German federal election, 2009

27 September 2009 (2009-09-27)

All 598 seats (plus 24 overhangs) in the Bundestag 312 seats were needed for a majority

Turnout	44,005,575 (70.8%) 6.9 pp
	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	Angela Merkel	Frank-Walter Steinmeier	Guido Westerwelle
Party	CDU/CSU	SPD	FDP
Leader since	10 April 2000	18 October 2008	4 May 2001
Leader's seat	Nordvorpommern-Rügen	Brandenburg an der Havel	North Rhine-Westphalia
Last election	226 seats, 35.2%	222 seats, 34.2%	61 seats, 9.8%
Seats won	239	146	93
Seat change	13	76	32
Popular vote	14,658,515	9,990,488	6,316,080
Percentage	33.8%	23.0%	14.6%
Swing	1.4 pp	11.2 pp	4.8 pp

	Fourth party	Fifth party

Leader	Oskar Lafontaine^[1]	Jürgen Trittin^[2]
Party	Left	Green
Leader since	16 June 2007	16 November 2008
Leader's seat	Saarland	Lower Saxony
Last election	54 seats, 8.7%	51 seats, 8.1%
Seats won	76	68
Seat change	22	17
Popular vote	5,155,933	4,643,272
Percentage	11.9%	10.7%
Swing	3.2 pp	2.6 pp

Chancellor before election

Angela Merkel
CDU/CSU

Elected Chancellor

Angela Merkel
CDU/CSU

German federal elections took place on 27 September 2009 to elect the members of the Bundestag, the federal Lower house of Germany.^[3] Preliminary results showed that the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) won the election, and the three parties announced their intention to form a new centre-right government with Angela Merkel as Chancellor. Their main opponent, Frank-Walter Steinmeier's Social Democratic Party (SPD), conceded defeat.^[4] The Christian Democrats previously governed in coalition with the FDP in most of the 1949–1966 governments of Konrad Adenauer and Ludwig Erhard and the 1982–1998 governments of Helmut Kohl.

Campaign

Since the 2005 election, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) had governed in a grand coalition with the SPD. However, it was her stated goal to win a majority for CDU/CSU and FDP (the CDU/CSU's traditional coalition partner) in 2009.

Foreign minister and Vice Chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) was formally nominated as his party's chancellor-candidate at a convention on 18 October 2008.^[5] He aimed to form a government in which the SPD was the strongest party, but which also excluded the left-socialist party The Left.

The election campaign was considered exceptionally boring,^[6] which may be attributable to a perceived lack of charisma on the part of the leaders of the CDU and SPD.^[7] Another reason pointed to for the sedate campaign is that the CDU and SPD both defended the record of their grand coalition, as well as facing the possibility of having to continue the grand coalition in a friendly manner.^[8] Merkel was content with the low-key campaign style, which was largely seen as benefiting her party because of her high approval ratings.^[9]

One of the lighter moments in the campaign came when CDU candidate Vera Lengsfeld released a campaign poster featuring herself and Merkel in a way that emphasised their cleavage. The poster bore the slogan "We have more to offer" (German: "Wir haben mehr zu bieten").^[10]

The federal election was the final and most important election in what is called a Superwahljahr (super election year) in Germany. In addition to the election of a new Bundestag, also scheduled for 2009 were the election to the European Parliament on 7 June, seven local elections on the same day, five state elections and an additional local election in August and September and the election of the President of Germany by the Federal Assembly on 23 May.

Opinion polls

The CDU/CSU and FDP, with an average vote share of around 50% in pre-election polling during the weeks before the election, were clearly ahead of the other traditional coalition partners in Germany, SPD and the Greens.^[11]

Institute	Date	CDU/CSU	SPD	Greens	FDP	The Left	Others
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen^[12]	18 Sept	36%	25%	10%	13%	11%	5%
Forsa	16 Sept	37%	24%	11%	12%	10%	6%
Allensbach	16 Sept	36%	22.5%	12%	12.5%	12%	6%
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen^[12]	11 Sept	36%	23%	11%	14%	11%	5%
Infratest dimap^[12]	10 Sept	35%	23%	12%	14%	12%	4%
Allensbach^[13]	9 Sept	35%	22.5%	13%	13%	11.5%	5%
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen^[12]	4 Sept	37%	23%	11%	15%	10%	4%
Emnid^[12]	3 Sept	34%	26%	11%	14%	11%	4%
INFO GmbH^[14]	2 Sept	35%	23%	12%	14%	11%	4%
Allensbach^[12]	1 Sept	35.5%	23%	13.5%	14%	9.5%	4.5%
GMS^[12]	24 Aug	37%	23%	13%	13%	9%	5%

Results

Party list election results by state: blue denotes states where CDU/CSU had the plurality of votes; purple denotes states where Die Linke had the plurality of votes; and pink denotes states where the SPD had the plurality of votes

