North Rhine-Westphalia state election, 2010
Encyclopedia
The North Rhine-Westphalia state election, 2010, was an election held on May 9, 2010, to elect members to the Landtag
(state legislature) of the German
state
of North Rhine-Westphalia
. The incumbent government at the election was the Christian Democrat (CDU)–FDP
administration of Minister-President
Jürgen Rüttgers
. The main opposition was the Social Democrats
(SPD), led by Hannelore Kraft
since 2005.
As the election was held in Germany's most populous state, it was seen as a test of the federal government
's performance after seven months in office. The federal government, also a CDU-FDP coalition, was accused of being indecisive as the two coalition partners had different aims. As the Bundesrat
(upper house) is made up of representatives from the states, the federal government risked losing its narrow majority in that house.
as well as a fundraising scandal in the governing party and debate over the state's education policy.
basis, with 128 constituency or local electorate seats, and the remaining seats filled by party lists from the overall proportion of votes received by each party. The CDU won 67 and the SPD won 61 constituency seats. Unlike the 2005 state election
, no overhang seat
s were required, so the number of seats to be filled was 181 (down from 187), the lowest number of members required by the state's Electoral Act.
The turnout of 59.3% was the second lowest at a NRW state election (the lowest being the 2000 election
, at 56.7%.) Both major parties did poorly — the CDU achieved its worst ever result, while the SPD achieved its worst result since 1950. It was also the first election since 1950 where a left-wing party had won seats.
, with the CDU and SPD each securing 67 of the Landtag's 181 seats. This represented a significant decline in the CDU's fortunes, and its worst ever result at an election in North Rhine-Westphalia — however, the SPD, to a lesser extent, also lost votes and seats. The main beneficiaries of the election were parties to the left of the SPD — the Greens and Die Linke
, the latter winning seats for the first time. Ultimately, after various coalition options were exhausted, the SPD and Greens formed a minority coalition which was affirmed by the Landtag on July 14, 2010, and Kraft succeeded Rüttgers as Minister-President.
The final composition of the ultimate government coalition took two months to determine. Neither of the traditional coalitions (SPD-Green or CDU-FDP) has sufficient numbers to command a majority, so the most likely results according to analysts are a grand coalition
, a coalition between the left-of-centre parties, or a coalition between the SPD, Greens and the FDP. On May 15, 2010, the FDP declined an offer from the SPD and the Greens to enter talks, saying the offer "obviously lacked seriousness" as they had on the same day made a similar offer to Die Linke
. By May 23, 2010, negotiations between Die Linke and the SPD-Green group appeared to have broken down. This prompted the FDP to re-enter negotiations with the SPD-Greens (which, if successful, would result in a traffic light coalition
), whilst grand coalition talks with the CDU also continued.
In ensuing weeks, the SPD and Greens negotiated a deal for minority government, and on July 14, the Landtag formally elected Kraft as Minister-President.
Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia is the state diet of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It convenes in Düsseldorf and currently consists of 181 members of five Parties...
(state legislature) of the German
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...
state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
. The incumbent government at the election was the Christian Democrat (CDU)–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...
administration of Minister-President
Minister-President
A minister-president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments, in which a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government prevails, who presides over the council of ministers...
Jürgen Rüttgers
Jürgen Rüttgers
Jürgen Rüttgers is a German politician and former Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, widely known for his views on immigration and the much-discussed phrase "Kinder statt Inder" which was a media interpretation of "Statt Inder an die Computer müssen unsere Kinder an die Computer"...
. The main opposition was the Social Democrats
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD), led by Hannelore Kraft
Hannelore Kraft
Hannelore Kraft is a German politician. She is the leader of the Social Democratic Party in North Rhine-Westphalia and the current Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia. Kraft is the first woman to fill this post since it was created in 1946...
since 2005.
As the election was held in Germany's most populous state, it was seen as a test of the federal government
Cabinet Merkel II
The Merkel Cabinet II is the current government of Germany since October 28, 2009, during the 17th legislature of the Bundestag. Led by the Christian Democrat Angela Merkel , it is supported by a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union , Christian Social Union of Bavaria and the Free...
's performance after seven months in office. The federal government, also a CDU-FDP coalition, was accused of being indecisive as the two coalition partners had different aims. As the Bundesrat
Bundesrat of Germany
The German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level...
(upper house) is made up of representatives from the states, the federal government risked losing its narrow majority in that house.
Election issues
Other factors in the election were the proposed EU bailout of Greece2010 European sovereign debt crisis
From late 2009, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed among investors concerning some European states, intensifying in early 2010 and thereafter.....
as well as a fundraising scandal in the governing party and debate over the state's education policy.
Results
The election was conducted on a mixed member proportional representationMixed member proportional representation
Mixed-member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is a voting system originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and nowadays adopted by numerous legislatures around the world...
basis, with 128 constituency or local electorate seats, and the remaining seats filled by party lists from the overall proportion of votes received by each party. The CDU won 67 and the SPD won 61 constituency seats. Unlike the 2005 state election
North Rhine-Westphalia state election, 2005
The North Rhine-Westphalia state election, 2005, was conducted on May 22, 2005, to elect members to the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany...
, no overhang seat
Overhang seat
Overhang seats can arise in elections under the traditional mixed member proportional system, when a party is entitled to fewer seats as a result of party votes than it has won constituencies.-How overhang seats arise:...
s were required, so the number of seats to be filled was 181 (down from 187), the lowest number of members required by the state's Electoral Act.
The turnout of 59.3% was the second lowest at a NRW state election (the lowest being the 2000 election
North Rhine-Westphalia state election, 2000
The North Rhine-Westphalia state election, 2000, was conducted on May 14, 2000, to elect members to the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia.-Results:-Post-election:...
