Election Study 1987 (Trend Investigation)

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>January 1986: Satisfaction with democracy in the Federal
Republic; intent to participate in the election; party preference
(first and second votes as well as rank order procedure); behaviour at
the polls in the last Federal Parliament election (question of memory);
sympathy scale for the federal parties and top politicians;
satisfaction with the government and the opposition parties (scale);
assessment of the responsibility of the Libyans for the terrorist
attacks in Rome and Vienna; judgement on the economic boycott of the
USA against Libya as well as attitude to the stand of the Federal
Republic; Libya as reason for a world-wide conflict; judgement on
current economic development in the Federal Republic; attitude to
longer store closing times; preferred store closing times in the
evening as well as on weekends; satisfaction with the current store
closing times; attitude to change of paragraph 116 of the job promotion
law and to strikes in selected areas; attitude to making it easier or
more difficult for trade unions to go on strike; assumed winner in the
next Federal Parliament election; celebration of fasching or carneval;
attendance at public or private carneval events.

February 1986: Leading positions occupied by the right people; intent
to participate in the election; party preference (first and second
votes as well as rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the
last Federal Parliament election (question of memory); sympathy scale
for the federal parties and top politicians; satisfaction with the
government and the opposition parties (scale); current most important
personal problems; assumed winner of the next Federal Parliament
election; judgement on current economic development in the Federal
Republic; attitude to planned change of paragraph 116 of the job
promotion law as well as assumed effect on the ability to strike and
unemployment insurance; expected development of unemployment in the
next one to two years; presumably most able authority to prevent
further unemployment; judgement on the seriousness of the efforts of
the unemployed to find a job; most able party to combat unemployment;
candidates for the German soccer championship as well as the world
soccer championship in Mexico.

March 1986: Satisfaction with democracy in the Federal Republic;
intent to participate in the election; party preference (first and
second votes as well as rank order procedure); behavior at the polls in
the last Federal Parliament election (question of memory); sympathy
scale for the federal parties and top politicians; preferred federal
chancellor; judgement on current economic development in the Federal
Republic as well as current personal economic situation; perceived
change of economic situation of selected population groups since the
last Federal Parliament election; assumed person primarily responsible
for the party donations scandal; assumed winner of the next Federal
Parliament election.

April 1986: Judgement on leadership personalities in the Federal
Republic; intent to participate in the election; party preference
(first and second votes as well as rank order procedure); behaviour at
the polls in the last Federal Parliament election (question of memory);
sympathy scale for the federal parties and top politicians; preference
for Helmut Kohl or Johannes Rau as federal chancellor; judgement on the
loss of prestige by Helmut Kohl due to a charge of false statement;
judgement on current economic development in the Federal Republic;
issue competence of the parties; assessment of the responsibility of
the Libyans for the most recent acts of terror; judgement on the
´retaliatory bombing´ of Libya by the USA; judgement on the economic
boycott of the USA against Libya as well as attitudes to
non-participation of the Federal Government in this boycott; assumed
winner of the next Federal Parliament election; judgement on future
trade union influence; personal benefit of a strong trade union;
judgement on the commitment of the trade unions on women´s, employees´
and youth matters; judgement on extent to which up-to-date, neutrality
as well as a possible party closeness of the trade unions; attitude to
the general necessity of trade unions; frequency of wine consumption;
influence of the wine scandal on personal consumption of Italian wines
and greater preference for German wines; comparison of the Italian and
glycol wine scandals.

May 1986: Political interest; satisfaction with democracy in the
Federal Republic; intent to participate in the election; party
preference (first and second votes as well as rank order procedure);
behaviour at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election
(question of memory); sympathy scale for the federal parties and top
politicians; preference for Helmut Kohl or Johannes Rau as federal
chancellor; judgement on current economic development in the Federal
Republic as well as assumed connection with the current government;
assumed winner of the next Federal Parliament election as well as of
the next state parliament election in Lower Saxony; assumed harm to
personal health from the reactor accident in Chernobyl and adequate as
well as timely information about protective measures by German
authorities; attitude to expansion of further or closure of existing
nuclear power plants and preferred closure time; judgement on the
safety of German nuclear power plants in comparison to the Chernobyl
reactor; assessment of the possibility of a German reactor accident
with the gravest of consequences; presence of a nuclear power plant in
the near vicinity.

June 1986: Judgement on leadership personalities in the Federal
Republic; intent to participate in the election; party preference
(first and second votes as well as rank order procedure); behaviour at
the polls in the last Federal Parliament election (question of memory);
sympathy scale for the federal parties and top politicians; preference
for Helmut Kohl or Johannes Rau as federal chancellor; judgement on
current economic development in the Federal Republic as well as assumed
connection with the current government; assumed winner of the next
Federal Parliament election; currently most important personal
problems; knowledge and judgement on the new Federal Ministry for the
Environment; assessment of the effectiveness of the new Federal
Ministry; judgement on West German relations to the USA as well as
change noticed in the last year; attitude to expansion of further or
closure of existing nuclear power plants; assessment of the possibility
of a German reactor accident with the gravest of consequences; attitude
to abortion as well as to ´taking advantage of social grounds for
termination of pregnancy´.

