2012 Schleswig-Holstein state election

Last updated
2012 Schleswig-Holstein state election
Flag of Schleswig-Holstein.svg
  2009 6 May 2012 2017  

All 69 seats in the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein
35 seats needed for a majority
Turnout1,328,452 (60.2%)
Decrease2.svg 13.4%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Jost de Jager 2011.jpg 13-08-23-torsten-albig-07.jpg Robert Habeck.JPG
Leader Jost de Jager Torsten Albig Robert Habeck
Party CDU SPD Greens
Last election34 seats, 31.5%25 seats, 25.4%12 seats, 12.4%
Seats won222210
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 12Decrease2.svg 3Decrease2.svg 2
Popular vote408,637404,048174,953
Percentage30.8%30.4%13.2%
SwingDecrease2.svg 0.7%Increase2.svg 5.0%Increase2.svg 0.8%

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
  2013-08-23 - Wolfgang Kubicki - 8689.jpg 1415-ri-80-Piraten Torge Schmidt.jpg Anke Spoorendonk (MP) Germany. BSPC 18 Nyborg Denmark 2009-08-31.jpg
Leader Wolfgang Kubicki Torge Schmidt Anke Spoorendonk
Party FDP Pirates SSW
Last election14 seats, 14.9%0 seats, 1.8%4 seats, 4.3%
Seats won663
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 8Increase2.svg 6Decrease2.svg 1
Popular vote108,953108,90261,025
Percentage8.2%8.2%4.6%
SwingDecrease2.svg 6.7%Increase2.svg 6.4%Increase2.svg 0.3%

2012 Schleswig-Holstein state election.svg
Results for the single-member constituencies

Minister-President before election

Peter Harry Carstensen
CDU

Elected Minister-President

Torsten Albig
SPD

Results for the direct mandates Schleswig-Holstein Landtagswahlkarte 2012.svg
Results for the direct mandates

The 2012 Schleswig-Holstein state election was held on 6 May 2012 to elect the members of the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein. [1] [2] The incumbent coalition government of the Christian Democratic Union and Free Democratic Party (FDP) was defeated. [3] Though the CDU remained the largest party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) negotiated a coalition with The Greens and the South Schleswig Voters' Association (SSW). This was dubbed the "Danish traffic light" or "Namibia coalition". SPD leader Torsten Albig was subsequently elected Minister-President by the Landtag.

Contents

Background

After the 2009 state election, the CDU formed a coalition with the FDP under Minister-President Peter Harry Carstensen. Due to ambiguity and complications with the electoral law, the election result was the subject of a legal challenge by the Greens, SSW, and The Left. In August 2010, the state Constitutional Court ruled that the electoral law was unconstitutional. The court mandated that a new electoral law be legislated within six months and that new elections be held by September 2012, two years ahead of schedule.

Minister-President Carstensen had stated his intention to retire at the next election. The CDU therefore needed to pick a candidate to succeed him as Minister-President if they won the election. At a party conference in May 2011, they chose Christian von Boetticher, incumbent deputy Minister-President and leader of the CDU parliamentary group. In August, however, von Boetticher resigned these positions after it was revealed that he had been involved in an intimate relationship with a 16-year-old girl as recently as 2010. Two days later, the CDU announced that Minister of Science, Economic Affairs and Transport Jost de Jager had been nominated as their new candidate for Minister-President.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein.

NameIdeologyLeader(s)2009 result
Votes (%)Seats
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian democracy Jost de Jager 31.5%
34 / 95
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Social democracy Torsten Albig 25.4%
25 / 95
FDP Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei
Classical liberalism Wolfgang Kubicki 14.9%
14 / 95
Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Green politics Robert Habeck 12.4%
12 / 95
Linke The Left
Die Linke
Democratic socialism Antje Jansen 6.0%
6 / 95
SSW South Schleswig Voters' Association
Südschleswigscher Wählerverband
Danish and Frisian minority interests Anke Spoorendonk 4.3%
4 / 95

Opinion polling

Party polling

Polling firmFieldwork dateSample
size
CDU SPD FDP Grüne Linke SSW Piraten OthersLead
2012 state election 6 May 201230.830.48.213.22.34.68.22.40.4
GMS 28 Apr–1 May 20121,002323361224831
Infratest dimap 24–26 Apr 20121,00130326132.54.5932
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 23–26 Apr 20121,0033131712.52.5493Tie
Infratest dimap 12–17 Apr 20121,0003132513241031
Infratest dimap 10–11 Apr 20121,000323241234112Tie
Infratest dimap 22–27 Mar 20121,000343241544522
dimap 9–13 Mar 20121,0033433415345 ?1
Forsa March 2012 ?3535213345 ?Tie
Infratest dimap 13–16 Feb 20121,00033333163354Tie
Emnid 17–19 Jan 20121,000343241533722
Forsa 15–17 Nov 20111,002333231733631
Infratest dimap 26–27 Sep 20111,000303432123434
Forsa 15 Aug 201175230324194472
Infratest dimap 13–16 May 20111,000333142224132
Forsa 31 Aug–1 Sep 20107513131718553Tie
Infratest dimap 30–31 Aug 20101,0013232519444Tie
IfM Leipzig 29–31 Mar 2010823312212206459
2009 state election 27 September 200931.525.414.912.46.04.31.83.66.1

