Worry Barometer
The Worry Barometer is a statistical index for everyday worries and their causes in Switzerland . It is a demoscopic information system for observing citizens' opinions in Switzerland about political priority problems and their developments. Citizenship is equated with citizenship entitled to vote and vote.
The statistics are collected regularly and are carried out by gfs.bern (research for politics, communication and society) on behalf of the Credit Suisse bulletin .
Content and method
As a rule, more than 1,000 Swiss voters are surveyed. In order to show long-term trends and not just capture current moods and opinions, the structure with three basic questions has been the same for more than 10 years:
- "What are the most important and what are the most urgent concerns that the citizens of Switzerland have?"
- From a list of the 30 most pressing problems of the past year, respondents can name the five that they consider particularly important. As a result, the nominal frequencies with the highest to fifth highest importance are added. In 2007, unemployment, old-age provision, health and sickness insurance, foreigners and concerns about personal safety were identified as the most pressing issues.
- "How do you perceive the economic environment?"
- The respondents indicate whether they think the general economic situation has improved, deteriorated or remained the same. In 2007, 23 percent of those surveyed said the general economic situation had improved in the previous 12 months. Only 8 percent were of the opinion that the situation had gotten worse, 58 percent thought it was the same.
- "How do you rate the social and political institutions?"
- This question raises the question of which social and political institutions the voters trust to what extent. In 2007, actors such as the Federal Supreme Court, the police, banks and the Federal Council enjoyed a high level of trust, with the Council of States and National Council, churches, employee organizations, the state administration, the army and employer organizations in the middle. The UN and the EU, as well as the political parties and the mass media, enjoy the least trust among the population.
Additional survey of Swiss identity
An additional survey to the worry barometer examines which factors determine the political identity of Swiss voters. For example, respondents have to name three things that Switzerland stands for for them personally. Security and peace, neutrality, the landscape, material prosperity, precision and freedom of expression were among the top ranks. Swiss quality, neutrality, the right to have a say, education and the financial center are cited as the most important strengths of Switzerland; in the opinion of the voters, the most important weaknesses are too many laws, too high taxes, high health costs, too little tax justice, too much immigration and too big one Dependence on foreign countries. Over 90% of those surveyed are of the opinion that the Swiss economy is doing well or very well compared to the foreign one.
Immigration, egoism, international openness, the backlog of reforms and increasing polarization are cited as factors that can endanger Swiss identity. In the opinion of the respondents, important political goals are securing old-age provision, promoting economic growth, lowering health costs and promoting education.
Additional youth survey
In a further survey the attitudes towards life of young people are examined in an international comparison. The main focus is on which trends among younger people differentiate them from older people. Special attention is paid to the changed use of media. The youth barometer was first implemented in 2010. It took place in Switzerland, the USA and Brazil.
team
The Worry Barometer team consists of the political scientists Claude Longchamp , Lukas Golder and GFS Bern staff.