ARD-DeutschlandTrend 2007

Since 1997 the ARD-DeutschlandTREND is being conducted on behalf of the ARD (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland - First German Public Broadcasting Association) as well as various print media by Infratest dimap. The monthly telephone survey with approx. 1,000 respondents (for party preferences approx. 1,500 respondents) per wave is based on representative samples and measures attitudes of the voting-age population in the Federal Republic of Germany toward parties, politicians, and current political issues. Some topics are asked repeatedly in an identical manner over time, while other topics are included in one or several surveys only. The DeutschlandTREND is available as an annual cumulation for the years from 1998 onwards.<br>Party preference in the next federal election (Sunday question); satisfaction with selected top politicians (Annette Schavan, Brigitte Zypries, Claudia Roth, Erwin Huber, Edmund Stoiber, Franz Josef Jung, Franz Müntefering, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Günther Beckstein, Gregor Gysi, Horst Seehofer, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Kurt Beck, Horst Köhler, Angela Merkel, Michael Glos, Oskar Lafontaine, Olaf Scholz, Peter Struck, Reinhard Bütikofer, Renate Künast, Sigmar Gabriel, Peer Steinbrück, Ulla Schmidt, Ursula von der Leyen, Volker Kauder, Guido Westerwelle, Wolfgang Schäuble and Wolfgang Tiefensee); Party competence: most competent party to solve selected political tasks (securing old-age pensions, securing and creating new jobs, reliable foreign policy, education policy, securing energy supply, family policy, social justice, health policy, budgetary and financial policy, integrating immigrants, employee interests, fighting climate change and crime and terror, tax policy, environmental policy, advancing the economy, solving Germany´s future problems); satisfaction with the work of the Federal Government; satisfaction with the work of the individual governing parties CDU, CSU and SPD; assessment of justice in Germany; Chancellor´s preference for Angela Merkel or Kurt Beck (Split A) resp. Angela Merkel or Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Split B); preference for a CDU/CSU-led or an SPD-led next Federal Government; personal benefit from economic growth in Germany; assessment of various government coalitions in terms of their suitability for Germany (coalition of CDU/CSU, FDP and Greens, of SPD, FDP and Greens, and of SPD, Left Party and Greens); conditions in Germany more cause for confidence or more cause for concern; assessment of IG Metall´s demands for up to 6.5 percent higher wages; assessment of the current economic situation in Germany; expected economic situation in Germany in one year; trust in institutions (Federal Government, Bundestag, churches, political parties, large companies, unions, media, Federal Constitutional Court, Federal President); support for Germany´s medium-term nuclear phaseout; countries as trustworthy partners of Germany (France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Poland, Russia, Great Britain and the U.S.); advantageousness of the euro for the respondent; opinion on the continued deployment of the German armed forces in Afghanistan following the fatal attack on German soldiers; assessment of the level of payments for Hartz IV recipients; opinion on the Federal Government´s plans for the partial privatization of Deutsche Bahn; understanding for strikes by the train drivers´ union; opinion on the gradual increase in the retirement age from 65 to 67 starting in 2012; rather advantages or rather disadvantages for Germany through EU membership; expectations for the new year 2007 (falling unemployment, rising economy, Federal Government gets budget under control, passing of health care reform, more justice in Germany, reasonable increase in wages and salaries); greatest concerns for the future (open responses); better election chances for the CSU in the 2008 state elections with Edmund Stoiber or another candidate; agreement with various statements on health care reform; actual price increases with the VAT increase; Murat Kurnaz case: preferred decision of the Federal Government in the Murat Kurnaz case (allowing entry into Germany versus preventing entry out of concern for the country´s security); justified criticism of Frank-Walter Steinmeier as head of the Chancellor´s Office in the Kurnaz case; call for Frank-Walter Steinmeier to resign as Foreign Minister over the Murat Kurnaz case; climate protection: willingness to behave in a climate-friendly manner in the wake of climate change; concrete personal efforts to behave in a climate-friendly manner (drive less or more sparingly, avoid air travel, save heating energy, look for climate-friendly products when shopping, use less electricity); assessment of the Federal Government´s commitment to climate