Greatest Fools? The Countries That Trust Their Government Most (And Least)

Trust in government serves as a vital driving force for a country"s economic development, increases the effectiveness of governmental decisions, as well as leading to greater compliance with regulations and the tax system. As Statista"s Niall McCarthy notes, the level of confidence in a country"s government is generally determined by whether people think their government is reliable, if it can protect its citizens from risk and whether or not it is capable of effectively delivering public services.

The latest edition of the OECD"s Government at a Glance report has found that confidence in government varies widely between countries.

You will find more statistics at Statista

Unsurprisingly, Greece has the lowest level of confidence in its government, unsurprising given the economic pain it has suffered since the onset of the financial crisis. In recent years, Greece has had to deal with multiple elections, bank shutdowns, defaulting, the introduction of capital controls and being on the frontline of the European migration crisis. That has all led to 13 percent of the Greek public having confidence in their government. South Korea also has a low level of confidence at 24 percent, most likely due to President Park Geun-hye"s impeachment scandal.

In the United States, the White House is struggling to shake off allegations of Russian collusion and only 30 percent of the public have confidence in the government. The United Kingdom is also enduring turbulent times amid its Brexit negotiations and 41 percent of the public have faith in their government.

At the other end of the spectrum, 58 percent of people in Russia and Turkey trust their governments while India (the nation that just surprised the entire nation by making its banknotes illegal) has the highest confidence levels at 73 percent. Greatest Fools?

Major Developments Strongly Suggest The End Of Unipolar World Order

Authored by Federico Pieraccini via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

With Moon Jae-In’s victory in South Korea, the period of tension on the Korean Peninsula is likely to end. With the rise to power of the new president, South Korea can expect a sharp decline in hostilities with North Korea as well as a resumption of dialogue with China.

An expected and highly anticipated victory was confirmed in South Korea on May 9, with candidate Moon winning South Korea"s presidential race over his rivals Hong Joon-pyo (Liberty Korea Party) and Ahn Cheol-soo (People"s Party). After the resignation and arrest of former President Park Geun-hye over an immense corruption scandal, public opinion turned away from her party in favour of the main opposition representative, a center-left lawyer specializing in humanitarian issues.

Moon spent several years in the opposition party advocating for greater cooperation in the region and dialogue with Pyongyang as well as with Beijing, representing quite a contrast to Guen-Hye"s pro-Americanism. Along the lines of Duterte in the Philippines, Moon intends to resume dialogue with all partners in order not to limit his options in the international arena. Such an approach reflects the essence of the multipolar world order: cooperation and dialogue with all partners in order to achieve a win-win outcome.

Looking at the situation in the region, the victory of a politician who seems to have every intention of negotiating an agreement rather than supporting military escalation seems to provide for a hopeful future for China and her neighbors. The level of cooperation and trade between South Korea and China is fundamental to the economy of both countries, so a return to the negotiating table over the issues surrounding the deployment of THAAD are a hopeful sign that the business communities of China and South Korea value deeply.

Duterte Strategy

The United States is again faced with a Filipino-like scenario. Historically, South Korea and the Philippines have always been two fundamental US allies, more concerned with Washington"s interests than their own national political agendas. Over the last few decades, both countries have been governed by politicians careful not to upset the sensibilities of US policy makers. South Korea and the Philippines are at the heart of the political strategy Obama called the Asian Pivot, more explicitly, a policy aimed at containing China and its expansion as a regional hegemon in Asia.

Following the Trump administration"s focus and threats against North Korea in recent weeks, war has seemed more likely on the peninsula. But with Moon’s victory, it has probably been permanently excluded as a possibility. In several interviews weeks prior to the election, Moon stated that a war between the US and the North Korea would constitute an impossible burden for South Korea to sustain. Moon is very realistic about the conventional deterrence that North Korea possesses, maybe even more so than the nuclear development.

Even though Trump has said he is willing to meet with Kim Jong-un, most of his decisions seem to depend on the hawks surrounding him. Looking at the first hundred days of the Trump administration shows a remarkable departure from electoral promises, with the influence of generals he nominated, leading to various escalations in the hot regions of the world. Bottom line is, Trump’s intentions and words matter to a certain extent as US posture in the region seems to be guided by military generals and inner circle family members. Fortunately for the world, the tentative moves in Syria and Afghanistan have not amounted to much, such as with the bombing of the Shayrat airbase or the show in Afghanistan involving the MOAB.

THAAD to Divide

The deployment of the THAAD system continues as part of a belligerent attitude towards North Korea. The strong and firm rhetoric of Pyongyang is justified and not surprising given the context and the threats facing the country in wake of US provocations. The deployment of THAAD has had consequences, such as increasing tensions between South Korea and China. Moon’s victory goes contrary to the goal of the US policy-makers in Washington to isolate China. In this light, the hurried deployment of THAAD before the South Korean election obliged the probable winner, Moon, to be faced with an accomplished fact. This first step makes it clear what Washington"s attitude towards the new South Korean president will be.

