How does fiscal austerity affect trust in the European Union? Analyzing the role of responsibility attribution

Austerity policies tend to be generally unpopular and national governments have been found lose support when they implement such policies. However, during the sovereign debt crisis, of ‘bailout countries’ were pressured by European Union (EU) institutions austerity measures. Did measures affect trust in EU? We investigate impact fiscal on EU how perceptions responsibility political ideology moderate this relationship. apply multilevel models Eurobarometer surveys data from International Monetary Fund (IMF) analyze changes 27 EU-countries (2013–2015). Our results indicate that has a negative effect EU, but only among those who hold responsible for find no significant moderating ideology.