Saarland state election, 2009
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 51 seats of the Landtag of Saarland 26 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
State elections were held in Saarland on 30 August 2009, the same date as the Saxony and Thuringia state elections. The election decided control of the Landtag of Saarland (Saarland's parliament).
Results
Significant losses by the CDU Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and SPD were matched by a substantial rise in the Left vote and smaller rises for the Greens and Free Democratic Party (FDP). Neither the Black–Yellow (center-right) nor Red–Red (center-left/left) coalitions won enough seats for an absolute majority to elect a Minister-President and form a government. As a result, the Greens held the balance of power. In the end, the Greens chose to support a "Jamaica coalition" (named after the color combination of the Jamaican flag - black, yellow and green) of the CDU, FDP, and Greens, with Peter Müller (CDU) continuing as Minister-President.[2]
Party | Party list votes | Vote % (change) | Seats (change) | Seat % | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 184,537 | 34.5% (-13.0) | 19 (-8) | 37.3% | |
Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 131,241 | 24.5% (-6.3) | 13 (-5) | 25.5% | |
Die Linke (previously PDS) | 113,660 | 21.5% (+19.2) | 11 (+10) | 21.6% | |
Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 49,069 | 9.2% (+4.0) | 5 (+2) | 9.7% | |
Alliance '90/The Greens (Grüne) | 31,516 | 5.9% (+0.3) | 3 (+1) | 5.9% | |
National Democratic Party (NPD) | 8,900 | 1.5% (-2.5) | - | - | |
Family Party | 10,710 | 2% (-1) | - | - | |
All Others | 5,965 | 1% | - | - | |
Totals | 534,792 | 100.0% | 51 | 100.0% |
Prior election
Minister-President Peter Müller of the CDU won a second term in the previous election. He and his party won an absolute majority of 27 out of 51 seats.
Party | Party List votes | Vote percentage | Total Seats | Seat percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 209,690 | 47.5% (+2.0) | 27 (+1) | 52.9% |
Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 136,224 | 30.8% (-13.6) | 18 (-7) | 35.3% |
Alliance '90/The Greens (Grüne) | 24,830 | 5.6% (+2.4) | 3 (+3) | 5.9% |
Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 22,842 | 5.2% (+2.6) | 3 (+3) | 5.9% |
National Democratic Party (NPD) | 17,590 | 4.0% (+4.0) | 0 (+0) | 0.0% |
Family Party | 13,106 | 3.0% (+2.0) | 0 (+0) | 0.0% |
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) | 10,240 | 2.3% (+1.5) | 0 (+0) | 0.0% |
The Grays | 6,285 | 1.4% (+1.4) | 0 (+0) | 0.0% |
All Others | 821 | 0.2% (-2.3) | 0 (+0) | 0.0% |
Totals | 441,628 | 100.0% | 51 | 100.0% |
Parties
The following parties are contesting the election:
- Christian Democratic Union
- Social Democratic Party
- Alliance '90/The Greens
- Free Democratic Party
- National Democratic Party
- The Left
- Family Party
- Free Citizens Union
- Free Voters/Citizens Alliance
- Health is our right (only in the Saarlouis district)
Opinion polling
The following opinion polls have been conducted during the campaign:[3]
Pollster | Date | CDU | SPD | Green | FDP | The Left | Family | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Forschungs-gruppe Wahlen | 21 Aug 2009 | 36 | 26 | 6 | 9 | 16 | – | 7 |
Infratest dimap | 20 Aug 2009 | 38 | 26 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 3 |
Infratest dimap | 22 April 2009 | 36 | 27 | 7 | 9 | 18 | – | 3 |
Emnid | 16 April 2009 | 38 | 23 | 5 | 8 | 22 | – | 4 |
Infratest dimap | 28 Oct 2008 | 38 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 23 | – | 3 |
Forsa | 3 Sept 2008 | 37 | 23 | 5 | 7 | 24 | – | 4 |
References
- ↑ The Party of Democratic Socialism contested the previous election, but subsequently merged with the Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative to form The Left
- ↑ The Greens Are About to Churn Up Germany's Party System
- ↑ http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/saarland.htm