The THAAD has also been deployed to antagonize the most frustrating point between Seoul and Beijing: North Korea. The measure was intentionally taken by Washington to pressure Seoul. THAAD has all the characteristics of a Trojan horse. Placed to reassure an ally (Seoul) against a fake-threat (Pyongyang), it becomes a weapon against China that puts in place a system, only a few hundred miles from its border, potentially able to affect China"s strategic nuclear forces. The US military accelerated the deployment of THAAD in the knowledge that this would immediately place the future president in a difficult situation, in that removing THAAD would not be easy in the face of huge American pressure. This may perhaps be Moon"s first challenge; to use the dismantling of THAAD as a means of exchange with Beijing to return to a normal relationship of co-operation. If Beijing wants to believe Moon"s goodwill in eliminating the THAAD system, it may begin to loosen some of the measures imposed on Seoul as retaliation for the deployment of the US system.

Multipolar world to the rescue

In this scenario, one must not make the mistake of believing that Moon"s victory means that a major US ally will cease its support for Washington. As always, in this era of transition from a unipolar to a multipolar world, the pressure that Washington will decide to apply to South Korea will affect the nature of the US-ROK alliance. The United States will have to abandon the warlike posture so dear to Mattis, McMaster and Admiral Harris (the commander of the US Pacific Fleet). In this Tillerson as a realist might be the right man at the right place to negotiate with Moon. Potentially it could be possible to solve the problem in whole by dealing with North Korea, although that seems unlikely given the pressures the deep state will put on the administration to continue using North Korea to create instability in the region.

This is why much of the region"s future will remain subordinated to potential negotiations between Beijing, Pyongyang and Seoul on the Korean peninsula, especially after Moon"s victory. If these three nations succeed in finding common ground on which to set upon a path of reconciliation, the region will benefit greatly. Of course, in this context, the one most likely to lose influence is the United States. If Washington wants to remain relevant, it should abandon the Chinese containment plan through the Korean peninsula by exploiting North Korean problems. If they instead decide to try to sabotage any peace agreement in the peninsula, this will only push Seoul and Pyongyang even closer together, to Beijing"s great pleasure.

Recent years have seen a mounting showdown between the old world order configuration based on chaos and destruction and led by Washington, and the new multipolar order that focuses on win-win opportunities, dialogue and sincere cooperation. If Washington decides not to accept the new rules of the game, where it can no longer dictate the law, it will end up producing more damage against itself than any foreign country could actually do, in actual fact accelerating the formation of the multipolar world and putting to bed the unipolar world order for good.

Police Escort South Korea's Former President Out Of Her Official Residence

South Korea"s disgraced president struck a defiant tone on Friday morning when a constitutional court unanimously upheld the decision to impeach Park Guen-hye: she did not appear in court and a spokesman said she would not be making any comment nor would she leave the  presidential Blue House residence on Friday. "For now, Park is not leaving the Blue House today," Blue House spokesman Kim Dong Jo told Reuters. That changed on Sunday, when Park Geun-hye, 65, who has become South Korea"s first democratically elected leader to be forced from office, left the official presidential Blue House residence on Sunday in a motorcade of fast-driving black cars, flanked by police motorbikes.

And, like Friday, the former president who now faces life as a private citizen and the possibility of prison time, was likewise defiant upon arriving at her private home in the Gangnam district of the capital, Seoul: "I feel sorry that I could not finish the mandate given to me as president," a spokesman for Park, member of parliament Min Kyung-wook, quoted her as saying. "It will take time, but I believe the truth will be revealed," Park said in her first public comments since her dismissal.

It was not the first time the former president has had to leave the Blue House compound of traditional-style buildings at the foot of a hill in Seoul.

In 1979, after a nine-day funeral following the assassination of her father, the young Park left the Blue House with her siblings for a family home. She had been acting first lady after her mother was shot and killed in an earlier failed assassination attempt on her father. Now, having lost presidential immunity, she could face criminal charges over bribery, extortion and abuse of power in connection with allegations of conspiring with her friend, Choi Soon-sil. Both women denied wrongdoing.

In a departure from her recent stubborn refusal to accept responsibility for the events that culminated with Friday"s Constitutional Court on Friday upholding a parliamentary impeachment vote over an influence-peddling scandal that has shaken the political and business elite, without blaming outside intervention, like for example Russian hacking.

"I take responsibility for the outcome of all this," Min quoted her as saying according to Reuters.

