The Berlin Pulse - Four Months Before the 2021 Federal Election

The study, conducted four months before the 2021 federal election as part of the annual “The Berlin Pulse” series, was carried out by Kantar on behalf of the Körber Foundation. During the survey period from May 19, 2021, to May 25, 2021, eligible voters in Germany were interviewed by telephone (CATI) on the following topics: trade relations with China, opinions on halting construction of the Nord Stream II pipeline project, and increasing the defense budget. Respondents were selected using a multi-stage random sample that included landline and mobile phone numbers (dual-frame sample). Chancellor candidate with the greatest foreign policy expertise (Armin Laschet, Olaf Scholz, or Annalena Baerbock); feared loss of Germany´s influence in the EU and worldwide after Angela Merkel steps down as chancellor; trade relations with China (Germany should continue to support EU sanctions against China for human rights violations, even if this harms German economic interests vs. Germany should prioritize its economic relations with China, even if human rights violations are not consistently and publicly criticized); opinion on the EU Parliament and US demand to halt construction of the Nord Stream II pipeline project (Germany should complete the pipeline project and put it into operation despite the (added on May 20: continuing possibility of new) US sanctions; Germany should complete the pipeline project but not put it into operation for the time being until a compromise has been reached with the US; Germany should stop construction of the pipeline project); opinion on increasing the defense budget to 2 percent of gross domestic product (Germany should increase its defense budget and approach the 2 percent target as soon as possible, Germany should not spend more on defense than it has done so far, even if it remains well below the 2 percent target); party preference in federal elections (Sunday question). Demography: sex; age; occupation; education; net household income. Additional variables coded: respondent ID; federal state; region (west/east); political municipality size class; weighting factor.