Politbarometer 2024 (Cumulated Data Set)

Since 1977, the Politbarometer surveys have been conducted approximately once a month by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen research group for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF). As of 1990, the surveys have also been conducted new federal states. The focus of the repeated cross-section surveys is on the opinions and attitudes of the voting population in the Federal Republic of Germany, on current political issues, parties and politicians, as well as voting behavior. From 1990 to 1995 and since 1999, the Politbarometer surveys have been conducted separately in the new and old federal states (Politbarometer East and Politbarometer West, respectively). The monthly cross-section surveys of a given year are integrated into a cumulative data set that includes all surveys and all variables of the respective year. Since 2003, the Politbarometer short surveys, which are conducted at varying frequencies throughout the year, have been integrated into the annual cumulation. The cumulative data set contains data on the topics listed below. While a core set of questions was asked in each survey, many other questions were only asked in a limited number of surveys or only once. 1. Elections: Willingness to vote and voting intention in the next federal election (Sunday question, party vote); conceivable to vote for the following parties: SPD, CDU/CSU, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, FDP, AfD, Die Linke and BSW; recollection of party vote in the 2021 federal election; current coalition preference; assessment of a coalition of SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and FDP led by the SPD, a coalition of SPD and CDU/CSU led by the SPD, a coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD led by the CDU/CSU, a coalition of CDU/CSU and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen led by the CDU/CSU, a coalition of CDU/CSU, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and FDP led by the CDU/CSU and a coalition of CDU/CSU and AfD led by the CDU/CSU. 2. Political Parties and Politicians: Likability scalometer for the parties SPD, CDU, CSU, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, FDP, AfD, Die Linke and BSW; most important politicians in Germany (Hubert Aiwanger, Annalena Baerbock, Marco Buschmann, Tino Chrupalla, Saskia Esken, Nancy Faeser, Gregor Gysi, Robert Habeck, Hubertus Heil, Björn Höcke, Lars Klingbeil, Winfried Kretschmann, Michael Kretschmer, Wolfgang Kubicki, Karl Lauterbach, Christian Lindner, Friedrich Merz, Cem Özdemir, Lisa Paus, Boris Pistorius, Bodo Ramelow, Olaf Scholz, Markus Söder, Jens Spahn, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Ursula Von der Leyen, Sahra Wagenknecht, Alice Weidel, Volker Wissing und Hendrick Wüst); likability scalometer for selected top politicians (Annalena Baerbock, Nancy Faeser, Robert Habeck, Karl Lauterbach, Christian Lindner, Friedrich Merz, Boris Pistorius, Olaf Scholz, Markus Söder, Sahra Wagenknecht, Alice Weidel und Hendrick Wüst); ranking of the parties according to sympathy; left-right ranking of the parties SPD, CDU, CSU, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, FDP, AfD and Die Linke; CDU/CSU: assessment of the strategy of non-cooperation with AfD and Die Linke; is it better to cooperate with Die Linke or BSW instead of the AfD; FDP: is the FDP still needed as a party, does Lindner do a good job leading the party; AfD: assessment of a potential participation in a governing coalition on federal level, how far-right is the party and does the party endanger democracy, assessment of the party’s ties to Russia, support for a ban of the party; SPD: assessment of a cooperation with BSW on state level; BSW: would you vote for the Wagenknecht-party, will the party have long-term success, assessment of a potential participation in a governing coalition on federal level; most competent party in the areas of economy, jobs, social justice, securing pensions; preferred party in the areas of climate protection, refugees. 3. Federal government and government members: Satisfaction scalometer for the governing coalition as a whole and for the individual parties in that coalition; assessment of Olaf Scholz´s work as Federal Chancellor, does Chancellor Olaf Scholz show leadership, assessment of Olaf Scholz´s work in the Ukraine crisis; assessment of the work of the Federal Government consisting of SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and FDP: how good is the relationship between the governing parties and which party is responsible for this, which party can assert its positions, which party is hindering the government´s work, will the FDP leave the coalition, will the coalition collapse, will the state elections cause friction in the coalition, should the chancellor make way for early elections, does the government do a good job, would a government led by the CDU/CSU be better, questions on the budget dispute. 