A snap presidential election will be held by May 9. Her dismissal followed months of political paralysis and turmoil over the scandal that also landed the head of the Samsung conglomerate in jail and facing trial. The crisis has coincided with rising tension with North Korea and anger from China over the deployment in South Korea of a U.S. missile-defense system.

Meanwhile, throngs of flag-waving supporters crowded the street outside Park"s home as she arrived there about 30 minutes after leaving the presidential palace. She waved through her car"s tinted window as it inched its way down the street, with security men in suits walking alongside. She stepped out smiling, the public"s first glimpse of her since her dismissal, and greeted supporters.

Supporters of the now former president gather at her Seoul residence on Sunday

According to Korea Herald, loyalists to former President Park Geun-hye flocked nearby her private residence in southern Seoul late Sunday, seeking to bid farewell to the state chief who faced an earlier-than-expected end of her tenure upon impeachment.

Park Geun-hye smiles to her supporters in front of her old home in Samseong-dong

The residential neighborhood in Samseong-dong was crammed with hundreds awaiting the retreat of the former president to her home. In addition to some 800 police officers who kept guard at the scene, a considerable number of Park supporters, including ranking pro-Park lawmakers, former secretariat chiefs and members of the anti-impeachment civic group, were present. Police said over 1,000 gathered.  A smiling Park shook hands and exchanged greetings with her former aides and political allies in front of her home, as her followers shouted messages of encouragement.

Rep. Cho Won-jin, a former public affairs strategist of the party and ranking Park aide, was the first to arrive at the scene earlier in the afternoon. Reps. Yoon Sang-hyun, Kim Jin-tae and Park Dae-chul, who have participated in the Taegeukgi rallies to oppose Park‘s impeachment, were also there. “The intention is not so much to offer consolation, but to bid farewell,” said one of the pro-Park lawmakers.

While lawmakers and former secretariat officials retained composure, preparing for Park’s arrival, members of Parksamo -- the official group of Park’s supporters -- let out enraged responses. After Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Park’s departure at 7:16 p.m., some 800 Park supporters became restless, shouting out the former president’s name and cursing the Constitutional Court for its impeachment ruling.

* * *

Elsewhere, the liberal politician likely to become the next president, Moon Jae-in, promised to work for justice and common sense. "We still have a long way to go. We have to make this a country of justice, of common sense through regime change," Moon, who advocates reconciliation with North Korea, told a news conference.

Moon is leading in opinion polls, which show South Koreans are likely to throw out the conservatives after nearly a decade in power and turn to a liberal leader. Moon called on Park to publicly accept the court ruling, which she now appears to have done, however the transition did not come without a tragedy. On Friday, two Park supporters were killed as they tried to break through police lines outside the court, shortly after the verdict. One was believed to have had a heart attack and the other died as the Park supporters attacked police buses. A third, a man aged 74, suffered a heart attack and died on Saturday.

Thousands of Park"s opponents celebrated in Seoul on Saturday, where they have been gathering every weekend for months, and demanded that she be arrested. The former president"s conservative supporters also took to the streets not far away, though fewer in number. Police were out in force but there was no trouble.

The chaos in South Korea"s political establishment comes at a sensitive time for the nation: the country"s northern neighbor, North Korea, has been acting in an increasingly irrational fashion in recent weeks, and according to the Predata-Beyond Parallel think tank the odds of a North Korean WMD attack in the next month have topped 60%.

 

Another ballistic missile launch could provoke an armed response by both Japan and China, and potentially see the deployment of the controversial THAAD missiles recently deployed by the US in South Korea which could further escalate the tension in the region.

South Korea's President Has Been Removed From Office After Court Upholds Impeachment

South Korea"s constitutional court has voted unanimously, 8-0, to uphold the impeachment of President Park Guen-hye, removing her from office after a 92-day leadership crisis and triggering a presidential election in the weeks to come. A snap election my be held within 60 days.

The ruling, which was announced by the court"s acting chief and televised live, made Park the nation"s first democratically elected leader to be ousted. She was impeached by parliament on Dec. 9 on charges of letting a close friend meddle in state affairs, colluding with her to extort money from conglomerates, and neglecting her duties during a 2014 ferry sinking that killed more than 300.

The court"s decision strips Park of her immunity from criminal prosecution, which will force her to undergo interrogation by prosecutors over her alleged crimes.

President Park Geun-hye (R) and Lee Jung-mi, acting chief of the Constitutional Court

"The Constitutional Court"s decision is equivalent to demanding legal accountability for President Park"s failure to properly run state affairs," said Yang Seung-ham, honorary professor at Seoul"s Yonsei University. "Now the public should accept the ruling."

The nation has been sharply divided along ideological and generational lines since the scandal broke in October, pushing millions of people into the streets to rally for or against the impeachment.

