State Election in Saxony-Anhalt 2021

The study on the 2021 state election in Saxony-Anhalt was conducted by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen. During the survey period from May 31, 2021 to June 3, 2021, 1471 eligible voters in Saxony-Anhalt were interviewed by telephone (CATI) on the following topics: Political opinion: Parties. Top candidates. Problems and competencies. Electoral decision in the context of candidate preference and party competence. Respondents were selected by a multistage random sample.<br>Most important political issues in Saxony-Anhalt; intention to vote in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt; preference for polling station or absentee ballot; party preference (first vote, second vote); certainty of one´s voting decision; importance of federal politics for one´s voting decision in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt; interest in the state election; voting behavior in the last state election; coalition preference; attitude towards various coalition constellations: Government of CDU, SPD and Greens, of CDU, SPD and FDP, of CDU, Greens and FDP, and of CDU and AfD; sympathy scalometer for selected parties at federal and state level (CDU, AfD, Left Party, SPD, Greens, FDP and Free Voters); Satisfaction scalometers on the performance of the state government consisting of the CDU, SPD and Greens, the CDU, SPD and Greens in the state government, the performance of the AfD and the Left in opposition in the state parliament, and the performance of the federal government consisting of the CDU/CSU and SPD; Sympathy scalometers for selected top politicians at the state and federal levels; party sympathy; interest in politics; preference for Reiner Haseloff or Oliver Kirchner as prime minister; Split A: Comparison of credibility, likability, and expertise of Reiner Haseloff and Oliver Kirchner (end of Split A); Split B: Evaluation of Reiner Haseloff´s credibility, sympathy and expertise (end of Split B); evaluation of the current economic situation in Saxony-Anhalt; comparison of the economic situation in Saxony-Anhalt with that in the other eastern German states; evaluation of one´s own economic situation; party competencies: most competent party to solve the economic problems in the state, in the areas of school and education policy and on the issue of Corona; Split A: most competent party with regard to better infrastructure in the areas of fast Internet, local public transport, medical care and shopping facilities, in policies on foreigners and with regard to the concerns and problems of East Germans; future viability of the state and most competent party to solve future problems in Saxony-Anhalt (end of split A); split B: Most competent party to create new jobs in Saxony-Anhalt and in the areas of climate protection and social justice (end of split B); assessment of the work of Minister President Reiner Haseloff; assessment of Minister President Reiner Haseloff´s announcement that there will be no political cooperation between the CDU and the AfD after the state election; role of the chancellor candidates from the CDU/CSU (Armin Laschet), SPD (Olaf Scholz) and Greens (Annalena Baerbock) in the respective party´s performance in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt; better or worse policies as a result of AfD participation in the state government in Saxony-Anhalt; opinion on the spread of right-wing extremist ideas in the AfD; agreement with various statements: Split A: the Left does not care enough about the interests of East Germans today, the AfD is the only party that calls the important problems by their names (end of Split A); Split B: In Saxony-Anhalt, there are much more important issues than climate change; East Germans are treated like second-class citizens (end of Split B); outcome of the state election in Saxony-Anhalt says nothing about the outcome of the next federal election; opinion on the consideration of the interests of foreigners living in Germany by politicians; opinion on the Corona measures in force; satisfaction with the Corona crisis management of the federal government and the state government in Saxony-Anhalt; Split B: Satisfaction with Corona crisis management in Saxony-Anhalt in the area of schools and education; satisfaction with vaccination progress in Saxony-Anhalt (end of Split B); fair share of standard of living; preference in elections in general and in times of Corona for polling place, absentee ballot, or not voting.

Demography: sex; age (classified); school-leaving qualification or targeted school-leaving qualification; university degree; employment; job security; occupational position; leading position; public service employment; household size; number of persons in household 18 years and older; union member in the household; religious denomination; party affiliation; party identification; city size; voting eligibility.

Additionally coded were: ID; weighting factor.