Deutschland spricht: The big debate before the federal election

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Every year, thousands of people meet for a political debate as part of Deutschland spricht. The dialog format was launched by ZEIT ONLINE in 2017 and, since then, more than 90,000 people have signed up for a one-on-one conversation with someone who thinks completely differently about political issues. This year, for the first time, participants had the chance to talk to several discussion partners, some having up to four conversations. Today, thousands of these people are meeting again for the last time before the national elections. Here you can find the coverage of  Deutschland spricht 2021. 

Valentin Heusgen and Henrike Quast had never met before. Heusgen, 24, is a student; Quast, 45, works as a lawyer in Düsseldorf. He says wealth in Germany is not fairly distributed. She thinks more redistribution won't solve the problem.

Jonathan Roth and Monika Haven also didn't know each other before they connected a few days ago via video call to discuss politics. Haven doesn't want to get vaccinated. Roth, who is pursuing a doctorate in biochemistry, can't understand why people don't take advantage of the opportunity.

Four people who think very differently and who met this year during Deutschland spricht. Since May, participants in the program have been meeting regularly to discuss constantly changing questions: Should there be a nationwide rent cap? Does gendered language provide more justice?

Unlike previous editions of Deutschland spricht, this year the pairs do not have to wait until a certain day to meet, but are brought together as quickly as possible by an algorithm. ZEIT ONLINE organised the program together with five media partners - the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the Freie Presse, the Handelsblatt, the Norddeutscher Rundfunk and Stern. Participants in Deutschland spricht answered nine controversial questions, and a matching algorithm then immediately placed them in a conversation with someone who gave as many different answers as possible. In total, more than 24,000 people registered for a political debate this year, and more than 14,400 of them successfully completed their registration and received at least one match. 1500 participants had two conversations, 650 met a total of three other people and 48 participants even had four conversations.

The people who registered for Deutschland spricht are slightly younger this year than last year - 48.9 years old on average. Only around 27 percent of participants are women, while around 72 percent are men. Around 12 percent of participants live in rural areas, and around 78 percent come from western Germany.

As in the previous year, the participants' answers vary widely. On average, the pairs differ on 6.8 of a total of 9 questions. The question of whether the EU should impose tougher sanctions on Russia is the most generally divisive. The question of whether there should be a nationwide rent cap is similarly controversial, with 52 percent in favor of the intervention while around 47 percent are against it.

Questions on climate policy are particularly controversial among participants. Around 49 percent are in favor of taxing gasoline more heavily, while around 46 percent are in favor of a ban on domestic flights. Whether male or female, urban or rural, from the west or the east: around 50 percent were either for or against a flight ban.

The clearest overall verdict was on the Corona policy: A majority of participants, about 72 percent for each question, favor giving vaccinated students their freedoms back sooner and keeping schools open even as coronavirus cases rise. About 66 percent favor implementing the 2G rule at the federal level, which restricts access to public space, such as restaurants, hairdressers and concerts to those who have either been fully vaccinated or have recovered from the coronavirus in the previous six monhts. More controversial is the question of emergency measures against rising coronavirus cases, the so-called "emergency brake": only about 53 percent think it is consistent enough. Around 60 percent of participants are against mandatory vaccination for adults.

Women and men answered many of the questions very differently. This is most evident in the question of whether Germany should take in more people from Afghanistan. While around 77 percent of women are in favor, only around 55 percent of men are in favor. Another controversial question between men and women is whether gendered language - using both masculine and feminine conjugation in German, as opposed to the masculine default - provides more justice. Around 20 percent more women are in favor compared to men.

The question of whether gendered language create more justice is also disputed between the generations. While 30 percent of the participants under thirty answer this question in the affirmative, only around 12 percent of participants over 65 say the same. Younger and older people also disagree on the question of whether vaccinations should be mandatory for adults. Only around 35 percent of those under 30 are in favor of this, compared with just under 55 percent of those over 65. One explanation could be that older people in Germany are affected by severe cases of the coronavirus more often than average. It is interesting to note, however, that around 81 percent of older people are in favor of keeping schools open even if the incidence rises. Among younger people, only about 63 percent are in favor of this.

There was particularly strong disagreement between participants from eastern and western Germany on the question of whether Germany cares too little about eastern Germans. While only around 30 percent of participants in western Germany answered in the affirmative, almost 50 percent in eastern Germany did. People from urban and rural areas, on the other hand, are particularly divided on the question of whether gasoline should be taxed more highly. While around 52 percent of people from the city are in favor of this, only 37 percent in the countryside are in favor. This response pattern is consistent with general sentiments on the same question. Part of the explanation could be that rural people are more likely than urban residents to rely on their cars to commute to work.

The questions that Deutschland spricht participants are discussing this year reflect some of the most important issues in this federal election. How did the experience of discussing these issues with political opposites affect participants? Did their attitudes change on some or several points after the discussions?

Admittedly, the exact impact of the talks is difficult to measure. However, the feedback we received from participants gives us an indication. Overall, participants rate the experience of having taken part in a Deutschland spricht conversation as consistently positive. More than 58 percent say they want to stay in touch with their conversation partner. Around 55 percent report that their counterpart convinced them on one or more points. In addition, more than 4,000 participants answered one or more of the registration questions differently after their first match. This was most common for the question about whether youth over 12 years old should be vaccinated. Around nine percent changed their stance on the question of whether mandatory vaccination should be introduced for adults.

This Saturday, the day before the federal elections, thousands of people across Germany will once again meet to have a one-on-one political discussion with a stranger. For some people, the exchange may lead them to reconsider their decision to vote; for others, the conversation may solidify the decision they have made. Perhaps ideas will be exchanged that have not yet been articulated in debates about climate change, the coronavirus, or social justice. And perhaps some will continue their conversation - even after the federal election.