European Parliament election, 2009 (Germany)
Encyclopedia
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Germany was the German
part of the European Parliament election, 2009
. The voting was held on Sunday, 7 June. A total of 26 parties competed for the 99 seats reserved for Germany in the European Parliament
. In the previous election of 2004
, the six parties, which are also currently represented in the German national parliament (Bundestag
), had entered the European Parliament by overcoming the 5% election threshold
. The same parties entered the European Parliament this time. None of the other parties managed to gain more than 1.7%. At 43.3%, the voter turnout
was just over the all-time low in the previous European election in Germany (43.0%).
Of particular interest in the European elections was the performance of the conservative CSU. The party only stands for election in the state of Bavaria
, instead of its nationwide "sister party", CDU, where it has traditionally been the dominating party, winning absolute majorities for decades. As the CSU's share of votes has to be above 5% on the national level in order to gain seats in the European Parliament, it must gain at least 35% of the Bavarian electorate to pass this threshold. While the CSU had still won 58% in the 2003 Bavaria state election
, in the state elections in 2008
, its share plummeted to only 43.4%, which was only about 6% on the national level. Despite these fears, in this European election, the CSU gained 7.2% on the national level.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
part of the European Parliament election, 2009
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
. The voting was held on Sunday, 7 June. A total of 26 parties competed for the 99 seats reserved for Germany in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. In the previous election of 2004
European Parliament election, 2004
Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...
, the six parties, which are also currently represented in the German national parliament (Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
), had entered the European Parliament by overcoming the 5% election threshold
Election threshold
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...
. The same parties entered the European Parliament this time. None of the other parties managed to gain more than 1.7%. At 43.3%, the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was just over the all-time low in the previous European election in Germany (43.0%).
Polls
| Party | Last election European Parliament election, 2004 (Germany) The European Parliament election of 2004 in Germany was the election of MEP representing Germany constituency for the 2004-2009 term of the European Parliament. The vote was held on June 13, 2004.... |
2009-04-03 Infratest |
2009-04-22 GESS |
2009-05-07 Infratest |
2009-05-28 Infratest |
2009-05-29 FW |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDU Christian Democratic Union (Germany) The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum... +CSU Christian Social Union of Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany... |
44.5% | 36% (30+6) | 39% | 37% (31+6) | 39% (33+6) | 39% | |
| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
21.5% | 28% | 27% | 28% | 26% | 25% | |
| 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... |
11.9% | 13% | 13% | 12% | 12% | 10% | |
| FDP 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... |
6.1% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 9% | 10% | |
| The Left The Left (Germany) The Left , also commonly referred to as the Left Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag.... |
6.1% | 8% | 6% | 8% | 7% | 8% | |
| Other | 9.8% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 7% | 8% | |
Of particular interest in the European elections was the performance of the conservative CSU. The party only stands for election in the state of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, instead of its nationwide "sister party", CDU, where it has traditionally been the dominating party, winning absolute majorities for decades. As the CSU's share of votes has to be above 5% on the national level in order to gain seats in the European Parliament, it must gain at least 35% of the Bavarian electorate to pass this threshold. While the CSU had still won 58% in the 2003 Bavaria state election
Bavaria state election, 2003
The Bavaria state election, 2003, was conducted on September 21, 2003, to elect members to the Landtag of Bavaria.-Results:-Post-election:...
, in the state elections in 2008
Bavaria state election, 2008
The 2008 Bavarian state election was held on September 28, 2008. Voters of the German state of Bavaria elected members to the Bavarian Landtag .-Outcome:...
, its share plummeted to only 43.4%, which was only about 6% on the national level. Despite these fears, in this European election, the CSU gained 7.2% on the national level.