Political Participation (June / July 2021)

On behalf of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government, the Elections Research Group conducted a survey on the topic of ´Political Participation´ in the run-up to the Bundestag elections. In the period from 28 June to 07 July 2021, 1,612 people were interviewed by telephone. In the west of Germany 1,133 citizens were interviewed, in the east 479 citizens. The aggregation of these 1,612 respondents leads to 1,389 interviews (1,133 from the West and 256 from the East) after adjustment for the over-quota in the East. This random sample is representative of the German resident population aged 18 and over. The focus of the survey was on political interest, participation in elections and other forms of political participation, assessment of the culture of debate in Germany as well as questions about one´s own (political) voluntary work.<br>1. Voter turnout: intention to vote in the Bundestag elections (Sunday question); voting at the polling station or by postal vote; participation mentalities; reasons for not voting (dissatisfaction with politics, little or no interest in politics, parties all seem the same, no party represents one´s own interests, dissatisfaction with democracy in Germany, one´s own vote has no influence on the election result); suspected fraud frequency in Bundestag elections.

2. Political participation: possibilities of political participation used (participation in a citizens´ initiative or in a party, participation in an election campaign event or demonstration, participation in a signature campaign or petition, participation in a citizens´ referendum, participation in a citizens´ meeting in the place of residence, participation in lectures or events on political topics); willingness to assume a political office; opportunities used for political participation on the internet (communication with politicians, participation in an online event with politicians, participation in an online signature campaign or petition, posts or comments on a political topic in social networks); change in the way of political participation since the beginning of the Corona pandemic; important changes in political participation since the beginning of the Corona pandemic (e.g. shift to the internet, (more frequent) participation in online events, fewer personal contacts/meetings, etc.); perception of the offer of online citizen dialogues with politicians; estimated influence of different possibilities of political participation (citizen dialogue, participation in a survey on political issues, collection of signatures or petition, participation in a demonstration, participation in an election); assessment of the overall possibility to make a difference through political engagement.

3. Membership and voluntary work: memberships in clubs and other associations; membership in political associations; voluntary or honorary work; reasons for voluntary or honorary work; start of voluntary work after the beginning of the Corona pandemic or before; change in voluntary work since the beginning of the Corona pandemic; important changes; reasons that stand in the way of taking on voluntary work (e.g. no group/organisation/opportunity found so far that corresponds to one´s own ideas, etc.); knowledge of the honorary work allowance.

4. Political attitudes: political interest (local politics, state politics, federal politics, politics of the European Union); frequency of political conversations in the family, among friends and acquaintances and with work colleagues; self-assessment of being informed about politics in Germany; should citizens decide on important political matters themselves (e.g. in referendums) vs. elected politicians; importance of different areas of life (family, friends, hobbies and leisure time, job, politics).

5. Debate culture and political argument: argument culture in politics; tolerance of the majority for people with other political opinions; frequency of argument in political conversations in the personal environment; experience with personal insults in political conversations; personal insults in concrete situations (e.g. in personal conversations with the family, etc.).

Political preferences and personal situation: internet use; party preference; job security.

Demography: age (grouped); sex; education: highest school-leaving qualification or intended school-leaving qualification, completed studies; occupation; job security; occupational status; grouping salaried employees and civil servants; household size; number of persons in the household aged 18 and over.

Additionally coded were: respondent ID; federal state of eligibility; district of Berlin West/East; size of town; mobile/ fixed network; weighting factors.