2004 Brandenburg state election

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2004 Brandenburg state election
← 1999 19 September 2004 2009 →
All 88 seats in the Landtag of Brandenburg
45 seats needed for a majority
Turnout1,168,909 (56.4%)
Increase 2.1%
  First party Second party
  Grundsteinlegung-schiffshebewerk-ndf-2009-37.jpg Enkelmann dagmar5 20081019 fredersdorf dsem.jpg
Leader Matthias Platzeck Dagmar Enkelmann
Party SPD PDS
Leader's seat Potsdam II Barnim II
Last election 37 seats, 39.3% 22 seats, 23.3%
Seats won 33 29
Seat change Decrease 4 Increase 7
Popular vote 372,942 326,801
Percentage 31.9% 28.0%
Swing Decrease 7.4% Increase 4.7%
  Third party Fourth party
  Joerg Schoenbohm 01.jpg
DVU
Leader Jörg Schönbohm Liane Hesselbarth
Party CDU DVU
Leader's seat State-wide party list State-wide party list
Last election 25 seats, 26.5% 5 seats, 5.3%
Seats won 20 6
Seat change Decrease 5 Increase 1
Popular vote 227,062 71,041
Percentage 19.4% 6.1%
Swing Decrease 7.1% Increase 0.8%
Landtagswahlkarte Brandenburg 2004.svg
Winning candidates in direct mandates
Government before election

Platzeck I[a]
SPD–CDU

Government after election

Platzeck II
SPD–CDU

The 2004 Brandenburg state election was held on 19 September 2004 to elect the members of the 4th Landtag of Brandenburg. The incumbent government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Minister-President Matthias Platzeck was returned with a significantly reduced majority. The Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) moved into second place, although polls prior to the election suggested it would become the largest party. The CDU fell to third place.

Background[]

The SPD had suffered losses in several state elections before Brandenburg. This was thought to be a consequence of the Agenda 2010 policy, a series of economic liberal economic reforms adopted by the federal SPD government led by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Many voters in eastern Germany turned to the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), while many in the west later turned to Labour and Social Justice, an SPD splinter party. In state elections, the SPD's growing unpopularity had chiefly benefited the CDU.

In Brandenburg, both Minister-President Matthias Platzeck (SPD) and his partner Jörg Schönbohm (CDU) supported Schröder's reforms. Both PDS and the German People's Union (DVU), which had entered the Landtag in 1999, campaigned in opposition.

Parties[]

The table below lists parties represented in the 3rd Landtag of Brandenburg.

Name Ideology Leader(s) 1999 result
Votes (%) Seats
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands 		Social democracy Matthias Platzeck 39.3%
37 / 89
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands 		Christian democracy Jörg Schönbohm 26.5%
25 / 89
PDS Party of Democratic Socialism
Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus 		Democratic socialism Dagmar Enkelmann 23.3%
22 / 89
DVU German People's Union
Deutsche Volksunion 		German nationalism 5.3%
5 / 89

Opinion polling[]

Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size 		SPD CDU PDS DVU Grüne FDP Others Lead
2004 state election 19 Sep 2004 – 31.9 19.4 28.0 6.1 3.6 3.3 7.7 3.9
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 6–9 Sep 2004 1,034 29 23 27 6 6 5 4 2
Infratest dimap 6–8 Sep 2004 1,000 27 24 31 5 5 4 4 4
Forsa 30 Aug–4 Sep 2004 1,003 28 23 35 4 4 2 4 7
Emnid 30 Aug–1 Sep 2004 751 29 25 31 3 5 4 3 2
Infratest August 2004 1,000 28 22 34 3.5 5.5 4 3 6
Forsa 16–20 Aug 2004 1,009 27 22 36 4 4 3 4 9
Infratest dimap 5–9 Aug 2004 1,001 28 26 29 4 5 4 4 1
Forsa 29 Jul–5 Aug 2004 1,001 33 27 30 – 3 3 5 3
Usuma June 2004 1,007 31 36 22 – 5 4 2 5
Forsa May 2004 1,000 33 30 22 – 6 3 6 3
Infratest dimap 15–19 Mar 2004 1,001 30 34 20 – 5 5 6 4
Infratest dimap 15–20 Oct 2003 1,000 34 32 19 – 4 6 5 2
Infratest dimap 9–15 Jun 2003 1,000 34 34 17 – 6 5 4 Tie
Infratest dimap 6–9 Mar 2003 1,000 36 35 17 – 4 5 3 1
dimap 15 Dec 2002 ? 34 36 20 – 4 2 4 2
Infratest dimap 28 Aug–1 Sep 2002 1,000 46 23 20 – 6 3 2 23
Infratest dimap 24–25 Jun 2002 1,000 40 29 21 – 2 6 2 11
Infratest dimap 24–28 Apr 2002 1,000 35 30 24 – 2 5 4 5
Forsa March 2002 1,014 37 28 24 – 3 3 5 9
Infratest dimap 9–14 Oct 2001 1,000 44 26 21 – 2 3 4 18
Infratest dimap April 2001 ? 45 25 21 – 2 3 4 20
Infratest dimap 28 Aug–2 Sep 2000 1,000 44 25 21 – 3 3 4 19
Infratest dimap 25–29 Apr 2000 1,000 42 26 23 3 3 1 2 16
1999 state election 5 Sep 1999 – 39.3 26.5 23.3 5.3 1.9 1.9 1.7 12.7

Election result[]

Summary of the 19 September 2004 election results for the Landtag of Brandenburg
Party Votes % +/- Seats +/- Seats %
Social Democratic Party (SPD) 372,942 31.9 Decrease7.4 33 Decrease4 37.5
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) 326,801 28.0 Increase4.7 29 Increase7 33.0
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 227,062 19.4 Decrease7.1 20 Decrease5 22.7
German People's Union (DVU) 71,041 6.0 Increase0.8 6 Increase1 6.8
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 42,091 3.6 Increase1.7 0 ±0 0
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 38,890 3.3 Increase1.4 0 ±0 0
Family Party (FAMILIE) 30,843 2.6 Increase2.6 0 ±0 0
Others 59,239 5.1 0 ±0 0
Total 1,168,909 100.0 88 Decrease1
Voter turnout 56.4 Increase2.1
Popular Vote
SPD
 
 31.91%
PDS
 
 27.96%
CDU
 
 19.43%
DVU
 
 6.08%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
 3.60%
FDP
 
 3.33%
FAMILIE
 
 2.64%
Other
 
 5.07%
Landtag seats
SPD
 
 37.50%
PDS
 
 32.95%
CDU
 
 22.73%
DVU
 
 6.82%

Sources[]

  1. ^ Replaced Stolpe III cabinet in June 2002.
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