GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
Wiesbaden -- It is four weeks before the U.S. presidential election will be held, and a new poll in Germany shows that Germans are divided as to their interest in this political event. In the latest poll conducted by Gallup GmbH, every second respondent (51%) says that he or she is less interested or not interested at all in the U.S. election. In comparison with data from a March 2000 poll, German interest in the election has increased around five percentage points.
Interest in the election increases with increasing education. While only 38% of Germans with an extended elementary school education (classes 5-9) are interested, 67% of persons with a university degree are interested. Furthermore, interest increases with increasing household income.
Germans Would Like to See Gore as the Next U.S.
President
Four out of ten Germans (40%) would prefer Al Gore as the next
president of the United States; 28% would prefer George W. Bush.
This is a significant change from March of this year. Seven months
ago, the Germans favoured George W. Bush as the next president over
Al Gore, 38% to 27%. Roughly one out of ten (13%) is undecided at
the present time and for a group of the same size (13%), it makes
no difference who should become the next president. In March, 22%
were undecided and 8% said it made no difference to them.
Gore is favoured over Bush in western Germany (43% to 27%), while eastern Germany favours Bush over Gore (34% to 28%). Differences can also be found by education. While Bush does better among those with less education, Gore finds higher support among those with more education.
Germans Have Relatively Little Knowledge of the Candidates
and Their Political Ideas
The poll also shows that Germans are not well informed about the
two candidates and their political ideas. Twenty-six percent feel
very well informed about Bush, and 23% about Gore. In comparison
with data from March 2000, knowledge about George W. Bush has
increased by about 4% and knowledge about Al Gore by 6%. In both
cases, people with higher education levels (final examination,
university degree) feel better informed than do those with lower
educational levels (elementary school, intermediate high school
certification). Also, men feel better informed than women about
both candidates.
Survey Methods
These results are based on 1,004 telephone interviews with adults, 16 years of age and older, conducted September 21 and October 2, 2000. A sample of this size is accurate within a 3.1 percentage-point margin of error, 19 in 20 times. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.