1980 West German federal election

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1980 West German federal election
Flag of Germany.svg
  1976 5 October 1980 (1980-10-05) 1983  

All 497 seats in the Bundestag [lower-alpha 1]
249 seats needed for a majority
Registered43,231,741 Increase2.svg 2.8%
Turnout38,292,176 (88.6%) Decrease2.svg 2.1pp
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Franz Josef Strauss 1982 (cropped).jpg
Helmut Schmidt at Andrews AFB 1981 (cropped).JPEG
Bundesarchiv FDP-Bundesparteitag, Genscher.jpg
Candidate Franz-Josef Strauss Helmut Schmidt Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Party CDU/CSU SPD FDP
Last election48.6%, 243 seats42.6%, 214 seats7.9%, 39 seats
Seats won226 [lower-alpha 2] 218 [lower-alpha 3] 53 [lower-alpha 4]
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 17Increase2.svg 4Increase2.svg 14
Popular vote16,897,65916,260,6774,030,999
Percentage44.5%42.9%10.6%
SwingDecrease2.svg 4.1ppIncrease2.svg 0.3ppIncrease2.svg 2.7pp

1980 German federal election - Results by constituency.svg
The left side shows the winning party vote in the constituencies, the right side shows the seats won by parties in each of the states. The pie chart over West Berlin shows the partisan composition of its legislature.

Government before election

Second Schmidt cabinet
SPDFDP

Government after election

Third Schmidt cabinet
SPDFDP

Federal elections were held in West Germany on 5 October 1980 to elect the members of the 9th Bundestag. Although the CDU/CSU remained the largest faction in parliament, Helmut Schmidt of the Social Democratic Party remained Chancellor.

Contents

Issues and campaign

Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of the SPD-FDP coalition wanted to be re-elected. The CDU/CSU tried to make their candidate the elected Chancellor, CSU leader Franz Josef Strauß. It was the first time that their candidate was from the CSU. Strauß, immensely popular in Bavaria, found it difficult to appeal to people in other parts of Germany. One important reason for Strauss's unpopularity compared to Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, was his tendency to talk sharply and militantly about his political opponents. Schmidt, by contrast, was still seen by many West German voters as a moderate and practical manager and doer, who focused on getting concrete political and economic results more than on political rhetoric. [1] [2] [3]

Results

Bundestag 1980.svg
PartyParty-listConstituencySeats
Votes%SeatsVotes%SeatsElected West Berlin Total+/–
Social Democratic Party 16,260,67742.869116,808,86144.4612721810228+4
Christian Democratic Union 12,989,20034.249313,467,20735.628117411185–16
Free Democratic Party 4,030,99910.62532,720,4807.20053154+14
Christian Social Union 3,908,45910.30123,941,36510.434052052–1
The Greens 569,5891.500732,6191.940000New
German Communist Party 71,6000.190107,1580.2800000
National Democratic Party 68,0960.1800000
Citizens' Party 11,2560.0305070.000000New
People's Front Against Reaction, Fascism and War 9,3190.0207,1600.020000New
Communist League of West Germany 8,1740.02012,0080.0300000
European Workers' Party 7,6660.0204,9920.0100000
Christian Bavarian People's Party 3,9460.0100000
German Union 4210.000000New
Independent Workers' Party 1590.0000000
German Freedom Party960.000000New
Independents and voter groups3,4980.0100000
Total37,938,981100.0024937,806,531100.0024849722519+1
Valid votes37,938,98199.0837,806,53198.73
Invalid/blank votes353,1150.92485,6451.27
Total votes38,292,096100.0038,292,176100.00
Registered voters/turnout43,231,74188.5743,231,74188.57
Source: Bundeswahlleiter
Seat results - SPD in red, FDP in yellow, CDU/CSU in black 1980 federal german results.svg
Seat results – SPD in red, FDP in yellow, CDU/CSU in black

Results by state

Constituency seats

StateTotal
seats
Seats won
SPD CDU CSU
Baden-Württemberg 37631
Bavaria 45540
Bremen 33
Hamburg 77
Hesse 22193
Lower Saxony 31238
North Rhine-Westphalia 714427
Rhineland-Palatinate 16610
Saarland 532
Schleswig-Holstein 1111
Total2481278140

List seats

StateTotal
seats
Seats won
CDU SPD FDP CSU
Baden-Württemberg 355219
Bavaria 4425712
Bremen 11
Hamburg 642
Hesse 241635
Lower Saxony 321877
North Rhine-Westphalia 76332617
Rhineland-Palatinate 16583
Saarland 321
Schleswig-Holstein 1293
Total24993915312

Post-election

The coalition between the SPD and the FDP returned to government, with Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor. In 1982, the FDP quit the government, which led to the government's collapse and replacement with a new CDU/CSU – FDP coalition under Helmut Kohl.

Notes

  1. As well as the 22 non-voting delegates for West Berlin, elected by the West Berlin Legislature.
  2. As well as 11 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.
  3. As well as 10 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.
  4. As well as 1 non-voting delegate for West Berlin.

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References

  1. Bjøl, Erling (1984). Grimberg, Carl (ed.). History of the Nations. Vol. 22: From Peace to the Cold War. Helsinki: WSOY. pp. 495, 497–499.
  2. Bjøl, Erling (1984). Grimberg, Carl (ed.). History of the Nations. Vol. 23: The Rich West. Helsinki: WSOY. pp. 353–356.
  3. Bark, Dennis L.; Gress, David (1989). ""The Era of Macher [Doer]"". A history of West Germany. Vol. 2: Democracy and Its Discontents, 1963–1988. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. ISBN   0-631-16787-0. OCLC   18907067.

Sources