PR professionals give euro states poor marks

The participants assessed five key aspects of communication by European governments and authorities during the euro crisis - with sobering results. Around 60 percent of respondents partially or completely disagreed with the assessment that those responsible had communicated the reasons for the crisis effectively. According to a press release, 80 percent of respondents felt that clear and understandable ways out of the crisis had not been presented. 

Lack of perspective

The lack of a concrete vision for the future of Europe is viewed just as critically. Almost 80% of the communication professionals surveyed disagree with the statement that governments and authorities have painted a comprehensible picture of what a future, united Europe should look like after the crisis. The assessments of what the communication has achieved so far are correspondingly cautious; 70% of those surveyed do not believe that it has been possible to gain lasting support from the European public for the rescue measures taken so far.

Creating public support

"Precisely because the subject matter is so complex in detail, a comprehensive, emotional narrative would be important from a communications perspective. All the difficult intermediate steps could then at least be categorized within it," says Ulrich Gartner, owner of Gartner Communications and founder of the global consultancy network InfniteLatitude. "We know from behavioral economics that people never form their opinions in isolation, but always in relation to a framework. Creating this framework for the European discussion would be a classic task for communications."

Low credibility of the authorities

Overall, the individual results lead to considerable skepticism regarding the credibility of the institutions. Only just under three percent of communication professionals agree with the assessment that governments and authorities were highly credible in their communication - compared to around two thirds who disagree with this statement.

Unclear EU future

The survey of communication experts clearly showed that European governments have not yet succeeded in conveying a clear picture of the future of a united Europe after the crisis. The survey showed no significant differences between participants from different geographical and economic areas - i.e. between members of the eurozone, EU members without EU membership or non-EU members.

Some data on the survey:

Participants:
- 111 participants from 23 countries.

Regions:
- 89 participants in Europe, 22 outside Europe.

Within Europe:
- 40 in the euro zone.
- 30 in EU member states outside the eurozone.
- 19 outside the EU and eurozone (Switzerland and Liechtenstein).

Roles:
- 68 participants on the company side, 43 on the agency side.

Conspicuously high seniority of survey participants:
- Around 65 percent of participants on the corporate side report to the first or second management level (CEO, Group Management, Vice President).
- Around 70 percent of participants on the agency side hold the title of CEO, Managing Director or Vice President.