protection; party with the greatest commitment to climate protection and families in Germany; most sensible measures to support families with children (more child benefit, more tax breaks, more childcare facilities); agreement with various statements on family and education; politician particularly concerned with employee interests; preference for minimum wage or combi-wage; successful rapprochement of European Union under German presidency toward various goals (e.g. advancing common European constitution, etc.); general approval of Bundeswehr participation in NATO mission in Afghanistan; preference regarding Bundeswehr NATO mission in Afghanistan: reconnaissance flights by German Tornado aircraft versus only reconstruction aid; support for a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic against threats from Iran; preferred government coalition at the federal level; agreement with various statements on the grand coalition in Berlin; subjective feeling of security with regard to possible terrorist attacks in Germany; security laws to protect against crime and terror are sufficient versus should be tightened; preferred type of employee participation in company profits (permanent wage increase or one-time payment); expected German soccer champion; sufficient efforts by Germany to achieve more justice in the world; chancellor candidate with the best chances for the SPD in the next federal election; G8 summit as a groundbreaking contribution to more justice and better climate protection in the world; assessment of security precautions at the G8 summit; Bundeswehr has overstretched itself overall with its involvement abroad; good possible chancellor candidate for the SPD; best chancellor for Germany after an election victory for the SPD; participation in government by one of the smaller parties in the Bundestag (FDP, Left Party, Greens) good for Germany; perception of justice in selected areas in Germany (e.g. tax system, society´s treatment of the weak, pension system, etc.); support for easier immigration for skilled foreign workers as a means of combating the labor shortage; agreement with various statements about the grand coalition in Berlin; assessment of the grand coalition´s government work based on school grades; comparison of Chancellor Angela Merkel´s work with that of her predecessor Gerhard Schröder; expected improvement or worsening of long-distance and local transport services as a result of privatization of Deutsche Bahn; preferred approach of the Federal Government following the kidnapping of German citizens abroad (as a matter of principle, not responding to demands of hostage-takers versus paying ransom in individual cases); more help for those affected with the old system of social welfare or with the new system of Hartz IV; future financing of care through higher contributions from care insurance or private provision by those in need of care; opinion on the proposal by Federal Health Minister Schmidt regarding 6 months of unpaid leave for caregiving employees; opinion on online searches with federal Trojans (encroaches too far on privacy versus should be allowed to combat terrorism and crime); assessment of the appropriate level of wages and salaries in Germany; responsibility for appropriate wages and salaries (politics versus collective bargaining partners); opinion on the introduction of a statutory minimum wage (minimum wage in all industries, only in certain industries, generally against minimum wage); comparison of Angela Merkel with Kurt Beck in terms of: likeability, commitment to social justice, credibility, reliability, familiarity with citizens´ problems, standing up for what was once stood for, good public figure, economic policy expertise, commitment to creating and saving jobs, caring for the poor and weak, and correct concepts for solving Germany´s future problems; expected change in the Federal Government´s course following the decisions of the SPD party conference; train driver strike: calling on courts to decide on strikes by unions is right; personally affected by the rail strikes; agreement with statement political positions of CDU/CSU and SPD can hardly be distinguished; rather similar or rather different positions of CDU/CSU and SPD in various policy areas (social justice, family policy, foreign policy, internal security, climate and environmental protection, creation of new jobs, support for business and industry, pension policy); agreement with statements on minimum wage after introduction of minimum wage for letter carriers; personal consequences of significant price increases for heating, fuel and food (e.g. change of electricity supplier, etc.).

Demography: sex; age; employment; occupational status; highest level of schooling; household net income.

Additionally coded were: record or pagination number; wave identifier; region (east/west); federal state; BIK community type; weighting factor.