Parliaments' Endless Pursuit of Trust: Re-focusing on Symbolic Representation

This conclusion reviews the styles of relationship between parliament and citizens visible in very different political systems across the world. It shows that increasingly this relationship follows different styles according to specific contexts and beyond the traditional perception of a specific type of representation. It then demonstrates that parliaments have finally become public institutions with the new millennium, opening up considerably by becoming more transparent, accessible and visible institutions. However, when it comes to developing real links between parliaments and citizens, the reality is very patchy. These developments are then assessed in light of levels of trust in parliament, to note that decline in trust may have little do to with poorer performance from parliaments. The study concludes by showing that re-focusing our understanding of the parliament–citizen relationship on symbolic representation allows us to understand what is missing in that relationship. Keywords: parliaments and citizensrepresentationsymbolic representationPitkintrust in parliament Acknowledgements The author is very grateful to all the contributors to this volume. Special thanks also to Sally Clark, for her editorial assistance and support. Some of the reflections included in this chapter derive from research project on Managing Parliament's Image, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (RES-000-22-4072). Notes Research undertaken for a project on ‘Managing Parliament's Image’, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (RES-000-22-4072). In the British case, we are referring to the traditional petition mechanism, not the Downing Street e-petitions system. This was modelled on the Scottish Parliament's e-petitions system; as of 1 June 2012 though, the Scottish e-petitions system had been suspended pending improvements to the system (http://epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/). At the date of writing: Following the experience of the Downing Street e-petitions site, the pressures this put upon the Backbench Business Committee, and the Hansard Society recommendations for a new petitions system (Hansard Society Citation2012), there is potential for considerable change in this regard. The rise and fall of the populist party, List Pim Fortuyn, accompanied by the assassination of its eponymous leader and the party's subsequent rise to, and fall from, government. Additional informationNotes on contributorsCristina Leston-Bandeira Cristina Leston-Bandeira is a Senior Lecturer in Legislative Studies, University of Hull, UK, currently developing research about parliamentary public engagement