Party list results by constituency

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) were able to form a centre-right government, with Angela Merkel of the CDU continuing as the Chancellor and the leader of the FDP, Guido Westerwelle, becoming Foreign Minister and Vice-Chancellor.^[15]

The CDU/CSU received a slightly lower proportion than in the previous election, with the Bavarian CSU receiving its lowest vote share in decades.^[16] Overall, the CDU/CSU had their worst vote share in 60 years^[17] In contrast, their preferred coalition partner, the liberal FDP, gained nearly 5% points to give it 14.6% of the vote, the best result of its history. The big loser of the election was the SPD which received its worst result ever in a federal election, receiving only 23% of the total party vote and suffering the biggest percentage loss of any party in German federal election history in 60 years. The two other parties represented in the Bundestag, the Left and the Greens, both made large gains and received the highest vote share of their respective histories. For the first time, The Left won constituency seats outside its traditional stronghold of East Berlin. As a result of the losses by the SPD and the gains by the FDP, the alliance of the CDU/CSU and FDP received an outright majority of seats, ensuring that Angela Merkel would continue as Chancellor.

Had the CDU/CSU and FDP failed to win a majority of seats, possible alternative coalitions may have included a continuation of the grand coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD. A traffic light coalition (SPD–FDP–Greens) was specifically ruled out by FDP leader Guido Westerwelle.^[18]

**Summary of the 27 September 2009 German Bundestag election results**
Parties		Constituency					Party list					Total seats
Parties		Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−	Seats	+/−	%
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)^{[lower-alpha 1]}	13,856,674	32.0	−0.6	173	+67	11,828,277	27.3	−0.5	21	−53	194	+14	31.2
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	12,079,758	27.9	−10.5	64	−81	9,990,488	23.0	−11.2	82	+5	146	−76	23.5
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	4,076,496	9.4	+4.7	0	±0	6,316,080	14.6	+4.8	93	+32	93	+32	15.0
	The Left (DIE LINKE)	4,791,124	11.1	+3.1	16	+13	5,155,933	11.9	+3.2	60	+9	76	+22	12.2
	Alliance '90/The Greens (GRÜNE)	3,977,125	9.2	+3.8	1	±0	4,643,272	10.7	+2.6	67	+17	68	+17	10.9
	Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU)^{[lower-alpha 1]}	3,191,000	7.4	−0.9	45	+1	2,830,238	6.5	−0.9	0	−2	45	−1	7.2

	Pirate Party (PIRATEN)	46,770	0.1	+0.1	0	±0	847,870	2.0	+2.0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	National Democratic Party (NPD)	768,442	1.8	−0.0	0	±0	635,525	1.5	−0.1	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Human Environment Animal Welfare	16,887	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	230,872	0.5	+0.3	0	±0	0	±0	0
	The Republicans (REP)	30,061	0.1	−0.0	0	±0	193,396	0.4	−0.1	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Ecological Democratic Party (ödp)	105,653	0.2	+0.2	0	±0	132,249	0.3	+0.3	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Family Party (FAMILIE)	17,848	0.0	−0.1	0	±0	120,718	0.3	−0.1	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Alliance 21/RRP	37,946	0.1	+0.1	0	±0	100,605	0.2	+0.2	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Pensioners' Party (RENTNER)	–	–	–	–	–	56,399	0.1	+0.1	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Bavaria Party (BP)	32,324	0.1	+0.1	0	±0	48,311	0.1	±0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	German People's Union (DVU)	–	–	–	–	–	45,752	0.1	+0.1	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Party of Bible-abiding Christians (PBC)	12,052	0.0	−0.1	0	±0	40,370	0.1	−0.1	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Civil Rights Movement Solidarity (BüSo)	34,894	0.1	±0	0	±0	38,706	0.1	±0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	The Violets – for Spiritual Politics (DIE VIOLETTEN)	5,794	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	31,957	0.1	+0.1	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Marxist Leninist Party (MLPD)	17,512	0.0	±0	0	±0	29,261	0.1	±0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Alliance for Germany (Volksabstimmung)	2,550	0.0	±0	0	±0	23,015	0.1	+0.1	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Free Voters (FWD)	–	–	–	–	–	11,243	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Christian Centre (CM)	–	–	–	–	–	6,826	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Centre Party (ZENTRUM)	369	0.0	±0	0	±0	6,087	0.0	±0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Social Equality Party (PSG)	–	–	–	–	–	2,957	0.0	±0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Alliance of the Centre (ADM)	396	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	2,889	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	German Communist Party (DKP)	929	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	1,894	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Free Union	6,121	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	–	–	–	–	–	0	±0	0
	Electoral groups and independents	139,275	0.3	±0	0	±0	–	–	–	–	–	0	±0	0
Invalid/blank votes		757,575	—	—	—	—	634,385	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Totals		44,005,575	100.0	±0.0	299	±0	44,005,575	100	±0.0	323	+8	622	+8	±0
Registered voters/turnout		62,168,489	70.8	−6.9	—	—	62,168,489	70.8	−6.9	—	—	—	—	—
Source: Federal Returning Officer

1 2 The Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria call themselves sister parties. They do not compete against each other in the same geographical regions and they form one group within the Bundestag.

