This is the 5623rd most frequent Russian word.
правительству
"To the government."
In this sentence, 'правительству' is used in the dative case as the indirect object, specifying the entity addressed by the citizens.
Граждане обратились к правительству с просьбой улучшить инфраструктуру.
Citizens approached the government with a request to improve the infrastructure.
Here, the word 'правительству' again appears in the dative case, representing the receiver of the directed criticism.
Критика, направленная к правительству, была основана на последних событиях.
The criticism directed at the government was based on recent events.
In this context, 'правительству' is used in the dative case to indicate the entity trusted concerning the specified matters.