There are major similarities between the results of its research and the views expressed by the National Ombudsman in this annual report. The emphasis in the WRR report is on the democratic involvement of citizens. The report says that concerned citizens are important to any vital democracy: by voting they legitimise government, they keep elected representatives and government bodies on their toes and ensure that they are aware of being subject to scrutiny, and they play a major role in shaping policy. According to the WRR, this kind of civic involvement depends on policymakers taking citizens seriously and allowing them scope. And, it says, a necessary precondition for this is that policymakers trust citizens. 3.3 Trust in citizens The National Ombudsman also stresses the importance of trusting citizens. To exploit the (sometimes critical) concern of citizens to the full, it is extremely important not just that individual citizens should trust government and its representatives, but also that government should trust citizens. This trust is determined by the rules governing the relationship between citizen and bureaucracy. Citizens complain about government interference, unnecessary rules and regulations, burgeoning bureaucracy and the nanny state. Statutory rules and regulations are complex, hard to understand and often the source of doubt and discussion even among experts. The situation is exacerbated by the declining quality of legislation and the fact that important additions and amendments are often made at a very late stage in the legislative process. To maintain the citizen’s trust in government, it is important therefore that government should constantly consider the impact of legislation. Trust in citizens also plays a role in the interpersonal relationships between government officials and citizens. Experience shows that, in day-to-day interactions, officials regularly display a distrust of citizens. The National Ombudsman’s Office has examined this issue over the past year.(19 ) The study reveals that, on average, officials rate their trust in citizens at just under 7 out of 10. Between a quarter and a third of the officials surveyed expressed an explicit sense of distrust. Moreover, the study shows that officials entertain a number of negative images of citizens. Respondents felt that citizens were generally illinformed concerning the responsibilities of public bodies, incapable of judging social issues, unable to communicate clearly, unconstructive, self-interested, and unwilling to try to solve their own problems before seeking assistance.(20 ) In other words, they lack the qualities that officials regard as necessary for a relationship of trust between citizen and government. The results of this study make one suspect that citizens are sometimes taken less seriously than one would hope. Trust trust model | 11 Pagina 10
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