Public trust in the German state's ability to function is dropping dramatically. In a Forsa survey published on Thursday by the German Civil Service Federation (dbb), only 17 percent of respondents said they trust the state to fulfill its duties. By contrast, 79 percent said the state is overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks and problems it faces. dbb national chairman Volker Geyer described the survey results as "a disaster and a wake-up call for the government." Trust in the state's ability to act has "fallen to a new low," Geyer said. "Politicians must act to stop this downward spiral."
Respondents increasingly identified the social security system and pensions, as well as economic and financial policy, as the biggest problem areas, while concern over asylum and refugee policy has fallen significantly in importance. The performance of the public sector was also rated more critically than in the previous year, with a narrow majority now saying it has declined compared with recent years. The civil service union has commissioned the survey annually since 2020.
Respondents in the survey did not hold public sector employees responsible for this loss of trust, they blamed politicians instead. It is now up to the federal government to act, Geyer said. "Citizens in Germany expect reforms that have a positive impact on their lives, that create economic growth, that strengthen the social security systems, and that ensure the state functions better again."
The example of migration, an issue respondents now see as far less of a problem than in previous years, shows that politics can indeed influence public sentiment, Geyer said. "Perhaps there is a message for policymakers here too: through consistent action, the negative trend in the surveys can actually be reversed," he explained.
Respondents said they expect improvements above all from reducing and simplifying the many regulations (86 percent), significantly shortening processing times (78 percent), and expanding digital government services (72 percent). So far, only one in five respondents believe the new Digital Ministry will achieve noticeable progress in digitalizing public administration in the coming years.
When it came to rating individual public institutions, street cleaning and waste collection, along with libraries and museums, continued to perform best, while state and, above all, federal ministries fared worst. In the ranking of professions, firefighters, nursing staff and doctors remain at the top, while politicians, insurance agents and advertising agency employees rank at the bottom.
For the first time since the survey began, more than half of respondents, 51 percent, said the performance of the public sector has deteriorated. The dbb chairman attributed this primarily to the growing workload, staff shortages and outdated equipment. "We have been warning for years that the gap between demands and capacity keeps widening," Geyer said. "Yet politicians keep piling more tasks onto public employees."
From breaking news to thought-provoking opinion pieces, our newsletter keeps you informed & engaged.
By subscribing, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
