Politbarometer 1988 (Cumulated Data Set)

Judgement on parties and politicians. Political attitudes. Compilation summary of all the Politbarometer surveys conducted in 1988. Topics: February: Satisfaction with democracy in the Federal Republic; party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for the political parties and selected politicians; satisfaction scale for the government coalition and opposition; issue competence of the current Federal Government as well as a possible SPD-led government; perceived support for Kohl by the CDU and for Vogel by the SPD; perceived support of the government coalition by CSU and FDP; attitude to nuclear power plants; assessment of the possibility of a nuclear accident in a German nuclear power plant; assumed jeopardy to the population from disregard for regulations in storage and transport of radioactive waste; postmaterialism index; self-classification on a left-right continuum; attitude to the principle of rule by law and restriction of fundamental rights; attitude to the death penalty; attitude to prohibition of parties endangering security; freedom of the press for opponents of the state. January: The right people in leading positions; party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for the political parties and selected politicians; satisfaction scale for the government coalition and opposition in Bonn; issue relevance; preferred formation of a government in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Schleswig-Holstein; attitude to government compulsion measures in the fight against AIDS; self-assessment on a left-right continuum; attitude to stricter government measures against political violent criminals and opponents of the state (scale). March: The right people in leading positions; party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for the political parties and selected politicians; satisfaction scale for the government coalition and opposition in Bonn; judgement on selected recommendations on reduction in unemployment and assumed most effective measure; attitude and personal readiness for reduction in working hours with concurrent reduction in wages; judgement on this measure as contribution to reduction of unemployment; judgement on the efforts of the unemployed for a job; preferred government coalition; colouring and hiding Easter eggs; participation in consecration of the palms on Palm Sunday; vacation trip over Easter. April: Satisfaction with democracy in the Federal Republic; party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls (ballot procedure) at the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for the political parties and selected politicians; satisfaction scale for the government coalition and opposition in Bonn; issue relevance; judgement on the current and future economic situation in the Federal Republic; knowledge about the health care reform and attitude to various measures to curb cost increase; attitude to care benefit for the care of seriously ill in one´s family; existence of organized crime in the Federal Republic; attitude to extension of the rights of the police to combat this form of crime; attitude to equal legal status for marriage and long-term relationships similar to marriage; personal knowledge of such a relation. May: The right people in leading positions; party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for the political parties and selected politicians; satisfaction scale for the government coalition and opposition in Bonn; attitude to abortion and the counseling system; party representing one´s own attitude to this question; judgement on the efforts of the unemployed for a job; attitude to north-south divide in the Federal Republic and reasons for this development; attitude to financial aid for the north from the southern states; self-assessment on a left-right continuum; assumed winner of the European Soccer Championship; attitude to the salary payments in the national soccer league; attitude to support of paid soccer by the cities; associations with the name Salzgitter; most important reasons for the election success of the SPD and the defeat of the CDU in Schleswig-Holstein; living together with a partner; city size. June: Satisfaction with democracy in the Federal Republic; party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls (ballot procedure) at the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for the political parties and selected politicians; satisfaction scale for the government coalition and opposition in Bonn; preferred FDP chairman; issue ability of the current Federal Government and a possible SPD-led government; EC membership as advantage or disadvantage; preferred form of Western European integration; attitude to a uniform currency in Europe; preference for national or European solution of selected political problems. August: The right people in leading positions; party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for the political parties and selected politicians; satisfaction scale for the government coalition and opposition in Bonn; preferred candidate for chancellor of the SPD; attitude to the quota of women in the SPD and the proportion of women in politics; vegetarian; attitude to keeping animals in factory-like feeding facilities; willingness to pay higher meat prices to avoid this manner of keeping animals; fear of harm to health from hormone-contaminated veal; assumed health burden through other foods; attitude to stricter laws and checks as protection against foods harmful to health; attitude to ethnic Germans moving from Eastern Europe; most sympathetic man in the Federal Republic; city size. September: Satisfaction with democracy in the Federal Republic; party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for the political parties and selected politicians; satisfaction scale for the government coalition and opposition in Bonn; preferred government coalition; judgement on one´s own and general current and future economic situation; significance of possible government coalitions for one´s own economic situation; perceived changes in selected political areas since the change of government of 1982; preferred FDP chairman and assumed winner of the chairman election; judgement on the extent of foreign aid; preferred solution for the debtor problems of the developing countries; attitude to canceling debt in exchange for environmental protection measures; capability of developing countries for self-determination in environmental protection measures; city size. October: The right people in leading positions; party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for the political parties and selected politicians; satisfaction scale for the government coalition and opposition in Bonn; effects of the death of Strauss on the government activity of Kohl and the influence of the CSU in Bonn; judgement on the relations between the Federal Republic and the Soviet Union; perceived changes in the relations since assumption of office by Gorbachev; attitude to a visit by Kohl in the Soviet Union and assumed effects on bilateral relations; trustworthiness of Gorbachev, Reagan and Kohl; assumed readiness for disarmament of the Federal Republic and of the Soviet Union; feeling of military threat from the Soviet Union; attitude to arms expenditures in the Federal Republic; assumed military superiority of the West or East; assessment of the development of security of peace in Europe in the last year; attitude to German division; watching television; interest in reports and information about the Soviet Union; knowledge about Russia; assessment of the Soviet Union as a reliable economic partner; attitude to an expansion of German-Soviet economic relations; assumed change of living conditions in the Soviet Union from the policies of Gorbachev; threat to health from addictive drugs and AIDS; satisfaction with the achievements of the Federal Government and democracy in the Federal Republic; attitude to construction or closure of nuclear power plants; willingness to pay higher prices for food less impacted by harmful substances; effects of reports about hormone-contaminated veal on personal veal consumption; preferred president of the USA; city size. November: Satisfaction with democracy in the Federal Republic; party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for the political parties and selected politicians; satisfaction scale for the government coalition and opposition in Bonn; most important politicians in the Federal Republic; attitude to admitting ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe and asylum-seekers; attitude to a preferential treatment of ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe or asylum-seekers; attitude to a 4-day week; attitude to Saturday work; knowledge about plans for health care reform and attitude to the reform proposals; assumed contribution of health care reform to cost reduction in the public health system; attitude to the resignation of Federal Parliament President Jenninger; concern for loss of one´s job; city size. December: The right people in leading positions; party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure); behaviour at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election; sympathy scale for the political parties and selected politicians; satisfaction scale for the government coalition and opposition in Bonn; judgement on one´s own and general current and future economic situation; ability in matters of economic policy of the current Federal Government and a possible SPD-led government; significance of possible government coalitions in Bonn for one´s own economic situation; judgement on support of the policies of Kohl by the CDU as well as the current government coalition by the CSU and the FDP; attitude to the appointment of ministers not members of the Federal Parliament; attitude to a prohibition of low-altitude flights; assessment of the development of security of peace in Europe in the last year; judgement on the military balance of power after the one-sided disarmament measures of the Soviet Union; attitude to construction or closure of nuclear power plants; assumed probability of a nuclear accident with serious consequences in a German nuclear power plant; personal annual balance sheet and forecast; concern for loss of one´s job; city size. Demography: year of birth and month of birth; sex; marital status; living together with a partner; religious denomination; frequency of church attendance; school degree achieved and sought; vocational training; college degree; occupational position; employment; journeymen´s test; activity in the civil service; military rank; number of persons 18 years old and older in household; number of persons between 14 and 21 years old in household; respondent is head of household; characteristics of head of household; union memberships in household; party inclination. Additonaly encoded: area code; month of interview; weighting factor; Bundesland.