↓
239	93	146	76	68
CDU/CSU	FDP	SPD	Linke	Grüne

Popular Vote

CDU/CSU			33.80%
SPD			23.03%
FDP			14.56%
DIE LINKE			11.89%
B'90/GRÜNE			10.71%
PIRATEN			1.95%
Other			4.06%

Bundestag seats

CDU/CSU			38.42%
SPD			23.47%
FDP			14.95%
DIE LINKE			12.22%
B'90/GRÜNE			10.93%

Results by state

State	CDU/CSU (%)	SPD (%)	FDP (%)	Left (%)	Green (%)	others (%)
Baden-Württemberg	34.5	19.3	18.8	7.2	13.9	6.3
Bavaria	42.6	16.8	14.7	6.5	10.8	8.6
Berlin	22.8	20.2	11.5	20.2	17.4	7.9
Brandenburg	23.6	25.1	9.3	28.5	6.1	7.4
Bremen	23.9	30.3	10.6	14.2	15.4	5.6
Hamburg	27.9	27.4	13.2	11.2	15.6	4.7
Hesse	32.2	25.6	16.6	8.5	12.0	5.1
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	33.2	16.6	9.8	29.0	5.5	5.9
Lower Saxony	33.2	29.3	13.3	8.6	10.7	4.9
North Rhine-Westphalia	33.1	28.5	14.9	8.4	10.1	5.0
Rhineland-Palatinate	35.0	23.8	16.6	9.4	9.7	5.5
Saarland	30.7	24.7	11.9	21.2	6.8	4.7
Saxony	35.6	14.6	13.3	24.5	6.7	5.3
Saxony-Anhalt	30.1	16.9	10.3	32.4	5.1	5.2
Schleswig-Holstein	32.2	26.8	16.3	7.9	12.7	4.1
Thuringia	31.2	17.6	9.8	28.8	6.0	6.6

Source: Bundeswahlleiter^[19]

References

↑ with Gregor Gysi as co-leaders in the campaign
↑ and Renate Künast as co-leaders in the campaign
↑ "Der Wahltermin für die Bundestagswahl 2009". Der Bundeswahlleiter. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
↑ "Merkel's rival concedes defeat in German election". London: Telegraph. 27 September 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
↑ "Frank-Walter Steinmeier zum SPD-Kanzlerkandidaten gewählt". Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands. 18 October 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2008.
↑ "Apathy in Germany: Record Low Voter Turnout Expected in National Election". Der Spiegel. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
↑ "'Merkel factor' could decide German vote". BBC News. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
↑ "The left in the German elections". Socialist Worker Online. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
↑ Chu, Henry (27 September 2009). "German election a yawner for voters". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
↑ "German Politician Uses Merkel's Cleavage to Woo Voters". 11 August 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
↑ "Opinion Poll Tracker Bundestagswahl 2009 Germany's Federal Election". Alexej Behnisch. 17 July 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Sonntagsfrage – Umfragen zur Bundestagswahl (Wahlumfrage, Wahlumfragen)". Wahlrecht.de. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
↑ Allensbach-Umfrage: Vorsprung für Schwarz-Gelb schrumpft. FAZ.NET, 9 September 2009
↑ "Sonntagsfrage – Umfragen zur Bundestagswahl weiterer Institute". Wahlrecht.de. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
↑ "Merkel's FDP Coalition Partner Approves Four-Year Policy Plan". Bloomberg. 25 October 2009.
↑ "Boost for the FDP: The German Election's Biggest Winner". Der Spiegel Online. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
↑ The Economist, 28 September 2009
↑ Spiegel Interview With FDP Leader Westerwelle, 18 August 2009
↑ Vorläufiges Ergebnis der Bundestagswahl 2009 in den Ländern

External links

Official voting results from the Federal Returning Officer
Opinion poll tracker with data
Opinion poll tracker with graph and monthly average
The Candidates
Analysis of the election by Ingo Schmidt: The German Federal Elections: Centre-Right Wins Majority, Social Democracy Suffers Crushing Defeat, The Left Receives a Boost

Elections in Germany

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See also elections in Baden-Württemberg Bavaria Berlin Brandenburg Bremen Hamburg Hesse Lower Saxony Mecklenburg-Vorpommern North Rhine-Westphalia Rhineland-Palatinate Saarland Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Schleswig-Holstein Thuringia East Germany East Prussia Lower Silesia

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