2008 Bavarian state election

Last updated
2008 Bavarian state election
Flag of Bavaria (lozengy).svg
←  2003 28 September 2008 2013  →
All 187 seats in the Landtag of Bavaria
94 seats needed for a majority
Turnout10,612,275 (58.1%)
Increase2.svg 1.0%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Dr-guenther-beckstein2.jpg 8247ri-Franz Maget.jpg Hubert Aiwanger.JPG
Leader Günther Beckstein Franz Maget  [ de ] Hubert Aiwanger
Party CSU SPD FW
Last election124 seats, 60.7%41 seats, 19.6%0 seats, 4.0%
Seats won923921
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 32Decrease2.svg 2Increase2.svg 21
Popular vote4,603,9601,972,4371,085,896
Percentage43.4%18.6%10.2%
SwingDecrease2.svg 17.3%Decrease2.svg 1.0%Increase2.svg 6.2%
 Fourth partyFifth party
  2008-10-24 Sepp Daxenberger 1086.jpg Martin Zeil (2010).JPG
Leader Sepp Daxenberger Martin Zeil
Party Greens FDP
Last election15 seats, 7.7%0 seats, 2.6%
Seats won1916
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 4Increase2.svg 16
Popular vote999,111847,227
Percentage9.4%8.0%
SwingIncrease2.svg 1.7%Increase2.svg 5.4%
2008 Bavarian state election.svg
Results for the single-member constituencies.
Minister-President before election

Günther Beckstein
CSU

Elected Minister-President

Horst Seehofer
CSU

The 2008 Bavarian state election was held on 28 September 2008 to elect the members of the Landtag of Bavaria. The result was a historic defeat for the Christian Social Union (CSU), which had governed with a majority uninterrupted since 1962, and had won over 60% of the vote in the 2003 election. Despite polling suggesting that the party would retain its majority with losses, it suffered a 17% swing and came up two seats short of a majority, its worst result since 1954. Minister-President and CSU leader Günther Beckstein subsequently resigned from both posts, and the Landtag elected Horst Seehofer as his successor after the CSU and Free Democratic Party (FDP) came to a coalition agreement.

Contents

The Free Voters of Bavaria entered the Landtag for the first time with 10% of the vote; the FDP also won seats for the first time in 14 years. The Left competed in its first Bavarian election, recording a modest result of 4.3%, but failing to win any seats.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 15th Landtag of Bavaria.

NameIdeologyLeader(s)2003 result
Votes (%)Seats
CSU Christian Social Union in Bavaria
Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern		 Christian democracy Günther Beckstein 60.7%
124 / 180
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands		 Social democracy Franz Maget19.6%
41 / 180
Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen		 Green politics Sepp Daxenberger 7.7%
15 / 180