Park"s problems began in October, when revelations emerged about the influence Park"s confidante and adviser Choi Soon-sil had over the President. Choi is currently on trial for abuse of power and fraud. What followed later was 5 months of at times sheer chaos (see full timeline below) culminating with today"s decision.

Local media and opposition parties had accused Choi of abusing her relationship with the president to force companies to donate millions of dollars to foundations she runs. She denies all charges against her.

Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans braved the brutally cold winter temperatures to take to the streets of Seoul and call for Park"s ouster.

In a brief televised apology however, Park made it clear that she had no intentions of resigning. In December, the National Assembly voted 234 to 56 to impeach her.

Park was impeached in December after being accused of corruption. She is alleged to have let her close confidante Choi Soon Sil meddle in state affairs and conspired with her to extort money from major companies including Samsung.

Local pundits cited by Yonhap said the court"s decision demonstrated that South Korea"s democratic system is firmly in place. "We have undergone a process of resolving considerable conflict and differences in a predictable manner through legal procedures stipulated in the Constitution," said Park Myoung-kyu, a sociology professor at Seoul National University. "Now is the time to calm down and turn (the conflict) into policy debates and arguments."

The president"s supporters and detractors rallied outside the court as police officers and police buses were deployed to prevent a possible clash.

* * *

Below is the full timeline of the Park scandal:

October

24 - South Korean cable TV network JTBC reports that Park"s longtime friend Choi edited some of the president"s speeches. Prosecutors were already investigating claims that Choi had used her relationship with Park to raise funds for two foundations.
25 - Park apologizes on national television, saying Choi had access to dozens of presidential speeches before they were made public.
29 - Thousands of anti-government protesters gather in Seoul, calling for Park"s resignation. Organizers estimate the crowd at 20,000; police put attendance at 9,000.
31 - As Choi arrives at the prosecutors" offices, following a two-month stay in Germany, she apologizes, saying she has committed "an unpardonable crime." Late that night, prosecutors place Choi in emergency detention.

November

1 - Prosecutors raid the offices of eight banks. Choi is suspected, among other things, of getting preferential treatment from local banks for loans.
2 - Park nominates a new prime minister, Kim Byong Joon, a member of an opposition party, in a bid to quell the controversy.
3 - A South Korean district court issues an arrest warrant for Choi. Kim, the prime minister-designate, says Park could be investigated, saying, "Everyone is equal before the law."
4 - Park again apologizes on TV, saying she will cooperate in the investigation.
5 - Thousands of protesters take to the streets of Seoul to demand Park"s resignation. Organizers say about 100,000 people participate; police put the number at 40,000.
6 - Prosecutors issue warrants for two of Park"s former aides, AnChong Bum and Jeong Ho Seong, who both resigned the previous week. Prosecutors continue to question Choi.
8 - Prosecutors search the offices of electronics giant Samsung. Park says she will withdraw her nominee for prime minister.
12 - The biggest protest yet takes place near the presidential palace in Seoul. Organizers say 500,000 people participate; police put the number at 190,000. Protests are planned in 40 other cities in South Korea and abroad.
13 - Prosecutors say they plan to question Park.
17 - South Korea"s parliament passes a bill to open up an independent enquiry into Park"s friendship with Choi. The legislation seeks 60 investigators and a special prosecutor to lead the case.
19 - Protestors again gather in Seoul.
20 - Prosecutors say Park is likely to have played a role in the corruption scandal but that they cannot indict her, as the country"s constitution guarantees the president immunity "except in cases of insurrection or treason."
21 - The country"s largest opposition party says it will take steps to begin impeachment proceedings against Park.

December

1 - South Korea"s ruling party pushes for Park to resign in April, saying presidential elections planned for the end of 2017 could be brought forward to June.
2 - The country"s three opposition parties say they will vote December 9 on impeachment, even if Park announces a plan to resign. Park plans to meet with members of her own ruling party over the weekend.
3 - Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators march within 100 metres of Park"s official residence.
6 - Park says she won"t immediately resign if impeached. Five thousand South Koreans file a lawsuit demanding compensation from Park for mental suffering caused by the scandal.
9 - Lawmakers including members of her own party vote to impeach Park
16 - In a 24-page document, Park"s lawyers argue that there is no legal foundation for her removal.
19 - Park"s influential friend Choi Soon Sil goes on trial on charges of abuse of authority and attempted fraud.

January

3 - The first open hearing in Park"s impeachment trial is held. As expected, she does not attend.

February

17 - Samsung heir Lee Jae Yong is arrested over bribery allegations linked to the corruption scandal.

March

9 - Lee denies bribing Park and Choi on the first day of his trial
10 - The Constitional Court upholds Park"s impeachment