GIM Value Visuals: The Values and Politics Study  

The Values and Politics Study

Missing what is important to the voters

The GIM “Values and Politics“ study (VaP) reveals a gap between political parties and voters: Some of the voters’ central personal values are not sufficiently taken into account by the parties.

The parties do not stand for what is really important to the voters – this is the result of the current GIM values study. The study allows new insights into the voters’ personal values and the value images of political parties. It demonstrates that in the voters’ opinion, their central values are represented by the parties only to a very limited extent.  

Even both large peoples’ parties show significant inconsistencies and dissonances in their score of values. The study reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the different value profiles of five political parties and demonstrates what they really stand for – not in their election or party programs, but in the minds of the voters, who often associate them with completely different values. It seems that the way parties are playing their role as communicators of values is not convincing anymore.

GIM has used the elections to the German Parliament on September 18th as an opportunity to examine the parties’ value images and the value orientation of the German citizens in the run-up to these elections with an innovative methodical approach. In the framework of a representative online survey among eligible voters (n=1002), GIM asked the respondents how they perceive the political parties and examined to what extent these images reflect the central values and normative orientations of their voters.

Brief overview of the most important aspects

The central personal value orientations of German voters in 2005 

• New social state of mind – the end of the pleasure society  
  Due to political and social changes and disappointments, there is currently a new longing for social cohesion in Germany. The era of egoistic hedonism is over.
• Prosperity without performance
  What is important is rather the objective of prosperity than performance as the way to achieve it. The citizens strongly claim prosperity, but is the incentive of achieving it through performance missing? Has the certainty of being able to advance by means of commitment and dedication been lost?
• Frightened young voters
  Young voters feel threatened and look into the future with fear. Their priorities are material and emotional well-being. 

The value profiles of the individual parties

• CDU/CSU (Christian Democrats): Stable, but not very cozy: a firm, socially chilly castle with a broad value foundation. Focus on creating and securing assets.
• SPD (Social Democrats): Social bond and social comfort: warm, large framework for a human community, filled with few tangible elements.
• Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen (Green Party): Catchy and convincing, but only of limited functionality: nature lovers, open-minded and socially comfortable, but without any orientation at performance.
• FDP (Liberals): Freethinkers, nicely styled and just for fun: focus on owning and showing it, for hedonists striving for self-fulfillment.
• WASG/ Die Linke. PDS (new left-wing party): Protest AND conformity.

Find out more about the results of the Values and Politics study: (GIM_WuP_Studie_Ergebnisse_L2.pdf - 91 KB)