Opinion polling

Polling firmFieldwork dateSample
size		 CSU SPD Grüne FW FDP Linke ÖDP OthersLead
2008 state election 28 Sep 2008–43.418.69.410.28.04.32.04.1 [a] 24.8
GMS 20–21 Sep 20081,01048191077414 [b] 29
Emnid 10–18 Sep 20081,01049208785–329
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 16–18 Sep 20081,10547208894–427
Infratest dimap 15–17 Sep 20081,00047219784–426
Forsa 8–12 Sep 20081,10150199864–431
GMS 6–8 Sep 20081,00649191157423 [c] 30
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 28–30 Jul 20081,03850209764–430
Infratest dimap 24–28 Jul 20081,00048229584–426
Emnid 23 Jun–17 Jul 2008~50051199–75–9 [d] 32
TNS Infratest 3–8 Jul 20081,000482111584–327
GMS 8–9 Jul 20081,0065020845526 [e] 30
GMS 2–6 Jun 20081,0094920955525 [f] 29
Infratest dimap 28–30 Apr 20081,000482310564–425
mifm München 21–23 Apr 20081,000442011993–424
mifm München 4–14 Apr 20081,00140191211114–321
GMS 8–14 Apr 20081,0105120104641431
GMS 31 Mar–6 Apr 20081,512502110454–629
Emnid 13–27 Feb 2008~500511911364–632
mifm München 31 Jan–7 Feb 20081,000502011473–530
Infratest dimap 3–7 Jan 20081,000522110263–631
Emnid 10 Dec 2007–2 Jan 2008800542010–64–634
GMS 2–3 Jan 20081,0045621934313 [g] 34
GMS 12–17 Dec 20071,01055209453–435
Forsa 5–27 Nov 20071,00256179344–739
mifm München 29 Oct–7 Nov 20071,00053.819.19.91.773.2–5.334.7
GMS 21–22 Oct 20071,00154231034312 [h] 31
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 24–26 Sep 20071,14356229443–234
mifm München 7–15 Sep 20071,0035317103731.74.9 [i] 36
Forsa 29 Aug–17 Sep 20071,00357199243–638
Forsa 28–30 Jul 20071,00258179343–641
TNS Infratest 17–19 Jul 20071,000542211–53–532
dimap 13–19 Jul 20071,000581811–44–540
GMS 13–18 Jun 20071,01054189483–436
Forsa 4–14 Jun 20071,00156169363–740
Forsa 25 Apr–8 May 20071,03656179363–639
Forsa 19 Mar–2 Apr 20071,01254209343–734
Infratest dimap 22–25 Mar 20071,002532310262–430
GMS 5–8 Mar 20071,0125320947214 [j] 33
Forsa 15–26 Feb 20071,00253199363–734
GMS 22–25 Jan 20071,0115222947222 [k] 30
Infratest dimap 19–20 Jan 20071,00052249–7––828
Infratest dimap 15 Jan 20071,000502411–8––726
Forsa 10–12 Jan 20071,00749229364–727
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 12–13 Jan 20071,142452710–9––918
Infratest dimap 3–4 Jan 20071,00054229–7––832
Forsa 27–29 Dec 20061,00954189354–736
GMS 18–23 Dec 20061,00654201028222 [l] 34
Forsa 24 Nov–5 Dec 20061,026561710254–639
Forsa 23 Oct–7 Nov 20061,00454199273–635
GMS 6–8 Oct 20061,0025322838312 [m] 31
Forsa 18 Sep–4 Oct 20061,00654189283–636
Infratest dimap 28 Sep–1 Oct 20061,000492410281–625
Forsa 20 Aug–5 Sep 20061,005581610–63–742
Forsa 3–12 Jul 20061,004561610364–540
GMS 9–14 Jun 20061,0025418112.082.5–4.536
Forsa 12–17 May 20061,002521893103–534
Emnid 20 Apr–9 May 20061,00053239–5––1030
Forsa 22–24 Feb 20061,00352219463–531
Infratest dimap 12–15 Jan 20061,000532210272 [n] –431
Forsa 4–11 Jan 20061,114492410–63 [o] –8 [p] 25
Peinelt 17 Nov–9 Dec 20051,06745.921.58.64.211.8––8.0 [q] 24.4
GMS 17–21 Dec 20051,0015622744214 [r] 34
Infratest dimap 15–16 Nov 20051,000452410–113–721
Forsa 4–7 Nov 20051,00149219–94–8 [s] 28
Infratest dimap 21–24 Jul 20051,00059189–44–641
Infratest dimap 5–9 Jan 20051,000562210–5––734
Infratest dimap 21–25 Jul 20041,000581712–5––841
GMS 17–20 Mar 20041,00961.019.010.01.53.00.52.03.0 [t] 42
Infratest dimap 2–5 Jan 20041,00062199–3––743
2003 state election 21 Sep 2003–60.719.67.74.02.6–2.03.4 [u] 41.1

