2012 Saarland state election

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2012 Saarland state election
← 2009 25 March 2012 2017 →
All 51 seats of the Landtag of the Saarland
26 seats needed for a majority
Turnout481,294 (61.6%)
Decrease 6.0%
  First party Second party Third party
  Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer 2 par Claude Truong-Ngoc janvier 2015.jpg 2017-03-26 Heiko Maas by Sandro Halank–4.jpg Oskar Lafontaine (DIE LINKE) in Hamm (10571425525).jpg
Leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Heiko Maas Oskar Lafontaine
Party CDU SPD Left
Last election 19 seats, 34.5% 13 seats, 24.5% 11 seats, 21.3%
Seats won 19 17 9
Seat change Steady 0 Increase 4 Decrease 2
Popular vote 169,617 147,170 77,612
Percentage 35.2% 30.6% 16.1%
Swing Increase 0.7% Increase 6.1% Decrease 5.2%
  Fourth party Fifth party
  Jasmin Maurer.jpg
Simone Peter 2014.jpg
Leader Jasmin Maurer Simone Peter
Party Pirates Green
Last election Did not contest 3 seats, 5.9%
Seats won 4 2
Seat change Increase 4 Decrease 1
Popular vote 35,656 24,252
Percentage 7.4% 5.0%
Swing Increase 7.4% Decrease 0.9%
2012 Saarland State Election.svg
Minister-President before election

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
CDU

Elected Minister-President

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
CDU

The 2012 Saarland state election was held in on 25 March 2012 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland. The election was triggered by the collapse of the previous coalition government comprising the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Free Democratic Party (FDP), and The Greens. The CDU subsequently formed a grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and Kramp-Karrenbauer was re-elected as Minister-President.[1][2]

Background[]

After the 2009 state election, a Jamaica coalition (CDU–FDP–Green) government took office, the first of its kind in Germany. The government collapsed on 6 January 2012 due to internal issues in the FDP.[3] Minister-President Kramp-Karrenbauer stated that "[a] credible and reliable cooperation is no longer completely possible in this coalition."[3] The CDU held discussions with the Social Democratic Party in an attempt to form a grand coalition, but this failed, causing early elections to be called.[4]

Parties[]

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Saarland.

Name Ideology Leader(s) 2009 result
Votes (%) Seats
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands 		Christian democracy Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer 34.5%
19 / 51
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands 		Social democracy Heiko Maas 24.5%
13 / 51
Linke The Left
Die Linke 		Democratic socialism Oskar Lafontaine 21.3%
11 / 51
FDP Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei 		Classical liberalism Oliver Luksic 9.2%
5 / 51
Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen 		Green politics Simone Peter 5.9%
3 / 51

Opinion polling[]

Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size 		CDU SPD Linke FDP Grüne Piraten Others Lead
2012 state election 25 Mar 2012 – 35.2 30.6 16.1 1.2 5.0 7.4 4.5 4.6
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 13–15 Mar 2012 1,053 34 34 15 2 5 6 4 Tie
Infratest dimap 13–15 Mar 2012 1,000 33 33 16 3 5 6 4 Tie
Forsa 20–29 Feb 2012 1,002 35 37 14 1 4 5 4 2
Infratest dimap 21–22 Feb 2012 1,001 35 36 15 2 4 5 3 1
Emnid 24–25 Jan 2012 1,000 36 36 15 2 5 4 2 Tie
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 23–25 Jan 2012 1,039 34 38 13 2 6 5 2 4
Infratest dimap 11–15 Nov 2011 1,000 32 35 12 5 8 4 4 3
Infratest dimap 1–3 Nov 2010 1,001 32 34 17 4 9 – 4 2
Infratest dimap 10–13 Dec 2009 1,000 32 29 19 9 7 – 4 3
2009 state election 30 Aug 2009 – 34.5 24.5 21.3 9.2 5.9 – 4.6 10.0

Election result[]

Summary of the 25 March 2012 election results for the Landtag of Saarland
2012 Saarland state election - composition chart.svg
Party Votes % +/- Seats +/- Seats %
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 169,617 35.2 Increase0.7 19 Steady0 37.3
Social Democratic Party (SPD) 147,170 30.6 Increase6.1 17 Increase4 33.3
The Left (Linke) 77,612 16.1 Decrease5.2 9 Decrease2 17.6
Pirate Party (Piraten) 35,656 7.4 Increase7.4 4 Increase4 7.8
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 24,252 5.0 Decrease0.9 2 Decrease1 3.9
Family Party of Germany (FAMILIE) 8,394 1.7 Decrease0.3 0 ±0 0
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 5,871 1.2 Decrease8.0 0 Decrease5 0
National Democratic Party (NPD) 5,606 1.2 Decrease0.3 0 ±0 0
Others 7,116 1.5 0 ±0 0
Total 481,294 100.0 51 ±0
Voter turnout 61.6 Decrease6.0
Popular Vote
CDU
 
 35.24%
SPD
 
 30.58%
DIE LINKE
 
 16.13%
PIRATEN
 
 7.41%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
 5.04%
Other
 
 5.61%
Landtag seats
CDU
 
 37.25%
SPD
 
 33.33%
DIE LINKE
 
 17.65%
PIRATEN
 
 7.84%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
 3.92%

Outcome[]

Having been reelected as the largest party in the Landtag, CDU was tasked with forming the government. Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said that she was seeking to form a grand coalition with the SPD, which have 37 seats altogether. Both parties reached a coalition agreement on 24 April 2012. The CDU and SPD would control 3 ministries each. Kramp-Karrenbauer will also head the new government which will be sworn on 9 May 2012.[5]

On 9 May 2012 Kramp-Karrenbauer's new government gained the vote of confidence with 37 votes. There was 12 votes against and 2 abstentions. Her cabinet was later endorsed by the Landtag with the same number of votes.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ "CDU gewinnt Landtagswahl". tagesschau. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Große Koalition im Saarland: Kramp-Karrenbauer als Ministerpräsidentin wiedergewählt". Focus (in German). 9 May 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b Zuvela, Matt (6 January 2012). "One-of-a-kind coalition falls apart in German state". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  4. ^ Chelsom-Pill, Charlotte; Connor, Richard (20 January 2012). "Early Saarland elections planned as coalition talks fail". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Strategiespiel ums Kabinett". SZ Online. 24 April 2012.
  6. ^ "Kramp-Karrenbauer als Ministerpräsidentin wiedergewählt". Süddeutsche. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
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