4. Federal elections 2025: are early elections a good idea, preferred election result, expected winner, preferred chancellor, assessment of different candidates’ qualification as chancellor, best candidate as chancellor in SPD and CDU/CSU respectively. 5. Current affairs and political issues: Most important political problems in Germany; assessment of the current economic situation (personal and general); expected development of the economic situation (personal and general); should Germany apply for the Olympics, how far is gender equality a reality in Germany, satisfaction with 2024, outlook for 2025. German unification: identification as East German or West German, are there more things dividing or uniting Germans from the East and West. Economic policy: assessment of financial aid for the economy, how to finance aid packages; attitude towards financial aid for the automotive industry, assessment of job cuts at Volkswagen. Social justice: how fair is own standard of living, assessment of social justice in general, attitude towards cuts in social programs, attitude towards early retirement program. Fiscal policy: policy preference for more debt, tax increases or cuts in spending; assessment of the “Schuldenbremse” (a limit on the ability to incur debt anchored in the constitution) in general and in the context of the Ukraine conflict. Agricultural policy: assessment of spending cuts, assessment of protests by farmers. Collective bargaining: there are too many strikes, sympathy for railroad strikes; Right-wing extremism: are protest against right-wing extremism good or do they strengthen the AfD; Refugees: can Germany cope with the number of refugees, should asylum laws be tightened, will there be more deportations due to tougher measures, does the federal government do enough to assist at the municipal level, how to deal with refugees from Syria in the new political situation, help for refugees from Ukraine. Defense policy: assessment of the Bundeswehr´s defense capability, fear of a war involving the German army, financing of the Bundeswehr, support for a year of mandatory service (compulsory military service), assessment of NATO’s defense / deterrence capability, importance of being less dependent on the US for defense, Europe’s ability to defend itself without the US. Crime: assessment of the threat posed by Russian and Chinese influence operations; violence against politicians, police, and emergency services; fear of crime; assessment of the legalization of cannabis. European Union: is EU-membership good the German people, preference for closer cooperation or more autonomy, threat posed by anti-EU political parties, importance of Franco-German cooperation, fear of economic decline, assessment of U. von der Leyen’s performance as President of the European Commission. Ukraine: support for Western military aid to Ukraine, fear of escalation through military aid, assessment of Ukraine´s chances of success, questions on the diplomatic situation (in particular on the assessment of the role of the USA, of Putin and acceptable peace conditions), support for Ukraine´s becoming a member of NATO and the EU. Israeli-Palestinian conflict: assessment of Israeli military actions, should there be more political pressure because of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, is an end to the conflict in sight, should Germany put more pressure on Israel to end the war, will conflict expand to involve Iran, who is to blame for involvement of Lebanon, will Syria stabilize politically after collapse of the Assad regime. US presidential election: will Biden run again, preferred winner of election, expected winner of election, will Trump win, will US continue to guarantee European security if Trump wins, is the election of Trump good for Germany, is Trump a danger for democracy in the US. . 2024 European Football Championship: fear of terrorist attacks, how far will the German team advance, will the German team win the championship, did the German team do the country proud. 6. Basic political attitudes: Interest in politics, satisfaction with democracy, did the Basic Law stand the test of time, self-placement on left-right continuum. 7. Demography: Sex, age (grouped), type of school finished or currently attended, university degree, vocational qualification, employment status, assessment of personal job security, occupational group, number of people in household, number of adults (18+) in household, union members in household, religious affiliation, frequency of church attendance, party affiliation and party identification. 8. Geographical data: Region of interview (East / West Germany), federal state, size of municipality (estimated number of residents). 9. Paradaten and weights: Respondent-ID, data set version, digital object identifier, month of interview, week of interview, sample frame (landline or mobile phone sample), survey mode, representative weight, total weight.