Election result

2008 Landtag of Bavaria.svg
PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
Christian Social Union (CSU)4,603,96043.38-17.392-32
Social Democratic Party (SPD)1,972,43718.59-1.039-2
Free Voters of Bavaria (FW)1,085,89610.23+6.221+21
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)999,1119.41+1.719+4
Free Democratic Party (FDP)847,2277.98+5.416+16
The Left (Linke)461,7554.35New0New
Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)212,2002.00–0±0
The Republicans (REP)146,0731.38-0.90±0
National Democratic Party (NPD)123,3991.16+1.20±0
Bavaria Party (BP)116,4641.10+0.30±0
Pensioners' Party (RRP)19,7600.19New0New
The Violets (Violetten)15,4650.15New0New
Citizens' Bloc (BB)7,3060.07–0±0
Civil Rights Movement Solidarity (BüSo)1,2220.01-0.10±0
Total10,612,275100.00–187–
Popular vote
CSU
 
43.38%
SPD
 
18.59%
FW
 
10.23%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
9.41%
FDP
 
7.98%
DIE LINKE
 
4.35%
Other
 
6.06%
Landtag seats
CSU
 
49.19%
SPD
 
20.86%
FW
 
11.23%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
10.16%
FDP
 
8.56%

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.4% REP, 2.7% Other
  2. ↑ 1% Right-wing parties, 3% Other
  3. ↑ 1% Right-wing parties, 2% Other
  4. ↑ 2% Right-wing parties, 7% Other
  5. ↑ 2% Right-wing parties, 4% Other
  6. ↑ 2% Right-wing parties, 3% Other
  7. ↑ 1% Right-wing parties, 2% Other
  8. ↑ 1% Right-wing parties, 1% Other
  9. ↑ 2.3% REP, 1.1% BP, 1.5% Other
  10. ↑ 1% Right-wing parties, 3% Other
  11. ↑ 1% Right-wing parties, 1% Other
  12. ↑ 1% Right-wing parties, 1% Other
  13. ↑ 1% Right-wing parties, 1% Other
  14. ↑ WASG
  15. ↑ WASG
  16. ↑ 3% Right-wing parties, 5% Other
  17. ↑ 4.3% REP, 3.7% Other
  18. ↑ 2% Right-wing parties, 2% Other
  19. ↑ 3% Right-wing parties, 5% Other
  20. ↑ 1.0% REP, 2.0% Other
  21. ↑ 2.2% REP, 1.2% Other

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Social Union in Bavaria</span> Conservative party in Bavaria, Germany

The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. Having a regionalist identity, the CSU operates only in Bavaria while its larger counterpart, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), operates in the other fifteen states of Germany. It differs from the CDU by being somewhat more conservative in social matters, following Catholic social teaching. The CSU is considered the de facto successor of the Weimar-era Catholic Bavarian People's Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free Democratic Party (Germany)</span> Political party in Germany

The Free Democratic Party is a liberal political party in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Germany</span>

Germany is a democratic and federal parliamentary republic, where federal legislative power is vested in the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landtag of Bavaria</span> State legislature of Bavaria, Germany

The Landtag of Bavaria, officially known in English as the Bavarian State Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Bavaria. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum in Munich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Bavarian state election</span> State election in Bavaria, Germany

The 2003 Bavarian state election was held on 21 September 2003 to elect the members to the 15th Landtag of Bavaria. The Christian Social Union (CSU) led by Minister-President Edmund Stoiber achieved the largest majority in German history, winning 69% of the seats in the Landtag. This election was the first and to date only time a single party won a two-thirds supermajority of seats in any German state parliament. The CSU also won its largest proportion of the popular vote since 1974, at 60.7%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Bavarian state election</span> State election in Germany

The 1998 Bavarian state election was held on 13 September 1998 to elect the members of the 14th Landtag of Bavaria. The Christian Social Union (CSU) led by Minister-President Edmund Stoiber retained its majority with minor gains, while the opposition took minor losses. The largest change in the election was the rise in popularity of the Free Voters of Bavaria, who won 3.7% of the vote, but failed to win any seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 German federal election</span>

Federal elections were held in Germany on 18 September 2005 to elect the members of the 16th Bundestag. The snap election was called after the government's defeat in the North Rhine-Westphalia state election, which caused them to intentionally lose a motion of confidence to trigger an early federal election. The outgoing government was a coalition of the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and Alliance 90/The Greens, led by federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. The election was originally intended for the autumn of 2006.

