The presented study originates from the political science question regarding a possible shift from input-oriented to output-oriented legitimacy criteria. While until recently political legitimacy was primarily established through the participation opportunities of citizens (input) and was also measured by them, more recent times have seen criteria for efficient problem-solving become significant (output; cf. Hurrelmann/Krell-Laluhovà/Schneider 2005, Scharpf 1999). As a means of measuring output-oriented legitimacy, scientific knowledge has been defined as systematically and objectively collected information on the efficiency and effectiveness of political measures. However, the fact that political legitimacy in modern democracies can only be established through public discourse (cf. Oberreuter 1997: 12) led to a...