments and businesses.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
Teams: UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Maldives, Qatar
Friday fixtures: 9.30am (UAE time) - Kuwait v Maldives, Qatar v UAE; 3pm - Saudi Arabia v Bahrain
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
MATCH INFO
Norwich 0
Watford 2 (Deulofeu 2', Gray 52')
Red card: Christian Kabasele (WatforD)
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Normal People
Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
ARSENAL IN 1977
Feb 05 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
Feb 12 Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal
Feb 15 Middlesbrough 3-0 Arsenal
Feb 19 Arsenal 2-3 West Ham
Feb 26 Middlesbrough 4-1 Arsenal (FA Cup)
Mar 01 Everton 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 05 Arsenal 1-4 ipswich
March 08 Arsenal 1-2 West Brom
Mar 12 QPR 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 23 Stoke 1-1 Arsenal
Apr 02 Arsenal 3-0 Leicester
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
