Trust in institutions — Italy · Synthesis
Long-standing distrust of parties and Parliament, contrasting with higher trust in the President of the Republic and certain institutions — and a relationship with the European Union more favourable than is often assumed.
Citoyen synthesis for the Trust and democracy category in Italy. Grounded in the sector's quantitative data (Ipsos/SWG/Demos pollsters, OECD Trust in government, Eurobarometer). ⚠️ International comparison is imperfect: survey methods differ significantly — the note flags this and prioritises trends. All values are the latest realized observation available. Assessments are kept distinct from sourced facts. Data last updated: June 2026.
1. State of play — where trust stands
Long-standing political distrust. Trust in parties and Parliament is durably low in Italy (pollsters, Eurobarometer), the legacy of a long governmental instability and scandals. Distrust of the political class is a structural feature of Italian public opinion.
The President of the Republic better rated. Contrasting with partisan distrust, the President of the Republic (a figure of institutional arbitration and continuity) traditionally enjoys considerably higher trust — an anchor of institutional confidence.
Law enforcement and proximity institutions. Law enforcement (Carabinieri, police) and certain proximity institutions retain relatively high trust, as in several countries — a contrast with politics.
A relationship with the EU more favourable than is often assumed. Despite sometimes noisy Euroscepticism, Italians' attachment to European Union membership and the euro has rather strengthened, notably with the recovery plan (PNRR) — a survey data point to be handled carefully but documented by the Eurobarometer.
Recent political stability. After decades of instability, the country is experiencing a period of relative governmental stability. The effect on institutional trust is being monitored, but distrust of parties remains high.
“Italians trust the President of the Republic and law enforcement more than parties and Parliament.”
2. Outlook — where trust is heading
Stability and performance. Consolidating trust depends on political stability and the perceived performance of public action (services, justice, PNRR). The capacity to deliver on the recovery plan's commitments is a test.
Partisan distrust. Reducing the long-standing distrust of parties and Parliament is a long-term democratic challenge, linked to the quality of representation and the fight against corruption (see Security category).
Relationship with Europe. The evolution of the relationship with the Union, between strengthened attachment and Eurosceptic temptations, will depend notably on the perceived results of the PNRR and Italy's place in the EU.
Information and disinformation. As elsewhere, preserving a reliable information environment is a growing democratic challenge.
The open questions. Three issues will shape the period: (1) converting stability into a trust recovery; (2) reducing partisan distrust; (3) consolidating the relationship with Europe.
“Despite long-standing political distrust, attachment to European membership has rather strengthened.”
3. International comparison — Italy among its peers
Placed in its environment, Italy displays political distrust among Europe's most long-standing, offset by trust in arbitration and proximity institutions — cross-country level comparisons remaining fragile.
Comparability warning. Trust levels depend heavily on question wording, scale and survey period. The OECD and Eurobarometer partially harmonise, but gaps may reflect methodological differences. Trends over time compare better than levels.
Two cautious takeaways. (1) Political trust: low. Italians' trust in their government and Parliament is in the low range of comparable countries, close to France and the United Kingdom, below Germany.
(2) An institutional contrast. As in France, distrust mainly targets parties and politics, while arbitration institutions (the presidency) and sovereign ones are rated higher — a shared divide, particularly pronounced in Italy.
International comparison — trust (to be interpreted with caution)
| Country | Government trust | Sovereign institutions | Specificity |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | low | contrasted / polarised | polarisation |
| United Kingdom | low | medium-high | instability |
| Germany | rather moderate | high | East–West divide |
| France | low | high (police, armed forces) | partisan distrust |
| European Union | variable | variable | contrasted |
| Italy | low | high (law enforcement, presidency) | long-standing partisan distrust |
⚠️ Imperfect comparability — heterogeneous survey methods. Sources: OECD (Trust in government), Eurobarometer, national pollsters. Qualitative cells: absolute levels are not strictly comparable across countries; only trends are reasonably so.
Data mobilized (data-journalism base)
| Data | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Trust in parties | very low | Pollsters / Eurobarometer (Citoyen chart) |
| Trust in Parliament | low | Eurobarometer (Citoyen chart) |
| Trust in the President of the Republic | higher | Pollsters (Citoyen chart) |
| Trust in law enforcement | relatively high | Eurobarometer (Citoyen chart) |
| Attachment to the EU | rather strengthened | Eurobarometer |
Sources (national analyses and references)
National pollsters (Ipsos, SWG, Demos & Pi for the 'Rapporto sugli italiani') · European Commission — Eurobarometer (trust in institutions, attachment to the EU) · OECD (Trust in government) · ISTAT (trust, cohesion).
Methodological note — the synthesis keeps sourced facts distinct from assessments, stays neutral, dates each figure, and does not extrapolate beyond the sources. ⚠️ Specific warning: opinion indicators with heterogeneous methods; cross-country level comparisons are fragile, priority given to trends. Opinion data are dated and not equivalent to facts. All values are the latest realized observation available (no forecast). Note generated by AI, human review required. Same safeguards as the rest of the observatory.