2005 Schleswig-Holstein state election

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2005 Schleswig-Holstein state election
← 2000 20 February 2005[1] 2009 →
All 69 seats of the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein
35 seats needed for a majority
Turnout1,434,805 (66.5%)
Decrease 3.0%
  First party Second party Third party
  PeterHarryCarstenseninHH03102008.jpg Heide Simonis.jpg 2013-08-23 - Wolfgang Kubicki - 8689.jpg
Leader Peter Harry Carstensen Heide Simonis Wolfgang Kubicki
Party CDU SPD FDP
Last election 33 seats, 35.2% 41 seats, 43.1% 7 seats, 7.6%
Seats won 30 29 4
Seat change Decrease 3 Decrease 12 Decrease 3
Popular vote 576,095 554,879 94,935
Percentage 40.2% 38.7% 6.6%
Swing Increase 5.0% Decrease 4.4% Decrease 1.0%
  Fourth party Fifth party
  1460-ri-107-Anke Spoorendonk SSW.jpg
Leader Anke Spoorendonk
Party Green SSW
Last election 5 seats, 6.2% 3 seats, 4.1%
Seats won 4 2
Seat change Decrease 1 Decrease 1
Popular vote 89,387 51,920
Percentage 6.2% 3.6%
Swing Steady 0.0% Decrease 0.5%
Schleswig-Holstein Landtagswahlkarte 2005.svg
Results for the direct mandates.
Minister-President before election

Heide Simonis
SPD

Elected Minister-President

Peter Harry Carstensen
CDU

The 2005 Schleswig-Holstein state election was held on 20 February 2005 to elect the members of the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein. The incumbent coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Greens led by Minister-President Heide Simonis was defeated. After a failed attempt to invest a minority SPD–Green government supported by the South Schleswig Voters' Association (SSW), the SPD agreed to join a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). CDU leader Peter Harry Carstensen was subsequently elected Minister-President.

Campaign and issues[]

Surveys before the election indicated that most voters considered high unemployment in Germany and Schleswig-Holstein to be the key issue of the campaign. Pre-election polls indicated that the personal popularity of Heide Simonis was still high, though, and that the SPD–Green coalition had the support of a plurality of voters. However, the unpopularity of the federal SPD and the Hartz IV reforms appeared to have taken a toll.

Parties[]

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein.

Name Ideology Leader(s) 2000 result
Votes (%) Seats
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands 		Social democracy Heide Simonis 43.1%
41 / 89
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands 		Christian democracy Peter Harry Carstensen 35.2%
33 / 89
FDP Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei 		Classical liberalism Wolfgang Kubicki 7.6%
7 / 89
Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen 		Green politics 6.2%
5 / 89
SSW South Schleswig Voters' Association
Südschleswigscher Wählerverband 		Danish and Frisian minority interests Anke Spoorendonk 4.1%
3 / 89

Opinion polling[]

Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size 		SPD CDU FDP Grüne SSW Others Lead
2005 state election 20 Feb 2005 – 38.7 40.2 6.6 6.2 3.6 4.7 1.5
Forsa 16 Feb 2005 1,002 40 37 7 6 4 6 3
Universität Kiel 17 Jan–11 Feb 2005 750 39.4 37.3 7.0 10.6 3.3 1.2 2.1
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 8–10 Feb 2005 1,106 40 37 7 7 4 5 3
Infratest dimap 7–9 Feb 2005 1,000 41 36 7 7.5 3 5.5 5
Forsa 1–4 Feb 2005 1,059 40 37 7 7 3 6 3
Infratest dimap 14–18 Jan 2005 1,000 40 37 7 8 3 5 3
Forsa 17–21 Dec 2004 752 39 37 7 7 4 6 2
Infratest dimap 8–13 Dec 2004 1,000 38 39 7 8 3 5 1
Infratest dimap 1–3 Nov 2004 1,000 38 39 6 10 3 4 1
Infratest dimap 18–23 Aug 2004 1,000 31 42 7 11 4 5 11
Forsa 22 Aug 2004 ? 32 40 8 9 5 6 8
dimap 7–12 May 2004 1,005 31 48 6 9 4 2 17
Forsa 22 Feb 2004 ? 33 44 8 8 4 3 11
dimap 17 Dec 2003 ? 29 48 6 9 4 4 19
dimap 2 May 2001 1,005 41 35 10 6 4 4 6
2000 state election 27 Feb 2000 – 43.1 35.2 7.6 6.2 4.1 3.7 7.9

Election result[]

Summary of the 20 February 2005 election results for the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein
2005 Schleswig-Holstein state election - composition chart.svg
Party Votes % +/- Seats +/- Seats %
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 576,095 40.2 Increase5.0 30 Decrease3 43.5
Social Democratic Party (SPD) 554,879 38.7 Decrease4.4 29 Decrease12 42.0
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 94,935 6.6 Decrease1.0 4 Decrease3 5.8
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 89,387 6.2 Steady0.0 4 Decrease1 5.8
South Schleswig Voters' Association (SSW) 51,920 3.6 Decrease0.5 2 Decrease1 2.9
National Democratic Party (NPD) 27,676 1.9 Increase0.9 0 ±0 0
Others 39,913 2.8 0 ±0 0
Total 1,434,805 100.0 69 Decrease20
Voter turnout 66.5 Decrease3.0
Popular Vote
CDU
 
 40.15%
SPD
 
 38.67%
FDP
 
 6.62%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
 6.23%
SSW
 
 3.62%
Other
 
 4.71%
Landtag seats
CDU
 
 43.48%
SPD
 
 42.03%
FDP
 
 5.80%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
 5.80%
SSW
 
 2.90%

Outcome[]

After the election, the SPD–Green coalition no longer commanded a majority of the Landtag. The SSW announced that although it would not enter a coalition, it saw more common ground with the SPD than the CDU. Minister-President Simonis proceeded to form an SPD–Green coalition based on an agreement with the SSW backing it.

On 17 March, the vote to invest the government failed, with the secret ballot tying 34–34. It is not known who abstained, though it is widely believed to have been a representative of the SPD. Since the coalition had failed, the SPD was forced to negotiate a grand coalition agreement with the CDU, capitulating to the CDU's demand that CDU leader Peter Harry Carstensen replace Simonis as Minister-President.

References[]

  1. ^ "Endgültiges Ergebnis der 2009er Landtagswahl in Schleswig-Holstein" (PDF) (in German). . 2010-01-28. Retrieved 2012-05-05.[permanent dead link]
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