2022 Saarland state election

2022 Saarland state election
All 51 seats in the Landtag of Saarland; 26 seats needed for a majority
Incumbent Minister-President and Government; Tobias Hans (CDU); CDU–SPD	; ;

The Next Saarland state election will be held on 27 March 2022 to elect the 17th Landtag of Saarland. The current government is coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Tobias Hans.

Election date[]

The Landtag is elected for five years, with its term commencing when the new Landtag first meets.^[1] As the previous election took place on 26 March 2017, the next election must take place before April 2022.

Electoral system[]

The 51 members of the Landtag are elected via closed list proportional representation using the d'Hondt method. 41 seats are distributed in three multi-member constituencies, and the remaining ten at the state level.^[2] An electoral threshold of 5% of valid votes is applied to the Landtag; parties that fall below this threshold are ineligible to receive seats.^[1]

Background[]

In the previous election held on 26 March 2017, the CDU remained the largest party with 40.7% of votes cast, an increase of 5.5 percentage points. The SPD declined slightly to 29.6%. The Left fell to 12.8%, a decline of 3.3 points. Alternative for Germany (AfD) contested its first election in Saarland, winning 6.2%. The Greens lost their representation in the Landtag with a result of 4.0%. The CDU had led a grand coalition with the SPD since 2012 under Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, which was renewed after the election.

Kramp-Karrenbauer resigned as Minister-President after her election as General-Secretary of the CDU in February 2018, and was succeeded by Tobias Hans.

Parties[]

The table below lists parties currently represented in the 16th Landtag of Saarland.

Name			Ideology	Leader(s)	Parliamentary leader(s)	2017 result		current
Name			Ideology	Leader(s)	Parliamentary leader(s)	Votes (%)	Seats	current
	CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands	Christian democracy	Tobias Hans	Alexander Funk	40.7%	24 / 51	24 / 51
	SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	Social democracy	Anke Rehlinger	Ulrich Commerçon	29.6%	17 / 51	17 / 51
	Linke	The Left Die Linke	Democratic socialism	Thomas Lutze	Oskar Lafontaine	12.8%	7 / 51	5 / 51
	AfD	Alternative for Germany Alternative für Deutschland	Right-wing populism	Christian Wirth	Josef Dörr	6.2%	3 / 51	2 / 51
	Independents						0 / 51	3 / 51

Opinion polling[]

Party polling[]

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	CDU	SPD	Linke	AfD	Grüne	FDP	Others	Lead
Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size							Others	Lead
Wahlkreisprognose	15–24 Dec 2021	1,004	33.5	38	4	7	6	6	2.5 FW 3	4.5
Infratest dimap	16–20 Nov 2021	1,165	28	33	6	9	8	8	8	5
Wahlkreisprognose	2–11 Nov 2021	–	29	38	4.5	8	5	9	3.5 FW 3	9
2021 federal election	26 Sep 2021	–	23.6	37.3	7.2	10.0	–	11.5	10.5	13.7
Wahlkreisprognose	14–22 Jul 2021	–	37	29	8	6	7.5	5	7.5	8
INSA	5–19 Jul 2021	1,048	36	27	7	6	9	7	8	9
INSA	3–10 May 2021	1,052	31	21	14	6	15	7	6	10
Infratest dimap	2–7 Nov 2020	1,000	40	22	11	8	12	3	4	18
INSA	19 Nov–2 Dec 2019	1,000	36	24	11	7	15	4	3	12
Infratest dimap	29 Apr–6 May 2019	1,000	37	25	12	8	11	4	3	12
Infratest dimap	14–19 Jun 2018	1,000	35	26	12	15	6	4	2	9
2017 state election	26 Mar 2017	–	40.7	29.6	12.8	6.2	4.0	3.3	3.4	11.1

Minister-President polling[]

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size			None/Unsure	Lead
			Hans CDU	Rehlinger SPD

Wahlkreisprognose	15–24 Dec 2021	1,004	42	44	14	2
Infratest dimap	16–20 Nov 2021	1,165	39	42	19	3
Infratest dimap	2–11 Nov 2020	1,000	52	32	16	20
Infratest dimap	8 May 2019	1,000	39	37	24	2

Party competences[]

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Category	CDU	SPD	Linke	AfD	Grüne	FDP	Others/None	Lead
Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Category							Others/None	Lead
Infratest dimap	16–20 Nov 2021	1,165
			Economy	27	33	3	5	2	8	18	6
			Education	26	32	4	4	3	6	21	6
			Jobs	24	38	3	5	2	7	18	14
			Asylum	24	26	4	9	6	3	23	2
			Health Care	24	34	4	5	4	4	21	10
			Transport	22	31	3	3	8	6	23	9
			Social justice	15	42	11	5	3	3	18	27
			Environment	12	21	3	4	34	4	18	13
			Solving Biggest Problems	24	35	3	5	3	4	20	11
Infratest dimap	2–11 Nov 2020	1,000	Corona	55	14	2	2	2	0	22	41
			Homeland security	49	13	5	8	2	1	20	36
			Economy	48	23	5	1	3	5	14	25
			Finances	44	15	7	2	2	2	26	29
			Jobs	40	29	8	2	2	4	13	11
			Health Care	40	27	6	1	3	1	19	13
			Education	34	26	8	1	5	3	20	8
			Integration	30	23	6	3	10	2	22	7
			Family	25	37	8	2	8	0	16	12
			Public transport	20	25	6	0	22	1	22	3
			Social justice	19	35	21	3	5	1	14	14
			Environment	13	11	3	1	57	1	12	44
			Solving Biggest Problems	41	19	8	3	5	2	19	22

References[]

^ ^a ^b "Constitution of Saarland" (PDF) (in German). Landtag of Saarland. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
^ "Electoral system of Saarland" (in German). Wahlrecht.de. Retrieved 30 April 2021.

[Cons-1] "Constitution of Saarland" (PDF) (in German). Landtag of Saarland. Retrieved 20 April 2021.

[2] "Electoral system of Saarland" (in German). Wahlrecht.de. Retrieved 30 April 2021.

[1]

[2]

v t Elections and referendums in Saarland
Landtag of Saarland	1922 1924 1928 1932 1990 1994 1999 2004 2009 2012 2017 Next
Municipal
Referendums	1935 1955
See also: Elections and referendums in Germany