Whom do we trust? Certainly not politicians nor journalists. Doctors, yes, and no doubt nurses. Certainly teachers, professors, judges and priests, but not everyone trusts even them to tell the truth. One person in five say they don't believe that either judges or the clergy can be trusted.
The United States of America has a PR problem. It's not just that they are overpaid, over weight, and over here, although they are, it's that they are misunderstood. That's a big problem for the US of A, for the President, George W. Bush, and it is certainly a problem for Britain's Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at this time of world tension.
Tony Blair's answer to the challenge posed by last weekend's peace march has been, in effect, to ask the public to trust his judgment rather than their own. Five years ago, they might have done; but many fewer are prepared to do so these days. In MORI's most recent poll on the Iraq crisis, in the third week of January, just 26% approved of the way Mr Blair was handling the current situation, and his support may have fallen further since then. Mr Blair's personal and government ratings have both fallen sharply: the MORI Political Monitor at the end of January found only 26% of the public satisfied with the way the government is running the country and 33% satisfied with the way Mr Blair is doing his job as Prime Minister - almost identical to the troughs those ratings hit immediately after the fuel crisis in September 2000.
The general impression of the political scene over the last few months has been of gradually crumbling support for the government, as measured in tumbling satisfaction ratings, but tempered by reluctance to swing to the Tories, with a consequent seepage towards the Lib Dems and Labour support otherwise holding up better than might otherwise be the case - but this has been based almost entirely on broad-sweep polls, with only speculation about the details.
Against a backdrop of increased concern about war in Iraq, Tony Blair's satisfaction ratings have fallen another five points in the past month, with only one third of the electorate now saying they are satisfied with the job he is doing as Prime Minister. Even fewer — 26% — are satisfied with the way the Government is running the country — the lowest figure since the fuel crisis in September 2000.
As British fire crews are due to begin their first national strike of 2003, a new survey from the MORI Social Research Institute shows they still enjoy public support — although their union and the Government do not.
