Whilst typical election guides are based on the information provided by the parties, Party-Check is grounded on research insights from the field of political science. The foundation is provided by data from the Länder Expert Survey, in which more than 20 political scientists assessed the positions of the parties in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. “The particular added value lies in the source of the data: the parties’ positions are not based on the information provided by the parties, but on assessments from the Länder Expert Survey,” explains Prof. Dr. Jochen Müller.
Those interested in making a personal comparison can enter their own views on 18 political topics and weight the individual topics differently. The topics range from education, migration, and climate protection to debt, the economy and the labour market, as well as civil rights, the promotion of democracy, the arms industry, and how to deal with the AfD. After users have entered their opinions, Party-Check then shows where the greatest similarities lie. Additionally, their own position is marked on a left-to-right scale.
“The Party Check is not a typical voting recommendation, but a tool for political orientation,” says Müller. “It shows users the topics where their opinions correspond most strongly to the parties and where there are major differences.”
The Party-Check for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was developed by Prof. Dr. Jochen Müller from the University of Greifswald, together with Dr. Jan Philipp Thomeczek from the University of Potsdam, Dr. Anne Küppers from the University of Jena, Prof. Dr. Christian Stecker from TU Darmstadt, and Dr. Benjamin Höhne from the University of Chemnitz.
Party-Check has been developed further for the state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. For example, the possibility of weighting each of the 18 topics individually is new. The guide is now also available in English.
After receiving the result of their assessment, users can choose themselves whether their data should be deleted completely or whether they would like to support scientific research and answer further questions. The additional questions refer, for example, to political views and the party that the respondent intends to vote for.
Further information
To the Party-Check
Contact at the University of Greifswald
Prof. Dr. Jochen Müller
Professor of Political Sociology and Methods of Political Science
Ernst-Lohmeyer-Platz 3, Room 3.10, 17489 Greifswald
Tel: +49 3834 420 3180
jochen.muelleruni-greifswaldde
bsky.app/profile/jocmuel.bsky.social