Politbarometer East 1993 (Cumulated Data Set)

The Politbarometer has been conducted since 1977 on an almost monthly basis by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen on behalf of the Second German Television (ZDF). Since 1990, this database has also been available for the new German states. The survey focuses on the opinions and attitudes of the voting-age population in the Federal Republic on current political issues, parties, politicians, and voting behavior. From 1990 to 1995 and from 1999 onward, the Politbarometer surveys were conducted separately both in the newly formed eastern and in the western German states (Politbarometer East and Politbarometer West). The separate monthly surveys of a year are integrated into a cumulative data set that includes all surveys of a year and all variables of the respective year. Starting in 2003, the Politbarometer short surveys, collected with varying frequency throughout the year, are integrated into the annual cumulation.<br>Most important problems in Germany; party preference (Federal
Parliament election, state parliament election, Sunday question and
rank order procedure); behavior at the polls in the last Federal
Parliament election and the last state parliament election; sympathy
scale for the parties, coalition, opposition, state government and
selected federal politicians; self-classification on a left-right
continuum; personal job security; ability of the government or
opposition in solving economic problems in Eastern Germany; judgement
on individual as well as current economic situation in Eastern Germany
and its further development; union membership; religiousness; party
inclination and party identification; living together with a partner.
Also encoded was: day of survey. Beyond this common part for all survey
months of the year 1993 the following questions were also posed in at
least one further survey month: assessment of disagreement of the
federal parties; most important politicians in the country; preference
for federal chancellor; satisfaction with democracy; the right people
in leading positions; interest in politics; general judgement on the
condition of society as well as comparison with other western
societies; judgement on introduction of political order according to
western pattern; general judgement on unification of Germany and
personal expectations fulfilled in unification; general judgement on
economic development in Germany; desire for separation of the two
German nations; satisfaction with achievement of equivalent living
conditions in east and west; adequate activities of the Federal
Government for such an equalization; adequate effort of the West German
economy and East German population to develop Eastern Germany; too much
complaining in public opinion; judgement on the job of the
trust-company; ability of the government or opposition regarding
stability of monetary value, national debt and securing of prosperity;
perceived threat from crime; necessity of tax increases to finance
German unity; attitude to reintroduction of the solidarity tax and
preferred point in time for this; attitude to reduction in social
services and to a job market tax for civil servants, self-employed and
higher earners; preferred savings recommendations for social services;
judgement on the reductions introduced by the Federal Government in the
social area; assumed extent of abuse of social services; expected
result of the government program to combat abuse; attitude to the sale
of government assets to avoid tax increases; judgement on disputes in
important questions; advantageousness of EC membership for the German
population; judgement on the speed of European unification and
preference for strengthening bonds between current EC countries or for
admission of new countries; preference for independence of Germany or
stronger merger into a European nation; advantageousness of the
European domestic market and attitude to a European currency; personal
voting behavior in case of a vote on the resolutions of Maastricht;
preferred countries for new acceptance into the EC; too many foreigners
in Germany; general judgement on German right to asylum; assumed abuse
of the right to asylum; necessity of an ammendment to the constitution
to reduce abuse of the right to asylum; ability to cope with current
influx of applicants for political asylum; party most able to solve the
problem of applicants for asylum; attitude to immediate deportation of
applicants for political asylum from countries in which there is no
political persecution; expected changes through change to the right to
asylum; proximity to accomodations for applicants for political asylum;
problems experienced with applicants for political asylum; attitude to
increased or reduced admission of applicants for political asylum;
understanding for the violent demonstrations against applicants for
political asylum; being ashamed of this violence; necessity of stricter
laws to combat right-wing extremism; dedicated supporters or protest
voters in the elections; increase in votes for right-wing radical
parties; attitude to acceptance of increased responsibility of united
Germany in world politics; attitude to combat missions of the Federal
German Armed Forces in the framework of the UN; attitude to further
peace negotiations about Bosnia and Herzegovina in spite of the failure
of the Geneva negotiations; attitude to participation of German
soldiers in AWACS surveillance flights to enforce the flight
prohibition over Bosnia and Herzegovina; consent with military actions
of the UN against Serbia as well as attitude to participation of
Federal German Armed Forces; attitude to missions of the Federal German
Armed Forces in Somalia; judgement on the decision of the Federal
Constitutional Court on the Somalia mission of the Federal German Armed
Forces; attitude to membership of Germany in the UN Security Council;
increased use of men in community service given an excess of persons
liable for military service; community service for women; attitude to a
conscript army or preference for professional soldiers; attitude to a
reduction in the Federal German Armed Forces; assessment of jeopardy to
peace in Europe; demand for higher moral standards among politicians;
personal desire to become a politician; judgement on the job of the
Federal Government and expected improvement in case of an SPD
government; expected winner in the next Federal Parliament election;
judgement on the resignation of Moellemann; preferred candidate for
chancellor for the SPD; attitude to survey of members by the SPD about
the future party chairman; attitude to bugging of conversations in
private areas to combat organized crime; basic attitude to the idea of
socialism; attitude to abortion and party representing the interests of
respondenton the abortion question; judgement on the decision of the
Federal Constitutional Court on the new regulation of abortion law;
preference for an East German or West German candidate for the office
of Federal President; preference for Federal President; importance of
the office of Federal President; judgement on discontinuation of the
proceedings against Erich Honecker; attitude to increased road
construction to reduce traffic jams; expected increase in the cost of
driving a car; attitude to introduction of freeway tolls; preference
for petroleum tax increase or freeway toll; attitude to privatization
of freeways; attitude to nuclear power plants; attitude to reduction of
time in school at high schools to 12 years; attitude to introduction of
nursing care insurance; preference for government or private insurance;
preference for division of nursing care costs among government, workers
and employers; preference for introduction of a day without pay,
elimination of a day of vacation or government holiday to finance
nursing care insurance; attitude to a reduced wage increase in the west
to achieve equality of wages; desired wage increase above or below the
inflation rate; assessment of the increase in wages in Eastern Germany
measured on the economic situation; attitude to giving up wage
increases in order to secure preservation of jobs; attitude to the
recommendation of Lafontaine on reduced increase of wages in Eastern
Germany; justified wage differences between East and West Germany;
expected wage level for the future; attitude to a limited sacrifice of
wage increase in case of a difficult economic situation of the company;
attitude to a four-day week with reduction in wages; preference for
full-time employment or part-time employment; attitude to reduced
entry-level wages for unemployed; judgement on the 26% wage increase
scheduled for 1993 in the East German metal industry; assessment of the
ability of the companies to handle such an increase; attitude to a
strike due to cancellation of the wage agreement in the metal industry;
feared loss of jobs from the 26% wage increase; comparison of current
situation with situation before the turning point in the GDR regarding
general economic situation, personal economic situation, social
security, personal freedoms and the relationship to fellow man;
attitude to a return to the 40-hour week with or without full
compensation; attitude to lengthened working hours for civil servants
without salary increase; preference for elimination of the church tax;
attitude to increased financial support for Russia; attitude to the
Federal Government taking sides with Boris Yeltsin; expected
disadvantages for the Germans from political problems in the former
Soviet Union; military threat to Germany from problems in of the former
Soviet Union; attitude to the move of the government to Berlin and
preferred speed of the move; satisfaction with housing; tenant status;
judgement on current rent; attitude to application for selection as
Olympic site by Berlin and to the change of store closing laws;
possession of a telephone; smoker; attitude to a smoking ban in public;
retrospect on the last year and prospect for the future year.