July 1986: Satisfaction with democracy in the Federal Republic; intent
to participate in the election; party preference (first and second
votes as well as rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the
last Federal Parliament election (question of memory); sympathy scale
for the federal parties and top politicians; preference for Helmut Kohl
or Johannes Rau as federal chancellor; judgement on current economic
development in the Federal Republic; assumed winner of the next Federal
Parliament election; position on expansion of further or closure of
existing nuclear power plants; preferred closure time; assessment of
the possibility of a German reactor accident with the gravest of
consequences; judgement on the role of the police in Wackersdorf;
attitude to making stricter the law regarding demonstrations; judgement
on current economic situation of the Federal Republic and expected
development in a year as well as judgement on development of personal
economic situation; attitude to reunification of Germany as well as
personal approval of reunification; judgement on the degree of
information of the media about the GDR; judgement on the benefit of
bank loans for German-German relations; knowledge of private grocery
stores in the GDR; assessment of the percentage proportion of SED
members; knowledge about the year of construction of the wall; typical
characteristics of citizens from West Germany as well as from the GDR;
knowledge about the possibility of taking vacation in the GDR; vacation
in the GDR, planned as well as already done.

August 1986: Satisfaction with political leadership personalities;
intent to participate in the election; party preference (first and
second votes as well as rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls
in the last Federal Parliament election (question of memory); sympathy
scale for the federal parties and top politicians; preference for
federal chancellor; assumed election winner; preference for Genscher as
foreign minister; attitude to Strauss and Lambsdorff in a Bonn
government office; attitude to a government coalition of the SPD with
the Greens; judgement on the necessity of guest workers for the German
economy; attitude to a reduction in the number of guest workers;
foreigners in the neighbourhood; assessment of economic recovery and
the share of the government in this development; attitude to granting
asylum for politically persecuted foreigners; suspicions about
political or economic reasons of applicants for political asylum;
attitude to making the granting of asylum more difficult.

October 1986: Satisfaction with political leadership personalities;
intent to participate in the election; party preference (first and
second votes as well as rank order procedure); behavior at the polls in
the last Federal Parliament election (question of memory); sympathy
scale for the federal parties and top politicians; preference for
federal chancellor; most important political issues; assessment of
economic recovery and the share of the government in this development;
the fight against terrorism in a democracy; attitude to trade unions
and judgement on the sale of Neue Heimat; assumed election winner;
characterization of an ideal chancellor as well as of the candidates
Rau and Kohl (semantic differential). November 1986: Satisfaction with
political leadership personalities; intent to participate in the
election; party preference (first and second votes as well as rank
order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the last Federal Parliament
election (question of memory); sympathy scale for the federal parties
and top politicians; preference for federal chancellor; most important
political issues; assessment of economic recovery and of the share of
the government in this development; attitude to the ruling on persons
giving State´s evidence in terrorist attacks; attitude to exemption
from punishment for murderers; assumed election winner; judgement on
the relations with the Soviet Union and the United States; preference
for achievement of German or American concepts in case of different
opinions between the governments; assessment of the seriousness of
disarmament efforts; change in the security of peace in the last year;
knowledge about the military defence system in space (SDI) and desired
influence by the Federal Government on the USA; attitude to plebiscites
on political questions and women in the Federal German Armed Forces.

December 1986: Leading positions occupied by the right people; intent
to participate in the election; party preference (first and second
votes as well as rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the
last Federal Parliament election (question of memory); sympathy scale
for the federal parties and top politicians; preference for federal
chancellor; assessment of economic recovery and the share of the
government in this development; assumed winner of the next Federal
Parliament election; issue competence of different government
coalitions; attitude to trade unions and assumptions about future
development of the influence of trade unions; influence of the sale of
Neue Heimat on one´s own attitude to trade unions; assessment of
political neutrality of trade unions; party close to trade unions.

January 1987: Satisfaction with democracy; interest in politics;
direct election participation or absentee ballot in the next Federal
Parliament election; party preference (first and second votes as well
as rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the last Federal
Parliament election; point in time and certainty of one´s voting
decision; sympathy scale for the federal parties and selected top
politicians; preference for Federal Chancellor; assessment of economic
recovery and the share of the Federal Government in this development;
assessment of the most active election campaign helpers among the
parties; attitude to the FDP and the Greens remaining in the next
Federal Parliament and assessment of the chances of the two parties to
obtain seats in the next Federal Parliament; attitude to an absolute
majority of one party; preferred government coalition; assumed election
winner.

February 1987: Interest in politics; party preference (second vote and
rank order procedure); absentee ballot or going to a polling station at
the last Federal Parliament election; reasons to abstain from voting;
behaviour at the polls in the Federal Parliament election in last month
(first and second votes) as well as 1983; reasons for personal change
in party voted for; influence of opinion polls on one´s own voting
decision; sympathy scale for the parties and top politicians;
satisfaction with election result and performance of the Greens;
judgement on the position of the government coalition; most important
tasks and political goals; issue competence; different government
coalitions; perceived differences between the coalition partners;
assessment of the issue positions of the parties represented in the
Federal Parliament as well as personal position on important political
questions; issue position of the churches and parties; attitude to
relative as well as absolute majority for one party in the Federal
Parliament; characterization of an ideal social system (scale);
attitude to different coalitions of the FDP in the Federal Government
and in the states; attitude to further use or shut-down of nuclear
power plants and planned time period for a possible shut-down; attitude
to women in the Federal German Armed Forces.

Demography: year of birth; month of birth; sex; marital status;
religious denomination; frequency of church attendance; school
education; occupational position; employment; respondent is head of
household; characteristics of head of household; party inclination;
party identification; union membership; number of persons in household
18 years old and older; comparison of personal occupational position
with that of one´s own father; characterization of residential
surroundings according to occupational groups; city size.

Additionally encoded: weighting factor; month of interview; Kreiskennziffer;
Bundesland.