Political Views 2024

The study “Political Attitudes 2024” was conducted by USUMA Market and Social Research on behalf of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. During the survey period from February 13, 2024, to April 5, 2024, the German-speaking voting-age population aged 18 and older was surveyed via telephone interviews (CATI) on the following topics: life satisfaction, satisfaction with democracy, optimism/pessimism, concerns about the future, current election preferences, affinity for or aversion to political parties, motives for voting intentions, descriptions of political parties, political attitudes, perceived party competencies, political sentiments, political and social fears, polarization, and social attitudes. Respondents were selected using a disproportionately stratified random sample drawn from an ADM selection frame that included both landline and mobile phone numbers (dual-frame sample). A total of 3,510 complete interviews were conducted, including an over-quota of N=1,504 respondents in the eastern German federal states. Life satisfaction; satisfaction with democracy; optimism vs. pessimism regarding the future (I am often afraid of what lies ahead; I believe everything will turn out well if things continue as they are; I am pessimistic about Germany’s future; I am confident that Germany will overcome future challenges); concerns about the future. Voting behavior, political parties, and party images: Party preference in the next Bundestag election (“Sunday question”) ; likelihood of voting for this party; alternative “Sunday question”; affinity for/aversion to parties; importance of various reasons for personal voting intention (the party has good politicians, the party can generally be trusted, the party offers good solutions, the party can govern well, the party knows what people like me think, I want to show the other parties what’s what); party description: Party or parties associated with the following terms: stability, prosperity, reliability, security, sound governance, middle class, contentious, down-to-earth, cosmopolitan, conservative, sustainable, bourgeois, forward-looking, racist. Political Attitudes: Stance on political issues: lower taxes and fees, even if that means fewer social welfare benefits vs. more social welfare benefits, even if that means higher taxes and fees; opportunities for foreigners to immigrate should be made easier vs. should be restricted; priority should be given to combating climate change, even if it harms economic growth vs. priority should be given to economic growth, even if it hinders efforts to combat climate change; party competence: the parties best equipped to solve current problems; political party(ies) that evoke the following political emotions: fear, outrage, indifference, hope, trust, despair, anger, satisfaction, confidence, and compassion; political and social fears (global climate change due to global warming, immigration to Germany, economic crisis in Germany, tensions between Europe and Russia, xenophobia in Germany, a military attack on Germany, rising prices in Germany, a shift to the right in society, the AfD gaining power in Germany, Muslims gaining too much influence in Germany). Justice and Society: Acceptance or rejection of different groups of people (AfD voters, Green Party voters, CDU voters, gay people, refugees, dog owners, Catholics, climate activists, vegans, SUV drivers, hunters, Muslims, Jews); polarization: Agreement with various statements (the basic income is too high; Germany is going downhill; refugees receive preferential treatment in Germany; there are more important issues than climate protection right now; in today’s society, people are irreconcilably at odds with one another; democracy should actually be abolished; I feel uncomfortable in Germany; life in Germany is good; I believe my job is secure; people who shirk work receive too much money from the government in Germany; East Germans receive less than their fair share; someone cut off contact with me because of my political views; other parties should cooperate with the AfD; I’ve cut off contact with certain people because of their political views; as a woman, you can no longer walk alone on the street at night; most people can be trusted; climate protection is too expensive for me; I have to cut back financially in my daily life; the minimum wage is too low). Demography: sex; age; household size; highest general education qualification; highest vocational education qualification; unemployment lasting longer than 6 months; religious denomination or faith community; personal migration background or parents’ migration background; assessment of household income; federal state; city size. The following were also coded: Respondent ID; weighting factor; BIK municipal size class; regional designation; various indicators (e.g., hospital beds, doctors, vote shares for various parties, population density, voter turnout); settlement structure district type; settlement structure district type (West-East); spatial type (location of districts), growth or decline (districts); interview date.