2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

←  1995 14 May 2000 2005  →
All 231 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, including 20 overhang and leveling seats 116 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	7,409,399 (56.7% 7.3pp)
First party Second party   Candidate Wolfgang Clement Jürgen Rüttgers Party SPD CDU Last election 108 seats, 46.0% 89 seats, 37.7% Seats won 102 88 Seat change 6 1 Popular vote 3,143,179 2,712,176 Percentage 42.8% 37.0% Swing 3.2pp 0.7pp   Third party Fourth party   Candidate Jürgen Möllemann Bärbel Höhn Party FDP Greens Last election 0 seats, 4.0% 24 seats, 10.0% Seats won 24 17 Seat change 24 7 Popular vote 721,558 518,295 Percentage 9.8% 7.1% Swing 5.8pp 2.9pp
Results for the single-member constituencies.
Government before election First Clement cabinet SPD–Green Government after election Second Clement cabinet SPD–Green

The 2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 14 May 2000 to elect the 13th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Greens led by Minister-President Wolfgang Clement.

The SPD remained the largest party but declined to 42.8%, its worst result since 1958. However, the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) failed to capitalise, falling slightly to 37%. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) returned to the Landtag in third place with 10%, while the Greens took losses and recorded 7%. Overall, the incumbent government retained a reduced majority. Minister-President Clement met with FDP lead candidate Jürgen Möllemann post-election, but the SPD settled on renewing the coalition with the Greens. Clement was re-elected by the Landtag on 21 June.

Electoral system

The Landtag was elected via mixed-member proportional representation. 151 members were elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting, and fifty then allocated using compensatory proportional representation. A single ballot was used for both. The minimum size of the Landtag was 201 members, but if overhang seats were present, proportional leveling seats were added to ensure proportionality. An electoral threshold of 5% of valid votes is applied to the Landtag; parties that fall below this threshold are ineligible to receive seats.

Background

Main article: 1995 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

In the previous election held on 14 May 1995, the SPD lost their Landtag majority for the first time since 1980. The CDU recorded another poor performance with under 38% of the vote, while the FDP fell to 4% and lost their seats. The Greens achieved a significant victory with 10% and held balance of power in the Landtag, subsequently forming a coalition government with the SPD.

In May 1998, long-serving Minister-President Johannes Rau resigned. He was succeeded by state economics minister Wolfgang Clement, who continued the coalition with the Greens.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 12th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Name			Ideology	Lead candidate	1995 result
					Votes (%)	Seats
	SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	Social democracy	Wolfgang Clement	46.0%	108 / 221
	CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands	Christian democracy	Jürgen Rüttgers	37.7%	89 / 221
	GRÜNE	Alliance 90/The Greens Bündnis 90/Die Grünen	Green politics	Bärbel Höhn	10.0%	24 / 221

Campaign

Minister-President Clement stated he hoped for the SPD to regain its parliamentary majority, but that he could also accept a coalition with either the Greens or the FDP. The CDU under lead candidate Jürgen Rüttgers aimed to win government, in coalition with the FDP if necessary. The Greens campaigned for a continuation of the outgoing coalition, and capitalised on the SPD's ambivalence toward coalition partners with the slogan: "If you want red-green, you have to vote Green." The FDP ran with former Vice-Chancellor Jürgen Möllemann as their lead candidate, and sought to re-enter the Landtag and surpass the Greens for third place.

The CDU were dragged down by the ongoing donations scandal which began at the end of the previous year; their popularity in state polling fell from a high of 46% in December to just 32% in March.

Opinion polling

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	SPD	CDU	Grüne	FDP	Others	Lead
2000 state election	14 May 2000	–	42.8	37.0	7.1	9.8	3.3	5.8
Infratest dimap	8 May 2000	?	45	38	7	7	3	7
Infratest dimap	5 May 2000	?	45	39	6	6	4	6
Emnid	26 Apr 2000	?	41	40	7	7	5	1
Forsa	19 Apr 2000	?	46	38	6	6	4	8
Infratest dimap	12 Apr 2000	?	46	33	7	8	6	13
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen	3–6 Apr 2000	1,004	46	38	6	6	4	8
Infratest dimap	5 Mar 2000	?	47	32	7	9	5	15
Infratest dimap	16 Jan 2000	?	45	37	7	6	5	8
Forsa	9 Dec 1999	?	39	46	7	4	4	7
Emnid	6 Sep 1999	?	42	43	6	4	5	1
Forsa	3 Jun 1999	?	44	41	6	4	5	3
Psephos	23 Mar 1999	?	44	40	8	5	3	4
Psephos	3 Sep 1998	?	51	34	8	4	3	17
Psephos	28 May 1998	?	50	33	9	4	4	17
1995 state election	14 May 1995	–	46.0	37.7	10.0	4.0	2.3	8.3

Results

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					Con.	List	Total	+/–
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	3,143,179	42.84	–3.18	102	0	102	–6
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	2,712,176	36.97	–0.70	49	39	88	–1
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	721,558	9.84	+5.83	0	24	24	+24
	Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE)	518,295	7.06	–2.96	0	17	17	–7
	The Republicans (REP)	83,296	1.14	+0.35	0	0	0	±0
	Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)	79,934	1.09	New	0	0	0	New
	Independent Candidates for Direct Democracy (Unabh. Bürger)	22,059	0.30	New	0	0	0	New
	Pensioners' Party (Rentner)	10,708	0.15	New	0	0	0	New
	Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD)	5,969	0.08	New	0	0	0	New
	The Middle-class Party (DMP)	5,743	0.08	New	0	0	0	New
	Party of Bible-abiding Christians (PBC)	4,123	0.06	–0.01	0	0	0	±0
	Natural Law Party (Naturgesetz)	3,474	0.05	–0.11	0	0	0	±0
	Family Party of Germany (FAMILIE)	3,420	0.05	+0.05	0	0	0	±0
	Human Environment Animal Protection (Tierschutzpartei)	3,075	0.04	–0.08	0	0	0	±0
	Civil Rights Movement Solidarity (BüSo)	2,530	0.03	+0.02	0	0	0	±0
	National Democratic Party (NPD)	2,357	0.03	New	0	0	0	New
	Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)	1,923	0.03	–0.23	0	0	0	±0
	German Communist Party (DKP)	1,722	0.02	–0.05	0	0	0	±0
	Feminist Party The Women (FRAUEN)	1,541	0.02	New	0	0	0	New
	PETO – The Young Alternative (PETO)	993	0.01	New	0	0	0	New
	From now... Alliance for Germany (Deutschland)	525	0.01	New	0	0	0	New
	Humanist Party (HP)	405	0.01	+0.01	0	0	0	±0
	Ecological Left (ÖkoLinX)	304	0.00	New	0	0	0	New
	League for All-Germany (BGD)	178	0.00	New	0	0	0	New
	Party for Non-voters (Nichtwähler)	175	0.00	New	0	0	0	New
	Consciousness (Bewusstsein)	162	0.00	±0.00	0	0	0	±0
	Independent Workers' Party (UAP)	152	0.00	±0.00	0	0	0	±0
	Christian Centre (CM)	104	0.00	–0.01	0	0	0	±0
	Independents	6,344	0.09	+0.07	0	–	0	±0
Total		7,336,424	100.00	–	151	80	231	+10
Valid votes		7,336,424	99.01
Invalid/blank votes		72,988	0.99
Total votes		7,409,412	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		13,061,265	56.73
Source:

External links

• "Electoral system of North Rhine-Westphalia". Wahlrecht.de (in German). 15 May 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
• "NRW election 2000". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 20 February 2023.