Lower Saxony state election, 2003
Encyclopedia
The 2003 Lower Saxony state election was held in Lower Saxony
in north-western Germany
on 2 February 2003. The incumbent
Social Democratic Party
was defeated by the opposition Christian Democratic Union
.
. It was thought this might cause the collapse of Gerhard Schröder
's national coalition government between the Social Democrats and the Green Party
.
Opinion poll
s in December 2002 showed the Christian Democrats in the lead with 43% as against 34% for the Social Democrats.
|- bgcolor=#E9E9E9
! colspan="2" | Party
! colspan="1" | Party list votes
! colspan="2" | Vote % (change)
! colspan="2" | Seats (change)
! | Seat %
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=#6699FF align="center" |
| Christian Democratic Union
(CDU)
| align="right" | 1,925,055
| align="right" | 48.3%
| align="right" | +12.4%
| align="right" | 91
| align="right" | +29
| align="right" | 49.7%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=#CC0000 align="center" |
| Social Democratic Party
(SPD)
| align="right" | 1,330,156
| align="right" | 33.4%
| align="right" | -14.5%
| align="right" | 63
| align="right" | -20
| align="right" | 34.4%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=#FFFF00 align="center" |
| Free Democratic Party
(FDP)
| align="right" | 323,107
| align="right" | 8.1%
| align="right" | +3.2%
| align="right" | 15
| align="right" | +15
| align="right" | 8.2%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=#99CC33 align="center" |
| Green Party
(Bündnis 90/Grünen)
| align="right" | 304,532
| align="right" | 7.6%
| align="right" | +0.6%
| align="right" | 14
| align="right" | +2
| align="right" | 7.7%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=black align="center" |
| Law and Order Offensive Party
| align="right" | 40,342
| align="right" | 1.0%
| align="right" | +1.0%
| align="right" | 0
| align="right" | -
| align="right" | 0.0%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=#AA0000 align="center" |
| Party of Democratic Socialism
| align="right" | 21,560
| align="right" | 0.5%
| align="right" | +0.3%
| align="right" | 0
| align="right" | -
| align="right" | 0%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=darkgray align="center" |
| Others
| align="right" | 39,257
| align="right" | 1.0%
| align="right" | -3.0%
| align="right" | 0
| align="right" | -
| align="right" | 0%
|-
|align=left style="background-color:white"|
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| Total
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| 3,984,009
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| 100.0%
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| 183
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| +26
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| 100.0%
|-
|align=left colspan=4|Sources: Parties and Elections in Europe and Adam Carr's Election Archive
|}
(CDU) was able to form a CDU-FDP coalition and become Prime Minister instead of Sigmar Gabriel
(SPD).
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
in north-western Germany
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...
on 2 February 2003. The incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
was defeated by the opposition Christian Democratic Union
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...
.
Background
The election in Lower Saxony had larger significance than just in the state itself. Defeat for the Social Democrats in the election would mean they lost their slim majority in the upper house of the German parliament, the BundesratBundesrat of Germany
The German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level...
. It was thought this might cause the collapse of Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
's national coalition government between the Social Democrats and the Green Party
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...
.
Campaign
The economy was seen as the most important issue in the election, with the Social Democrats suffering as a result.Opinion poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
s in December 2002 showed the Christian Democrats in the lead with 43% as against 34% for the Social Democrats.
Results
Summary of the 2 February 2003 election results for the Landtag of Lower Saxony|- bgcolor=#E9E9E9
! colspan="2" | Party
! colspan="1" | Party list votes
! colspan="2" | Vote % (change)
! colspan="2" | Seats (change)
! | Seat %
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=#6699FF align="center" |
| Christian Democratic Union
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...
(CDU)
| align="right" | 1,925,055
| align="right" | 48.3%
| align="right" | +12.4%
| align="right" | 91
| align="right" | +29
| align="right" | 49.7%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=#CC0000 align="center" |
| Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD)
| align="right" | 1,330,156
| align="right" | 33.4%
| align="right" | -14.5%
| align="right" | 63
| align="right" | -20
| align="right" | 34.4%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=#FFFF00 align="center" |
| 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)
| align="right" | 323,107
| align="right" | 8.1%
| align="right" | +3.2%
| align="right" | 15
| align="right" | +15
| align="right" | 8.2%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=#99CC33 align="center" |
| Green Party
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...
(Bündnis 90/Grünen)
| align="right" | 304,532
| align="right" | 7.6%
| align="right" | +0.6%
| align="right" | 14
| align="right" | +2
| align="right" | 7.7%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=black align="center" |
| Law and Order Offensive Party
Law and Order Offensive Party
The Law and Order Offensive Party , short form Offensive D was a minor political party in Germany. It was founded in July 2000 by Hamburg judge Ronald Schill. It wished to call itself PRO but was forbidden from doing so after a judicial complaint by the Pro Deutsche Mitte party...
| align="right" | 40,342
| align="right" | 1.0%
| align="right" | +1.0%
| align="right" | 0
| align="right" | -
| align="right" | 0.0%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=#AA0000 align="center" |
| Party of Democratic Socialism
| align="right" | 21,560
| align="right" | 0.5%
| align="right" | +0.3%
| align="right" | 0
| align="right" | -
| align="right" | 0%
|-
|style="width: 20px" bgcolor=darkgray align="center" |
| Others
| align="right" | 39,257
| align="right" | 1.0%
| align="right" | -3.0%
| align="right" | 0
| align="right" | -
| align="right" | 0%
|-
|align=left style="background-color:white"|
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| Total
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| 3,984,009
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| 100.0%
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| 183
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| +26
! align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| 100.0%
|-
|align=left colspan=4|Sources: Parties and Elections in Europe and Adam Carr's Election Archive
|}
Aftermath
The SPD vote share fell dramatically, and Christian WulffChristian Wulff
Christian Wilhelm Walter Wulff is the President of Germany and a politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was elected President on 2010 and publicly swore the oath of office on . A lawyer by profession, he served as Premier of the state of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2010.-Early life and...
(CDU) was able to form a CDU-FDP coalition and become Prime Minister instead of Sigmar Gabriel
Sigmar Gabriel
Sigmar Gabriel is a German politician currently chairing the Social Democratic Party of Germany .On 15 December 1999, after the resignation of Gerhard Glogowski, who had succeeded Gerhard Schröder in office, Gabriel became Minister-President of Lower Saxony and served until 4 March 2003...
(SPD).