Politiske holdninger i politisk kontekst 2006, runde 1

The Danes'' political attitudes have been the subject of political science research for decades. However, little is known about how the citizens form their political opinions and what or who are able to change these opinions.The first question is concerned with how responsive the citizens are to political events such as new information or point of views in the public debate. The following issues will be examined: - How do the citizens respond to the media coverage of political issues and events? - To what extent are the political parties able to influence the citizens'' opinions? - Do political leaders also function as opinion leaders? While an extensive body of Danish research on how the citizens choose between the political parties is already available, the political parties'' influence on the voters has rarely been the subject of research.The second question is concerned with how firm the citizens'' political views are. The following issues will be examined: - To what extent are the political players able to appeal to the citizens and to what extent is the spin on political issues able to influence their political views? - What is the real extent of the citizens'' political tolerance, e.g. if they are explicitly made aware that the political rights also applies to radical political groups such as neo-Nazis or Islamic fundamentalists? - Can the public support for democratic values be strengthened by appealing to certain shared values and can it be undermined by fear and uncertainty? - Do the attitudes towards certain political issues change in proportion to how they are interpreted in the media? - Does the support for the welfare state change depending on the context of the debate, e.g. social equality and responsibility, immigration and integration or concern over government spending? The data were collected from February to August 2006.