Autumn Study 1988

Attitude to current political questions and to the European Community.

Topics: fear of the future; judgement on the current economic
situation in the Federal Republic and on further development; interest
in politics; interest in policies on Europe; assessment of the true
motives of politicians; party inclination and party identification;
party inclination in principle or based on the situation; most
important reasons for the present party inclination as well as reasons
for a party inclination not present (scales); most important social
values (scale: significance of tradition, citizen involvement,
achievement, law, spiritual change and money); national pride;
satisfaction with democracy; personal change of party voted for;
behavior at the polls in the last European election and Federal
Parliament election; satisfaction with the party elected; party
preference at national and European level (Sunday question, ballot
procedure); issue relevance and issue competence of the parties; life
style (scale: hedonism, conformity, sense of duty, political
commitment, responsibility); identification as European; degree of
identification with the major parties; significance of municipal,
state, Federal and European elections; assessment of unification
progress in Europe since the last European election; knowledge about
the date of the next election for the European Parliament; intent to
participate in the election and most important reasons for
participation or non-participation in the election; sympathy scale for
the major parties; judgement on the job of the European Parliament in
Strassburg; advantages or disadvantages for the Federal Republic
through membership in the EC; preference for solving selected political
problems at the European or national level; party as well as
politicians doing the most for Europe; judgement on the effort of
selected politicians for Europe; characteristics of an optimum European
politician and characterization of Kohl and Vogel on the same scale;
assessment of the future of the EC and preferred goals for the European
Community (scale); self-classification on a left-right continuum; trust
in parties, the police, authorities, government and parliament;
assignment of the parties represented in the Federal Parliament to
selected population groups; self-assessment of belonging to one of
these groups; religiousness and ties to church; ideal number of
children; membership in clubs, citizen initiatives, parties or
professional organizations and offices held there; fear of unemployment
or short time work; self-classification of social class; social
mobility; union membership; office in the union and solidarity with the
union; possession of a telephone; willingness to participate in a
follow-up survey next year.

Interviewer rating: presence of third persons during interview;
intervention by this person in the interview; reliability and
willingness of respondent to cooperate; length of interview and date of
interview.