Webinar in December 2024

A Scandal Effect: Local Scandals and Political Trust (December 10, 2024)

In this TRUEDEM webinar, Sofie Hennau (Universiteit Hasselt, Belgium) examines the relationship between scandals that hit political institutions and lowering political trust at the local level. This study contributes to the field by assessing the impact of local scandals on trust in local government and the mayor in the context of a federal state, Belgium. The research relies on an original dataset that includes a selection of municipalities that were hit by a scandal and of municipalities that were not in the running-up of the 2018 local elections. The findings suggest the existence of a ‘scandal effect’ on voters’ trust in local government and mayor. First, trust in local institutions appears significantly lower in municipalities that were hit by a scandal. Second, the effect of scandals at the individual level appears to be reinforced by voters’ perception of trustworthiness of local politicians: scandals more significantly affect trust in local government among voters who evaluate negatively local politicians [See full article text].

Sofie Hennau is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the School of Social Sciences at Hasselt University in Belgium. Her research primarily focuses on democratic innovation, local governance, and the dynamics of citizen participation. She is actively involved in examining issues related to political engagement at the municipal level, with a keen interest in how administrative and democratic reforms influence public trust and local governance. Hennau collaborates on various projects within the Research for Digitalization, Diversity, and Democracy (R4D) group at Hasselt University. One of her recent initiatives, alongside Johan Ackaert, explores the potential impacts of reinstating compulsory voting in local elections to enhance voter turnout and representation. She also co-authored studies on the relationship between politics and administration at the municipal level in Flanders, contributing insights into the effects of institutional changes on political culture and democratic processes​.