2008 Hessian state election

Last updated
2008 Hesse state election
Flag of Hesse.svg
  2003 27 January 2008 2009  

All 110 seats of the Landtag of Hesse
56 seats needed for a majority
Turnout2,742,959 (64.3%)
Decrease2.svg 0.3%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  RKoch.jpg DE Ypsilanti by Steschke 03.jpg 2013-02-27 Jorg-Uwe Hahn - 3098.JPG
Leader Roland Koch Andrea Ypsilanti Jörg-Uwe Hahn
Party CDU SPD FDP
Last election56 seats, 48.8%33 seats, 29.1%9 seats, 7.9%
Seats won424211
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 14Increase2.svg 9Increase2.svg 2
Popular vote1,009,7751,006,263258,550
Percentage36.8%36.7%9.4%
SwingDecrease2.svg 12.0%Increase2.svg 7.6%Increase2.svg 1.5%

 Fourth partyFifth party
  Tarek Al-Wazir (Martin Rulsch) 2013-02-28 1.jpg 0180R-Die Linke, Willi van Ooyen.jpg
Leader Tarek Al-Wazir Willi van Ooyen
Party Greens Left
Last election12 seats, 10.1%Did not run
Seats won96
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 3Increase2.svg 6
Popular vote206,610140,769
Percentage7.5%5.1%
SwingDecrease2.svg 2.6%Increase2.svg 5.1%

2008 Hessian state election.svg
Results for the single-member constituencies.

Minister-President before election

Roland Koch
CDU

Elected Minister-President

Roland Koch
CDU

The 2008 Hessian state election was held on 27 January 2008 to elect the members of the Landtag of Hesse. The incumbent Christian Democratic Union (CDU) government led by Minister-President Roland Koch lost its majority. The result of the election was extremely close but inconclusive, with the CDU winning just 3,500 votes (0.1%) more than the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Due to the entrance of The Left to the Landtag, neither the CDU–FDP or SPD–Green bloc garnered a majority. After a year of failed attempts to form government, a new election was held.

Contents

Background and issues

The CDU won a majority in the 2003 state election, but lost popularity in the following years. In the 2008 election campaign, CDU Minister-President Roland Koch took a tough stance against immigrant youth violence as an electoral tactic. [1] The political left criticised this as xenophobic. Other issues included minimum wage concerns, education, and controversy over the planned major expansion of the Rhine-Main airport.

The formation of The Left meant that a party to the left of the SPD and Greens stood a serious chance of entering the Landtag for the first time in decades. The party polled between 4 and 6 per cent in the lead-up to the election; it was unclear if the party would exceed the 5% threshold.

Polling data narrowed as the election approached; both the CDU and SPD and their junior partners the FDP and Greens were essentially tied. This meant that, if The Left entered the Landtag, it may hold the balance of power and make government formation difficult.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Hesse.

NameIdeologyLeader(s)2003 result
Votes (%)Seats
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian democracy Roland Koch 48.8%
56 / 110
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Social democracy Andrea Ypsilanti 29.1%
33 / 110
Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Green politics Tarek Al-Wazir 10.1%
12 / 110
FDP Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei
Classical liberalism Jörg-Uwe Hahn 7.9%
9 / 110

Opinion polling

Polling firmFieldwork dateSample
size
CDU SPD Grüne FDP Linke OthersLead
2008 state election 27 January 200836.836.77.59.45.13.40.1
AMR Düsseldorf 23–24 Jan 20081,00037387105 ?1
Forsa 22–24 Jan 20081,00638–3937–386–79–104–53–41
Forsa 14–18 Jan 20081,00538387953Tie
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 14–17 Jan 20081,100383788541
GMS 15–16 Jan 20081,010393489555
Infratest dimap 14–16 Jan 20081,000383778631
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 7–9 Jan 20081,0004036785 ?4
Infratest dimap 3–8 Jan 20081,000403599435
Emnid 10 Dec–2 Jan 200880042321085310
AMR Düsseldorf 29 Dec 20071,0004033109627
Forsa 3–7 Dec 20071,00241301195411
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 3–5 Dec 20071,052403497646
Forsa 18–21 Sep 20071,0014330985513
Infratest dimap 3–5 Sep 20071,00042321084410
TNS Infratest 9–11 Jul 20071,0004033117547
Forsa 11–26 Jun 20071,01241271196614
Emnid 30 Apr–16 May 20075994032119448
Infratest dimap 19–21 Mar 20071,0013834109454
Forsa 26 Feb–13 Mar 20071,02743271194616
Forsa 20 Nov–12 Dec 20061,02342271095715
Forsa 14 Sep–11 Oct 20061,170412712113614
Forsa 15 May–9 Jun 20061,2253931119558
Infratest dimap 10–15 Mar 20061,0024035107444
Infratest dimap 19 Oct 20031,0005228115424
2003 state election 2 February 200348.829.110.17.93.419.7

