Switzerland missing from OECD debate on trust in government

Hundreds of officials and civil society representatives gathered in Paris as students protested outside. The OECD conference on October 13, 2026, took place at the organisation’s heavily guarded headquarters, while tens of thousands of school pupils and university students demonstrated in the city. Over the weekend of October 17, looting and riots followed. Inside, delegates discussed how democracies could restore public confidence in government institutions. Switzerland, whose political system is associated with regular public votes and a consensus government, was absent from the discussion. The omission matters because the OECD’s own survey points to a demand for greater public influence between elections. Swissinfo’s analysis argues that direct democracy could offer a relevant case for countries grappling with that challenge. The Paris meeting focused on a crisis visible in the survey and on the streets, yet the Swiss model did not enter the debate.

Only 40% of people across the countries surveyed said they had at least moderate trust in their government. The OECD’s Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions, published in summer 2026, covered 38 countries. It found widespread doubts about governments’ ability to handle major challenges, including global warming, migration and geopolitical tensions. The survey also identified a gap in how people view elections and everyday political influence. A large majority believed elections could bring change, yet fewer than one in three felt that “people like them” had a say in government decisions. The report described “growing and unmet citizens’ expectations about having a say in decision-making beyond elections”. That finding puts participation between elections at the centre of the trust debate. For governments, the survey links confidence not only to the ability to address large-scale problems, but also to whether citizens feel they can influence decisions that affect them.

Switzerland recorded 62% trust in government, compared with the 38-country average of 40%. The survey also found that 65% of people in Switzerland felt those who had a say in political decisions were “people like them”. Swissinfo’s analysis connects those results to two features of the country’s system: regular nationwide votes and a consensus government that brings together almost all major political forces. That arrangement means nearly all voters have someone in government who represents their part of the political spectrum. The figures make Switzerland an apparent case study for countries seeking ways to address public distrust. Yet the OECD report did not present the Swiss political model as an example, and it played no role in the Paris conference discussions. The contrast is central to the Swissinfo analysis: the survey recorded unusually high trust and perceived influence in Switzerland, while the international debate left its institutions out of view.