Berlin state election, 2001
Encyclopedia
The Berlin state election, 2001, was conducted on 21 October 2001, to elect members to the Abgeordnetenhaus
(House of Deputies) of Berlin
.
(CDU) was broken following a scandal about the CDU parliamentary leader Klaus-Rüdiger Landowsky: He had been the CEO of a public mortgage bank
at the same time and, in this role, he had financed a risky deal of two men, who had donated money to the local CDU organisation. This scandal cost the city of Berlin several billion euros. The SPD left the coalition, which had governed Berlin since 1990, and formed an interim government with the Greens, that lacked a parliamentary majority and was supported by the socialist PDS. Klaus Wowereit
became Governing Mayor after a constructive vote of no confidence
against Eberhard Diepgen on 15 June. The House of Deputies voted for its self-dissolution.
The campaign was widely influenced by the bad state of the public finances and the "bank scandal". The CDU nominated the 35-year-old Frank Steffel for mayor and concentrated on the fear before a participation of the ex-communist PDS in the government and on security issues, especially after 11 September 2001. The style of negative campaigning backfired against the CDU.
, a traffic-light-coalition between the SPD, the FDP and the Greens, or a red-red coalition of SPD and PDS. Because the grand coalition was just broken five months ago and a cooperation with the PDS, which was the successor of the GDR's communist party, seemed inopportune, the SPD started negotiations with the Greens and the FDP. These negotiations failed, officially due to financial issues. Thus, Wowereit justified the coalition with the PDS as the only possibility remaining. The agenda of the new coalition (the second in a German state after Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
) consisted mostly of strict cuts of public spending.
Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin
The Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin is the state parliament for the German state of Berlin, according to the state's constitution. The parliament is based at the building on Niederkirchnerstraße in Mitte which until 1934 was the seat of the lower house of the Preußischer Landtag...
(House of Deputies) of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Issues and campaign
The 2001 election was a premature election. In June 2001, the grand coalition under Eberhard DiepgenEberhard Diepgen
Eberhard Diepgen is a German politician of the CDU. He studied law at the Free University of Berlin. He was mayor of West Berlin from 1984 to 1989 and a reunited Berlin from 1991 to 2001.-References:...
(CDU) was broken following a scandal about the CDU parliamentary leader Klaus-Rüdiger Landowsky: He had been the CEO of a public mortgage bank
Mortgage bank
A Mortgage bank specializes in originating and/or servicing mortgage loans.A mortgage bank is a state-licensed banking entity that makes mortgage loans directly to consumers...
at the same time and, in this role, he had financed a risky deal of two men, who had donated money to the local CDU organisation. This scandal cost the city of Berlin several billion euros. The SPD left the coalition, which had governed Berlin since 1990, and formed an interim government with the Greens, that lacked a parliamentary majority and was supported by the socialist PDS. Klaus Wowereit
Klaus Wowereit
Klaus Wowereit is a German politician, member of the SPD , and has been the Mayor of Berlin since the 2001 state elections, where his party won a plurality of the votes, 29.7%. He served as President of the Bundesrat in 2001/02. His SPD-led coalition was re-elected in the 2006 elections...
became Governing Mayor after a constructive vote of no confidence
Constructive vote of no confidence
The constructive vote of no confidence is a variation on the motion of no confidence which allows a parliament to withdraw confidence from a head of government only if there is a positive majority for a prospective successor...
against Eberhard Diepgen on 15 June. The House of Deputies voted for its self-dissolution.
The campaign was widely influenced by the bad state of the public finances and the "bank scandal". The CDU nominated the 35-year-old Frank Steffel for mayor and concentrated on the fear before a participation of the ex-communist PDS in the government and on security issues, especially after 11 September 2001. The style of negative campaigning backfired against the CDU.
Results
| Party | Party List votes | Vote percentage (change) | Total Seats (change) | Seat percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 385,692 | 23.8% | -17.0% | 35 | -41 | 24.8% |
| Social Democratic Party Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... (SPD) |
481,772 | 29.7% | +7.3% | 44 | +2 | 31.2% |
| Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) | 366,292 | 22.6% | +4.9% | 33 | +0 | 23.4% |
| Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir... |
148,066 | 9.1% | -0.8% | 14 | -4 | 9.9% |
| Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... (FDP) |
160,953 | 9.9% | +7.7% | 15 | +15 | 10.6% |
| The Republicans | 21,836 | 1.3% | -1.4% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| The Grays | 22,093 | 1.4% | +0.3% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| All Others | 36,634 | 2.3% | -1.0% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| Totals | 1,623,338 | 100.0% | 141 | -28 | 100.0% | |
Post-election
The CDU suffered enormous losses, from which all the other parties could profit, but the interim minority government of SPD and Greens had not got a majority. The politically possible options for forming a government were a renewed grand coalitionGrand coalition
A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government...
, a traffic-light-coalition between the SPD, the FDP and the Greens, or a red-red coalition of SPD and PDS. Because the grand coalition was just broken five months ago and a cooperation with the PDS, which was the successor of the GDR's communist party, seemed inopportune, the SPD started negotiations with the Greens and the FDP. These negotiations failed, officially due to financial issues. Thus, Wowereit justified the coalition with the PDS as the only possibility remaining. The agenda of the new coalition (the second in a German state after Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a federal state in northern Germany. The capital city is Schwerin...
) consisted mostly of strict cuts of public spending.