The election campaign is  on. And the first to be led by a female PM!

This is the type of change we once naively hoped would signal more attention to better social outcomes, rather than the economic ones. We thought women were more likely to put social issues on the agenda, but it doesn’t necessarily work that way. The good society, or at least a somewhat better one, needs level of trust for sharing resources for the common good.

The inevitable tensions means governments need goodwill if they are to enhance wellbeing and not damage the social fabric. Voters with low or limited trust become easy targets for political populism and fear campaigns, the so-called race to the bottom. The Coalition used this tactic time and time again under Howard and it is at it again.

Politicians often ask for trust and this was part of the PM’s case for going to an early election. In her first campaign speech, Gillard made it clear that Labor’s election pitch would focus on “moving forward” and added: “In this the forthcoming election campaign I’ll be asking the Australian people for their trust.” However, there are many indications  that this poll appears to be shaping up as a low-trust marketing exercise that will exacerbate existing divides. One Galaxy poll question, reported on Channel 10’s Meet the Press on Sunday, suggests that both major parties have problems in convincing electors of their fitness to govern.  When asked if either party deserved to be elected, more than half said the ALP did not and nearly two thirds claimed the Coalition did not.

This is not a good start, given other data also show low levels of personal and political distrust in the community. A recent representative sample in a poll by Reader’s Digest, was asked to rank 100 well-known Australians from No.1 being the most trusted. Bob Brown is the most trusted politician, rated at 74, with Julia Gillard at 78. The rest were at 80 plus, including Tony Abbott at 89.  They did, however, all beat Kyle Sandilands at 100!

The same sample ranked 40 occupations and politicians came 38th, just beating car salesmen and telemarketers. A more academic study, the 2009 ANU Australian Social Attitude Survey reports that only 13% of respondents had great confidence in federal parliament, but a further 44% had some confidence. This still left over 40% who had little or no trust. At least, more than half of the sample (56%) still felt almost all or most other people could be trusted, which suggests the voters trust each other more.

These results put the plea for trust and confidence by political leaders in context. Moving forward together sounds good because who wants to be seen as going backwards, but that collective aim requires higher trust levels? Who will be part of the “together”, for instance? The pictures Gillard has drawn include rule-abiding hard workers, conscientious students in school uniforms. Women and men are presumably sharing the paid hard work, otherwise this image would fit behind John Howard’s picket fence. This image comes from the female PM who did benefit from the feminist changes that saw her gain professional qualifications, jobs and political offices that would have been unthinkable in the fifties. However, these seventies feminist changes were not produced by staying within the rules but by our changing them, and I wonder whether this strategy is still on the agenda.

How then do I, as a public feminist commentator, judge her and other pitches to voters? Not on gender because it is not appropriate to expect women to fit stereotypes any more than men should. I will continue to look at policy to see whether its effects are likely to create a fairer society, served by sustainable but more ethical markets that encourage social as well as environmental responsibilities. I do happen to believe that most people are to be trusted, if treated with respect, and that voters are not essentially venal or dumb. Unfortunately this is not shaping up to be the campaign that appeals to our better angels.