Study title

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.Cumulated data set of the Politbarometers for 1996. Attitude to current political questions. Judgement on parties and politicians. Topics: the following topics were surveyed with identical questions in every survey period: most important political problems in the Federal Republic; party preference (Sunday question, rank order procedure); party inclination and party identification; behavior at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for parties and selected politicians; preference for federal chancellor; self-assessment on a left-right continuum; personal jeopardy to job; jeopardy to job of close persons; union membership; religiousness; survey date. The following additional questions were posed in at least one or several survey months: attitude to a one-party government of CDU/CSU after the next Federal Parliament election; coalition preference; attitude to a grand coalition and the statement of willingness to form a coalition of the SPD before the next Federal Parliament election; most important politician in Germany; personal change...