Allegedly lying and corrupt senators, cops being potentially bribed and some other political figures not doing what they said they would, there is one valuable commodity that seems to be severely lacking among the public – trust.
That certainly is not something the candidates in the provincial election want to hear, especially as they make promises in hopes the voters will ‘trust’ it will happen should they win.
And that reduction in trust has had another profound effect that politicians and election officials are fighting – voter apathy.
For the most part, it is the 18 to 35 age group that have decidedly turned to not voting in any kind of election for reasons ranging from broken promises to not being able to affect change to not being able to trust any government to do the right things with their money.
There is a campaign out now that is attempting to show how important it is that these people have their voices heard on election day. However, only future governments and politicians can change that by working on its root cause – the lack of trust
Transparency, accountability and being seen doing what they said they would are the first steps to regaining the public’s confidence.
Unfortunately, for the next 21 days – trust – may carry as much weight with Albertans as the credibility of a senator’s expense claim.