Election result

Summary of the 27 January 2008 election results for the Landtag of Hesse
PartyConstituencyParty listTotal
seats
+/-
Votes %SeatsVotes %+/-Seats
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)1,068,35839.13281,009,77536.81Decrease2.svg 11.961442Decrease2.svg 14
Social Democratic Party (SPD)1,047,05138.35271,006,26436.69Increase2.svg 7.601542Increase2.svg 9
Free Democratic Party (FDP)196,0047.180258,5509.43Increase2.svg 1.521111Increase2.svg 2
Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE)206,2507.550205,6107.53Decrease2.svg 2.5799Decrease2.svg 3
The Left (DIE LINKE)106,9753.920140,7695.13New66New
The Republicans (REP)39,1261.43027,7241.01Decrease2.svg 0.2500Steady2.svg 0
Free Voters (FW)36,2121.33024,3270.89New00New
National Democratic Party (NPD)17,6270.65024,0040.88New00New
Human Environment Animal Protection Party (Tierschutz)8,8330.32015,9090.58Decrease2.svg 0.1700Steady2.svg 0
Family Party (FAMILIE)1,2430.0507,8170.28New00New
Pirate Party (PIRATEN)6,9620.25New00New
The Grays – Gray Panthers (GRAUE)7170.0304,8100.18New00New
Alliance for Germany (Volksabstimmung)2380.0103,1300.11New00New
The Violets (VIOLETTEN)2,3800.09New00New
Independent Citizen Politics (UB)5950.0201,7750.06New00New
Civil Rights Movement Soliarity (BüSo)3610.0101,1180.04Decrease2.svg 0.0200Steady2.svg 0
Socialist Equality Party (PSG)1,0350.04Decrease2.svg 0.0100Steady2.svg 0
Independents 5950.0200Steady2.svg 0
Total2,730,185100.00552,742,599100.0055110Steady2.svg 0
Invalid80,8882.8868,1142.42
Turnout2,811,07364.322,811,07364.32Decrease2.svg 0.30
Registered voters4,370,4634,370,463

Outcome

The CDU's share of the vote fell to its lowest level since the 1966 election. The SPD, under its leader Andrea Ypsilanti, increased its share of the vote substantially, from 29% to 37%; the SPD claimed victory as a result. The other winner was The Left, who narrowly entered the Hesse Landtag with 5.1% of the vote. This was the second western state legislature which the party had entered, the first being Bremen in 2007. The party also won seats in neighbouring Lower Saxony in an election held the same day.

The SPD and the CDU both won 42 seats; the FDP won 11 and the Greens 9. With 56 seats needed for a majority, neither was able to form a government with their traditional partners. There was a several-month-long lull after the election. The Left was thus kingmaker, exactly the result it had hoped for. [2]

A traffic light coalition (SPD, FDP, Greens) would have held a majority (62), but was rejected by FDP, saying that they will only form a coalition with CDU or go into opposition. [3]

SPD leader Ypsilanti had long refused to negotiate with The Left, but in October 2008 began talks to include them in a three-party "red-green-red" coalition with herself as Minister-President. This was a controversial move which sparked a revolt in the SPD, as many members bitterly refused to participate in power-sharing with The Left. One day before the election for Minister-President in the Landtag, four members of the SPD parliamentary group indicated they would not vote for her, and called a vote of no-confidence on her leadership. [4] After this point, it became clear a red-red-green coalition was not viable. New elections were subsequently scheduled for January 2009.

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References

  1. "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger - Aktuelle Nachrichten aus Köln und der ganzen Welt".
  2. https://www.derwesten.de/nachrichten/2008/1/28/news-19224423/detail.html [ dead link ]
  3. "Hessen: Ypsilanti will sich mit linken Stimmen wählen lassen - CDU tobt wegen Wortbruchs". Der Spiegel (in German). 2008-03-04. ISSN   2195-1349 . Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  4. "Hessen: Ypsilanti Wahl geplatzt : News & Nachrichten". Archived from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2009-02-09.