Franz Handlos was a German politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CDU/CSU</span> Centre-right political alliance in Germany

CDU/CSU, unofficially the Union parties or the Union, is a centre-right Christian democratic and conservative political alliance of two political parties in Germany: the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU).

Bavaria, one of the states of Germany, has a multiparty system dominated by the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). Bavaria has long been a bastion of conservative politics in Germany, with the Christian Social Union has won every election of the state parliament since 1946 and having almost a monopoly on power. Every Minister-President since 1957 has been a member of this party. On the other hand the bigger and more liberal, or rather social democratic, cities, especially Munich, have been governed for decades by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) until recently the second biggest party. In 2018 the Alliance 90/The Greens which have been represented in the state parliament since 1986, became the second biggest political party in the Landtag and in 2020 the biggest party in the Munich City Council. From the historical point of view, older Bavaria was one of the most liberal, predominantly Roman Catholic states until the rather rural areas of Swabia and Franconia were added in 1814/15 at the Congress of Vienna.

Free Voters is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations, associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These associations are usually locally-organised groups of voters in the form of a registered association (eV). In most cases, Free Voters campaign only at local government level, standing for city councils and for mayoralties. Free Voters tend to achieve their most successful electoral results in rural areas of southern Germany, appealing most to conservative voters who prefer local decisions to party politics. Free Voter groups are active in all of the states of Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election</span>

The 2011 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election was held on 4 September 2011 to elect the members of the 6th Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The incumbent grand coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Minister-President Erwin Sellering retained its majority and continued in government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Bavarian state election</span> State election in Germany

The 2013 Bavarian state election was held on 15 September 2013 to elect the 180 members of the 17th Landtag of Bavaria. It was held one week before the 2013 German federal election. The CSU regained the absolute majority it had lost in 2008, while the Free Democratic Party (FDP), a member of the outgoing governing coalition, fell below the 5% electoral threshold and lost all its seats. Minister-President Horst Seehofer continued in office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Bavarian state election</span> 2018 election in the German state of Bavaria

The 2018 Bavarian state election took place on 14 October 2018 to elect the 180 members of the 18th Landtag of Bavaria. The outgoing government was a majority of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), led by Minister President Markus Söder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1950 Bavarian state election</span> State election in Germany

The 1950 Bavarian state election was held on 26 November 1950 to elect the members of the 2nd Landtag of Bavaria. The outgoing government was a majority of the Christian Social Union (CSU) led by Minister-President Hans Ehard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1954 Bavarian state election</span>

The 1954 Bavarian state election was held on 28 November 1954 to elect the members of the Third Bavarian Landtag. It is notable for being both the only time that a member of the SPD was elected as Minister-President and the only time that the CSU was in the opposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1958 Bavarian state election</span>

The 1958 Bavarian state election was held on 23 November 1958 to elect the members of the Fourth Bavarian Landtag, and was notable for being held in the midst of the Casino Affair, which indicted several Bavarian politicians in the previous government on charges of corruption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German governing coalition</span> Potential governing alliances in Germany

In Germany's federal electoral system, a single party or parliamentary group rarely wins an absolute majority of seats in the Bundestag, and thus coalition governments, rather than single-party governments, are the usually expected outcome of a German election. As German political parties are often associated with particular colors, coalitions are frequently given nicknames based on the colors included. Prominent political parties in Germany are the CDU/CSU (black), the SPD (red), the Greens (green), the Left, the AfD (blue), and the FDP (yellow).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Söder cabinet</span> State government of Bavaria

The Second Söder cabinet was the state government of Bavaria from November 2018 to late 2023. It was sworn in on 12 November 2018, after Markus Söder was elected as Minister-President of Bavaria by the members of the Landtag of Bavaria. It was the 27th Cabinet of Bavaria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Bavarian state election</span> German state election

The 2023 Bavarian state election was held on 8 October 2023 to elect the members of the 19th Landtag of Bavaria. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) and the Free Voters of Bavaria (FW) led by Minister-President of Bavaria Markus Söder. The 2023 Hessian state election was held the same day.

References

    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.