Graphic Truth: Is government making peoples' lives worse?

Does skepticism rule the day in politics? Public opinion data collected as part of the Munich Security Conference’s annual report found that large shares of respondents in G7 and several BRICS countries believed their governments’ policies would leave future generations worse off. That sentiment was especially pronounced among citizens in France, the United Kingdom, and Germany where governments entered the year exceedingly unpopular and under siege from the populist right and left – a dynamic Eurasia Group warned of in the 2026 Top Risks report. Trust in political institutions has been crumbling for decades, but a sense of helplessness in the face of global events has ticked up over the last few years. Across all G7 countries surveyed, that sentiment rose in 2025 and was significantly higher than in 2021. France witnessed the sharpest rise in gloom, with the sentiment increasing by 14 points over that period. Quel dommage.