2009 Hessian state election

Last updated
2009 Hesse state election
Flag of Hesse.svg
←  2008 18 January 2009 2013  →
All 118 seats of the Landtag of Hesse
60 seats needed for a majority
Turnout2,591,872 (61.0%)
Decrease2.svg 3.3%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  RKoch.jpg 0128R-SPD, Thorsten Schaefer-Guembel.jpg 2013-02-27 Jorg-Uwe Hahn - 3098.JPG
Leader Roland Koch Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel Jörg-Uwe Hahn
Party CDU SPD FDP
Last election42 seats, 36.8%42 seats, 36.7%11 seats, 9.4%
Seats won462920
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 4Decrease2.svg 13Increase2.svg 9
Popular vote963,763614,648420,426
Percentage37.2%23.7%16.2%
SwingIncrease2.svg 0.4%Decrease2.svg 13.0%Increase2.svg 6.8%
 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 election9 seats, 7.5%6 seats, 5.1%
Seats won176
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 8Steady2.svg 0
Popular vote356,040139,074
Percentage13.7%5.4%
SwingIncrease2.svg 6.2%Increase2.svg 0.3%
2009 Hessian state election.svg
Results for the single-member constituencies.
Minister-President before election

Roland Koch
CDU

Elected Minister-President

Roland Koch
CDU

The 2009 Hessian state election was held on 18 January 2009 to elect the members of the Landtag of Hesse. The election was called after the failure of all government formation attempts conducted after the 2008 state election held a year earlier. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) suffered major losses, falling from an effective tie with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to a 13.5-point deficit. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) and The Greens were the primary beneficiaries of the SPD's decline. After the election, the CDU formed a coalition government with the FDP, and Roland Koch was elected Minister-President.

Contents

Background

The result of the 2008 Hessian state election was inconclusive, as neither the CDU–FDP or SPD–Green blocs had won a majority. This was due to the entry of The Left into the Landtag, with which the SPD was unwilling to cooperate, though both The Left and Greens supported a red-red-green coalition between the three parties. While a grand coalition between the CDU and SPD would command a comfortable majority, this option was very unpopular and was rejected by the SPD. [1]

In October 2008, SPD leader Andrea Ypsilanti attempted to negotiate a red-red-green coalition, reneging on a pledge made earlier in the year not to do so. [2] This caused an revolt within the Hessian SPD, resulting in Ypsilanti being deposed and the new leadership under Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel seeking fresh elections. [3]

CDU leader Roland Koch had served as Minister-President prior to the 2008 election, and continued in office in a caretaker capacity between the 2008 and 2009 elections. He could not be unseated due to the inability of the SPD to form a new government; in Hesse, the motion to remove a serving government simultaneously invests confidence in a proposed new government, and requires an absolute majority to pass.

Parties

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

NameIdeologyLeader(s)2008 result
Votes (%)Seats
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands		 Christian democracy Roland Koch 36.8%
42 / 110
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands		 Social democracy Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel 36.7%
42 / 110
FDP Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei		 Classical liberalism Jörg-Uwe Hahn 9.4%
11 / 110
Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen		 Green politics Tarek Al-Wazir 7.5%
9 / 110
Linke The Left
Die Linke		 Democratic socialism Willi van Ooyen 5.1%
6 / 110

Opinion polling

Polling firmFieldwork dateSample
size		 CDU SPD FDP Grüne Linke OthersLead
2009 state election 18 January 2009–37.223.716.213.75.43.813.5
Forsa 6–9 Jan 20091,007412415134317
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 6–8 Jan 20091,072412513135316
Infratest dimap 5–7 Jan 20091,000422413135318
GMS 15–17 Dec 20081,004412513135316
Forsa 8–12 Dec 20081,005422313126419
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 1–4 Dec 20081,145412612125415
Emnid 28 Nov–3 Dec 2008500432413115419
Infratest dimap 28 Nov–2 Dec 20081,000412313146318
Infratest dimap 4–5 Nov 20081,000412711125414
Infratest dimap 1–3 Sep 20081,000392812117311
Forsa 19–22 Aug 20081,001282612118512
Forsa 23 May–3 Jun 20081,00540271198513
Forsa 17 Mar–4 Apr 20081,00740281098512
Emnid 6 Apr 2008 ?373012106 ?7
Emnid 21 Feb–5 Mar 20081,0003735977 ?2
2008 state election 27 January 2008–36.836.79.47.55.14.40.1

Election result

PartyConstituencyParty listTotal
seats		+/-
Votes %SeatsVotes %+/-Seats
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)1,083,17441.9846963,76337.18Increase2.svg 0.37046Increase2.svg 4
Social Democratic Party (SPD)767,06829.739614,64823.71Decrease2.svg 12.972029Decrease2.svg 13
Free Democratic Party (FDP)304,75511.810420,42616.22Increase2.svg 6.792020Increase2.svg 9
Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE)274,49210.640356,04013.74Increase2.svg 6.201717Increase2.svg 8
The Left (DIE LINKE)117,3304.550139,0745.37Increase2.svg 0.2366Steady2.svg 0
Free Voters (FW)3,9970.15042,1531.63Increase2.svg 0.7400Steady2.svg 0
National Democratic Party (NPD)18,8980.73022,1720.86Decrease2.svg 0.0200Steady2.svg 0
The Republicans (REP)7,6850.30015,6640.60Decrease2.svg 0.4100Steady2.svg 0
Pirate Party (PIRATEN)–13,7960.53Increase2.svg 0.2800Steady2.svg 0
Civil Rights Movement Soliarity (BüSo)9620.0404,1360.16Increase2.svg 0.1200Steady2.svg 0
Independents 2,0930.080–0Steady2.svg 0
Total2,580,424100.00552,591,872100.0063118Increase2.svg 8
Invalid89,9613.3778,5132.94
Turnout2,670,38561.032,670,38561.03Decrease2.svg 3.29
Registered voters4,375,2864,375,286

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References

  1. ↑ "Ypsilanti Is Strictly Against A Grand Coalition": http://www.webnews.de/kommentare/119321/0/Ypsilanti-strikt-gegen-grosse-Koalition-in-Hessen.html
  2. ↑ "Rot-Rot-Grün auf die Dauer nicht ausgeschlossen - Politik - DerWesten". Archived from the original on 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  3. ↑ "Umfrage in Hessen zeigt erdrutschartige Verluste für SPD". Reuters. 2008-12-04. Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
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