Election Study 1980 (Data Pool)

The Politbarometer has been conducted since 1977 on an almost monthly basis by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen on behalf of the Second German Television (ZDF). Since 1990, this database has also been available for the new German states. The survey focuses on the opinions and attitudes of the voting-age population in the Federal Republic on current political issues, parties, politicians, and voting behavior. From 1990 to 1995 and from 1999 onward, the Politbarometer surveys were conducted separately both in the newly formed eastern and in the western German states (Politbarometer East and Politbarometer West). The separate monthly surveys of a year are integrated into a cumulative data set that includes all surveys of a year and all variables of the respective year. Starting in 2003, the Politbarometer short surveys, collected with varying frequency throughout the year, are integrated into the annual cumulation.<br>1. in the form of a trend survey the following questions were
posed each month: personal intent to participate in the election; party
preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); sympathy scale
for the SPD, CDU, CSU, FDP, the Greens as well as for the politicians
Genscher, Kohl, Schmidt and Strauss;

Demography: age; sex; marital status; religious denomination;
frequency of church attendance; school education; occupational
position; employment; social mobility; household size; household
composition; characteristics of head of household; party inclination
and party ties; city size; union membership; Kreiskennziffer; Bundesland;
characteristics of residential area.

Additionally encoded: weighting factor; month of interview.

2. Besides the core common to all studies the data set contains
further survey topics as presented in the individual study
descriptions.

January: Behaviour at the polls in the Federal Parliament election
1976; sympathy scale for the government coalition and opposition;
expected winner of the Federal Parliament election 1980; satisfaction
with the political system in the FRG; satisfaction with the reactions
of the USA on the Afghanistan question and assessment of the danger of
war; attitude to the Olympics boycott, continuation of efforts to
reduce tension and disarmament negotiations; attitude to private
television companies; attitude to jogging.

February: Political interest; behaviour at the polls in the Federal
Parliament election 1976; certainty of personal election decision;
sympathy scale for the government coalition and opposition;
satisfaction with the political elite and the political system in the
FRG; assumed result of the Federal Parliament election 1980; importance
of political goals such as price stability, job security, relation to
Eastern Europe and the USA, environmental protection, securing of
pensions, law and order, personal representation of interests by a
party; differences between parties; attitude to the Olympics boycott;
assessment of the effectiveness of political commitment;
self-assessment of personal political tolerance; gasoline price and
abstaining from driving; possession of a vehicle.

March: Behaviour at the polls in the Federal Parliament election
1976; certainty of personal election decision; sympathy scale for the
government coalition and opposition; assumed result of the Federal
Parliament election 1980; satisfaction with the political system in the
FRG; image of the politicians Schmidt, Strauss and of an ideal
chancellor (semantic differentials); judgement on the election campaign
agreement; attitude to the ideal of slenderness.

April: Judgement on economic development; certainty of personal
election decision; satisfaction with the political elite; sympathy
scale for the government coalition and opposition; assumed result of
the Federal Parliament election 1980 and preferred chancellor; attitude
to the economic boycott against Iran; attitude to nuclear power;
possession of a vehicle.

May: Behaviour at the polls in the Federal Parliament election 1976;
certainty of personal election decision; sympathy scale for the
government coalition, the opposition as well as the politicians
Albrecht and Apel; preferred chancellor; judgement on the election
chances of the CDU with Strauss or Albrecht as candidate for
chancellor; assumed result of the Federal Parliament election 1980;
satisfaction with the political system in the FRG; attitude to the
Olympics boycott; heating costs.

June: Judgement on the economic situation; political interest and
political conversations with family and friends; behaviour at the polls
in the Federal Parliament election 1976 (first vote and second vote);
certainty and time of personal election decision; assumed election
result and preferred federal chancellor; sympathy scale for the
government coalition, the opposition as well as the politicians
Lambsdorff and Matthoefer; importance of political goals, such as price
stability, job security, relations to Eastern Europe and the USA,
environmental protection, securing of pensions, vocational training,
democratization, law and order as well as securing energy; attitude to
nuclear power as well as divorce; party one cannot vote for and
necessity of a new party; satisfaction with the political elite; party
preference of family and friends; self-classification and assessment of
the parties, politicians and an ideal party on the left-right
continuum; judgement on the political engagement of the churches and
trade unions (scale) and the election chances of the CDU with Strauss;
attitude to an absolute majority for one party; desired coalition after
the election; preferred skirt length in women´s fashion.

July: Behaviour at the polls in the Federal Parliament election 1976;
certainty of personal election decision; sympathy scale for the
government coalition, the opposition as well as the politicians
Carstens and Wehner; expected winner of the election and preferred
chancellor; satisfaction with the political system in the FRG;
differentiated determination of the most important political goals such
as price stability, job security, environmental protection, energy
supply and relationship to the states of Eastern Europe as well as to
the USA.

September: Judgement on economic development; political interest;
behaviour at the polls in the Federal Parliament election 1976 (first
vote and second vote); certainty and time of personal election
decision; sympathy scale for the government coalition, the opposition
and the politicians Leisler-Kiep and Stoltenberg; party one cannot vote
for and necessity of a new party; satisfaction with the political
elite; political conversations in circle of family and friends;
self-assessment as well as classification of parties, the politicians
Schmidt and Strauss as well as an ideal chancellor on the left-right
continuum; judgement on the political engagement of church and trade
union; attitude to an absolute majority of one party and preferred
government coalition after the election; preferred chancellor;
assessment of the election chances of the CDU with Strauss as candidate
for chancellor; satisfaction with top candidates and with the political
system in the FRG; personal change in party voted for; attitude to the
Greens; good and bad sides of the parties; personal political
activities in the election campaign; attitude to restriction of rights
for the purpose of preservation of internal security; knowledge about
the significance of the second vote; personal sympathy for the CDU/CSU
and assumed sympathy in the population; attitude to a conversation with
a CDU/CSU opponent; issue ability of the parties; assessment of
personal importance of the retirement program, securing price levels,
education, tax reduction, reunification, environmental protection,
securing jobs and good relations with foreign countries; interest in
political television broadcasts; personal openness in expression of
political opinion; most important development goals of society;
assessment of personal stress.

October: Behaviour at the polls in the Federal Parliament elections
1976 and 1980 (first vote and second vote); time of personal election
decision; judgement on the election result, election campaign as well
as television discussions with top politicians of the parties; attitude
to maintenance of tradition in the Federal German Armed Forces and to
women in the Federal German Armed Forces; judgement on defence
expenditures and the threat from the East.

For men: personal military status.

November: Sympathy scale for the government coalition and the opposition
as well as for the politicians Lambsdorff and Matthoefer; satisfaction
with the political elite; behaviour at the polls in the Federal Parliament
election 1980; most important tasks for the new Federal Government;
satisfaction with political events in the FRG; attitude to reunification
and to negotiations with the GDR and to recognition of a GDR citizenship;
one´s own relatives in the GDR.