Legitimation and Trust

This chapter looks at recent issues in Australian public life with regard to their impact on public trust, and therefore on the basis of political legitimacy and democratic politics in Australia.I first outline some general points about legitimacy and trust. Secondly, I examine briefly trust in theory and practice, and analyse some issues in which the trustworthiness of the Howard Government has been questioned. Some general comments are offered on Prime Minister John Howard's relationship with the Australian media and on wedge politics, and on the Australian state as perceived within Howard's neo-liberal ideology. A conclusion is suggested that the level of support for politicians or policies is not necessarily the best litmus test for trust. Indeed the corruptions of public life can sometimes be understood as the unintended consequences of political populism. Populism is itself a threat to political legitimacy and democratic politics.