Minister-President polling

Polling firmFieldwork date Jost de Jager 2011.jpg 13-08-23-torsten-albig-02.jpg Lead
Jost de Jager
CDU
Torsten Albig
SPD
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen27 Apr 2012294415
Infratest dimap26 Apr 2012274922
Infratest dimap19 Apr 2012325624
Infratest dimap12 Apr 2012315322
Infratest dimap29 Mar 2012334926
Infratest dimap17 Feb 2012294516
Infratest dimap28 Sep 2011274518
Forsa17 Aug 201130344

Election result

From left to right: Angela Merkel, Jost de Jager, and Susanne Herold at a campaign event in Flensburg. Angela Merkel und Jost de Jager sowie Susanne Herold in Flensburg zur Landtagswahl in Schleswig-Holstein 2012.JPG
From left to right: Angela Merkel, Jost de Jager, and Susanne Herold at a campaign event in Flensburg.

The SPD recovered some of the voteshare it had lost in the 2009 election while the CDU stagnated. This led to a very close result, with both parties winning 22 seats, but the CDU leading with 30.8% of the vote to the SPD's 30.4%. On paper, the FDP was the biggest loser of the election, almost halving its voteshare from its impressive showing in 2009. However, compared to the national trend, the Schleswig-Holstein result was an unexpected success; and until April, state polling had predicted that the FDP would lose all its seats. The Greens marginally improved their performance compared to 2009. The Left fared poorly, losing all its seats after only 3 years in the Landtag. The Pirate Party won 8.2%, entering the Landtag for the first time. This came after successes in the 2011 Berlin state election and 2012 Saarland state election in the preceding months. The SSW achieved its best result since 1950 with 4.6%.

Summary of the 6 May 2012 election results for the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein
2012 Schleswig-Holstein state election - composition chart.svg
PartyVotes %+/-Seats+/-Seats %
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)408,63730.8Decrease2.svg0.722Decrease2.svg1231.9
Social Democratic Party (SPD)404,04830.4Increase2.svg5.022Decrease2.svg331.9
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)174,95313.2Increase2.svg0.810Decrease2.svg214.5
Free Democratic Party (FDP)108,9538.2Decrease2.svg6.76Decrease2.svg88.7
Pirate Party Germany (Piraten)108,9028.2Increase2.svg6.46Increase2.svg68.7
South Schleswig Voters' Association (SSW)61,0254.6Increase2.svg0.33Decrease2.svg14.3
The Left (Linke)29,9002.3Decrease2.svg3.70Decrease2.svg60
Family Party (Familie)12,7581.0Increase2.svg0.20±00
Others19,2761.50±00
Total1,328,452100.069Decrease2.svg26
Voter turnout60.2Decrease2.svg13.4
Popular Vote
CDU
30.76%
SPD
30.41%
B'90/GRÜNE
13.17%
FDP
8.20%
PIRATEN
8.20%
SSW
4.59%
DIE LINKE
2.25%
Other
2.41%
Landtag seats
CDU
31.88%
SPD
31.88%
B'90/GRÜNE
14.49%
FDP
8.70%
PIRATEN
8.70%
SSW
4.35%

Outcome

The outgoing CDU–FDP government lost its majority, winning just 28 of the 35 seats needed for a majority. The SPD–Green bloc also fell short with 32 seats. CDU candidate Jost de Jager invited both the FDP and Greens to discuss a potential coalition, but neither party accepted. The SPD, Greens, and SSW began discussions for forming a government together. This was dubbed the "Danish traffic light", a play on the red-yellow-green "traffic light coalition", with the "yellow" FDP substituted for the "Danish" SSW. It would have a narrow, one-seat majority. This same arrangement had been attempted after the 2005 state election, but unexpectedly failed when one of the government members abstained. Pirate Party leader Torge Schmidt suggested that his party could lend their support to the Danish traffic light, though this never came to fruition.

Coalition talks succeeded, and the Landtag voted to confirm Torsten Albig as the new Minister-President. The government received 37 votes, meaning that at least two opposition members voted in favour.

References

  1. "Schleswig-Holstein wählt im Mai 2012", Welt (in German), 15 March 2011, retrieved 12 January 2012
  2. "Landtagswahl 2012". Schleswig-Holstein.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  3. "Close race in German state elections with center-right poised to lose majority". The Washington Post . Associated Press. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.[ dead link ]