Systematic analysis of change in political opinions and behaviour of the Belgium electorate. Individualism / feelings of loneliness and emptiness, social contacts / social leadership / placement of political parties on left-right scale / reasons for ( not ) casting vote for party in last elections for Chamber of Representatives / list or name vote / voted for same party for Senate and Chamber/ reasons for different party choice / 4 most important issues in party choice / called upon services of politicians in the last 4 years/ party of involved politician / did respondent vote for this particular politician / membership of health insurance organization / active membership of ( religious, political ) organizations / respondent considers himself as a follower of one or more parties / ranking of parties on best-worse dimension / political participation and action / viewpoints of respondent himself and of parties on environment, immigrants, free enterprise, privacy, economic growth, public order, Flanders-Wallonia, autonomy of Brussels / materialism-postmaterialism / economic and cultural conservatism / emancipation of women / authoritarianism / influence on politics / ethnocentrism / party membership of well-known politicians / cultural community identification/ Flemish-Walloons culture / environmental involvement / influence of election campaign on vote / language of questionnaire / date of interview / atmosphere of interview. Background variables: basic characteristics/ residence/ household characteristics/ occupation/employment/ income/capital assets/ education/ social class/ politics/ religion/ consumption of durables/ organizational membership

The General Election Study Belgium focuses on general political attitudes and behavior. Data has been collected on political information and knowledge, perceptions of political bodies such as parties, and perceptions of problems and important issues. Other questions deal with party identification, party preferences, feelings of political efficacy, and the nature and extent of political participation. Perceptions of social class and (economic) well-being, authoritarian attitudes, attitudes to immigrant workers, political corruption and the environment are some of the other areas investigated in this study. Extensive demographic data on respondents and their families have also been collected.The General Election Study Belgium has many objectives. First of all, it is intended to show a cross-section of political attitudes and behavior of Belgians after each General Election. Second, in order to study possible developments in political attitudes and behavior, Belgian General Election Study requires a longitudinal character, similar to some other European Election Studies. The third objective is to maximise the relationship with current theoretical research in different scientific disciplines such as political science, sociology, and social psychology. A final objective is to develop comparative research between the different regions and communities of Belgium, as well as with other countries.