TEHRAN (Iran News) –  Restoring public trust, which has experienced a significant decline in recent years due to some challenges and performance of relevant institutions, is on the agenda of the Raisi administration.

The revival of social capital, in addition to the way the administration operates, depends on the cooperation of other branches of the government and departments with the Raisi administration which calls itself “sincere in words”.

The administration, by passing the stage of appointing ministers and forming the executive body, prepares itself to face challenges, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic hardship, the management of which, in addition to cooperation of institutions, requires the support of the people themselves.

People, however, have long lost their trust to some officials due to the performance of some institutions, difficult living and economic challenges, uncoordinated decision-making and weakening the environment for interaction and dialogue with the people, non-fulfillment of promises, weakening the spirit and culture of accountability and apology, etc.

Public trust can be considered one of the strategic assets of any political system. Accordingly, one of the major challenges facing administration is managing public trust.

This is the important point that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted on in the meeting with the president and the members of his cabinet. And on the same basis, the Leader set an important mission for the executive power: restoring public trust.

Trust that needs to be revived

Although addressing the Coronavirus, people’s livelihoods and improving the business environment have been identified as the administration’s priorities, this does not diminish the importance of rebuilding social capital.

From observers’ point of view, restoring public trust will happen to be a by-product of the administration’s promises. Keeping promises will restore the essence of lost trust.

The Leader said, “People’s trust is the biggest asset of the administration, which unfortunately has been undermined to some extent. You have to be very careful in your words, and if a promise is made, it must be fulfilled, because making a promise and not fulfilling it will cause people to lose trust.”

A significant gap between campaign promises and the record of the presidents at the end of their term, of course, numerous promises left unfulfilled in the previous administrations, has made the competence of the administration very sensitive from the people’s point of view.

Awareness about this has led the president to repeatedly reaffirm his commitment to deliver on his campaign promises. On August 26, in the first meeting of the cabinet, the president reiterated his promises, especially in the field of economy, and stressed that we should be a “sincere in word” government and keep all our promises by working around the clock.

Raisi had previously stated that his criteria for appointing men of his government were anti-corruption spirit, honesty with the people and upholding morality. He had also stressed that he will not tolerate the slightest corruption in his administration in order to move more decisively towards the fulfillment of his promises, especially in the economic field.

Moreover, the president is supposed to put on agenda active interaction with the people. This is evident in his trips to the two provinces of Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan as well as his televised interview in his first month in office. These moves show that he is honest in seeking to restore the public trust.

In a meeting with the cabinet, the Leader noted: “Talking to the people and sharing problems and solutions with the people is one of the manifestations of being people-oriented. Raise your issues with people. Once there is a problem, there is a solution. Of course, try not to discourage people from talking, as some people ignore this point and say inappropriate and untrue words that cause people to despair; every problem has a solution. Talk to people, ask people for help in different cases, both intellectual and practical help.”

According to Raisi’s election promises, his administration will henceforth pave the way for the realization of a “strong and advanced” Iran. By “popularizing” politics, economics and culture, he wants to bridge the gap between society and officials.

Everyone must accompany

Though the Leader of the Revolution has advised the new administration to live up to the promises, the presidential election promises cover various political, economic, social and cultural spheres. These promises require the cooperation of other institutions to fulfill them.

The effect of tension between the branches of the power and institutions on the decline of social capital cannot be ignored. This has been repeatedly dragged into political circles and media outlets in recent years. Coupled with people’s distrust, this has robbed the opportunity to take steps in line with fulfilling national interests in the best way possible.

The alignment and intellectual closeness of senior administration officials with other branches of powers during the Raisi administration has raised the hopes for a positive increase in the system in order to reform the country’s affairs and optimally advance national interests.