, at 56.7%.) Both major parties did poorly — the CDU achieved its worst ever result, while the SPD achieved its worst result since 1950. It was also the first election since 1950 where a left-wing party had won seats.
Opinion polling
The following opinion polls were conducted during the campaign:| Pollster | Date | CDU | SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
GRÜNE | 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... |
DIE LINKE 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.... |
Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emnid | 06.05.2010 | 37 % | 33 % | 12 % | 8 % | 5 % | 5 % |
| Forsa | 06.05.2010 | 37 % | 37 % | 10 % | 6 % | 5 % | 5 % |
| GMS | 05.05.2010 | 37 % | 33 % | 12 % | 7 % | 6 % | 5 % |
| YouGov | 03.05.2010 | 35 % | 35 % | 11 % | 8 % | 7 % | ? |
| Emnid | 02.05.2010 | 38 % | 33 % | 11% | 8 % | 6 % | 4 % |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 30.04.2010 | 35 % | 33,5 % | 11 % | 8,5 % | 6 % | 6 % (3% PIRATE) |
| Infratest dimap | 29.04.2010 | 37,5 % | 33,0 % | 12,0 % | 7,5 % | 5,5 % | 4,5 % |
| Forsa | 28.04.2010 | 39 % | 33 % | 10 % | 7 % | 6 % | 5 % |
| Emnid | 24.04.2010 | 38 % | 34 % | 11 % | 8 % | 6 % | 3 % |
| Omniquest | 23.04.2010 | 37,5 % | 36,8 % | 12,8 % | 5,1 % | 4,8 % | 2,9 % |
| Forsa | 21.04.2010 | 38% | 34% | 9% | 8% | 6% | 5% |
| Forsa | 14.04.2010 | 39 % | 34 % | 11 % | 6 % | 5 % | 5 % |
| Infratest dimap | 11.04.2010 | 38 % | 34 % | 12 % | 7 % | 6 % | 3 % |
| GMS | 09.04.2010 | 39 % | 32 % | 12 % | 7 % | 6 % | 4 % |
| Emnid | 04.04.2010 | 38 % | 32 % | 12 % | 8 % | 7 % | 3 % |
| Emnid | 24.03.2010 | 38 % | 32 % | 11 % | 8 % | 7 % | 4 % |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 19.03.2010 | 37 % | 33 % | 12 % | 8 % | 6 % | 4 % |
| Emnid | 12.03.2010 | 37 % | 33 % | 12 % | 8 % | 7 % | 3 % |
| Infratest dimap | 04.03.2010 | 35 % | 33 % | 13 % | 10 % | 6 % | 3 % |
| Forsa | 03.03.2010 | 38 % | 34 % | 11 % | 6 % | 6 % | 5 % |
| GMS | 25.02.2010 | 39 % | 31 % | 12 % | 7 % | 6 % | 5 % |
| Forsa | 03.02.2010 | 41 % | 32 % | 11 % | 6 % | 5 % | 5 % |
| Infratest dimap | 22.01.2010 | 36 % | 32 % | 12 % | 9 % | 6 % | 5 % |
| Forsa | 19.01.2010 | 42 % | 31 % | 11 % | 6 % | 5 % | 5 % |
| Infratest dimap | 22.11.2009 | 36 % | 30 % | 11 % | 10 % | 8 % | 5 % |
| Forsa | 18.11.2009 | 41 % | 31 % | 9 % | 9 % | 6 % | 4 % |
| GMS | 12.08.2009 | 39 % | 29 % | 9 % | 12 % | 5 % | 6 % |
| Infratest dimap | 14.06.2009 | 38 % | 27 % | 12 % | 14 % | 6 % | 3 % |
| Forsa | 06.05.2009 | 42 % | 30 % | 8 % | 11 % | 5 % | 4 % |
Post-election
The result of the election was a hung parliamentHung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
, with the CDU and SPD each securing 67 of the Landtag's 181 seats. This represented a significant decline in the CDU's fortunes, and its worst ever result at an election in North Rhine-Westphalia — however, the SPD, to a lesser extent, also lost votes and seats. The main beneficiaries of the election were parties to the left of the SPD — the Greens and Die Linke
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....
, the latter winning seats for the first time. Ultimately, after various coalition options were exhausted, the SPD and Greens formed a minority coalition which was affirmed by the Landtag on July 14, 2010, and Kraft succeeded Rüttgers as Minister-President.
The final composition of the ultimate government coalition took two months to determine. Neither of the traditional coalitions (SPD-Green or CDU-FDP) has sufficient numbers to command a majority, so the most likely results according to analysts are a grand coalition
Grand 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 coalition between the left-of-centre parties, or a coalition between the SPD, Greens and the FDP. On May 15, 2010, the FDP declined an offer from the SPD and the Greens to enter talks, saying the offer "obviously lacked seriousness" as they had on the same day made a similar offer to Die Linke
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....
. By May 23, 2010, negotiations between Die Linke and the SPD-Green group appeared to have broken down. This prompted the FDP to re-enter negotiations with the SPD-Greens (which, if successful, would result in a traffic light coalition
Traffic light coalition
Traffic light coalition is a term originating in German politics where it describes a coalition of the Social Democratic Party , the Free Democratic Party , and The Greens. It arises from the fact that the parties' traditional colours, respectively red, yellow, and green, resemble the normal...
), whilst grand coalition talks with the CDU also continued.
In ensuing weeks, the SPD and Greens negotiated a deal for minority government, and on July 14, the Landtag formally elected Kraft as Minister-President.
External links
- http://www.wahlergebnisse.nrw.de/landtagswahlen/2010/aktuell/dateien/txtdateien/a136lw1000.txt