The 2011 Hamburg state election was held on 20 February 2011 to elect the members of the 20th Hamburg Parliament. The election was triggered by the collapse of the coalition government between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Green Alternative List (GAL), which had governed the state since 2008. The election was a landslide defeat for the CDU, which lost half its voteshare and seats. The margin of defeat for the incumbent Ahlhaus Senate is the largest in post-war German history and has not been met since. Much of this lost support flowed to the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which won 62 of the 121 seats in Parliament, forming a majority government led by Olaf Scholz.
Background After the 2008 state election, the CDU formed a coalition government with the GAL. This was the first time such a government had been formed in Germany, as the Greens were seen as aligned with the SPD, typically in opposition to the CDU. Popular CDU mayor Ole von Beust was seen as a stabilising force for the government. After his retirement in August 2010 and the election of Christoph Ahlhaus as his successor, relations between the two parties became increasingly strained. In November 2010, GAL left the government."Veit Medick: 'Union schäumt, SPD träumt. Koalitionsbruch in Hamburg.'" Der Spiegel, 28 November 2010 Ahlhaus formed a minority CDU Senate and the Parliament subsequently voted to dissolve itself and hold early elections.
Parties The table below lists parties represented in the 19th Hamburg Parliament. Name Ideology Leader(s) 2008 result Votes (%) Seats CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christian democracy Christoph Ahlhaus 42.58% SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany Social democracy Olaf Scholz 34.15% GAL Green Alternative List Green politics Anja Hajduk 9.58% Linke The Left Democratic socialism Dora Heyenn 6.45%
Opinion polling Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize CDU SPD GAL Linke FDP Others Lead 2011 state election 20 Feb 2011 – 21.9 48.4 11.2 6.4 6.7 5.5 26.5 GMS 15–17 Feb 2011 1,002 25 43 15 6 5 6 18 Infratest dimap 8–10 Feb 2011 1,004 23.5 45 14 5.5 5 7 21.5 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 7–10 Feb 2011 1,686 23 46 14.5 6 5 5.5 23 Emnid 4–10 Feb 2011 1,002 24 45 15 6 5 5 21 Infratest dimap 28 Jan–2 Feb 2011 1,000 25 46 14 6 5 4 21 Trend Research Hamburg 26–31 Jan 2011 627 25 45 16 6 4 4 20 Infratest dimap 7–11 Jan 2011 1,000 26 43 17 5 4 5 17 Trend Research Hamburg 10–14 Dec 2010 648 24 45 16 8 3 4 21 Infratest dimap 10–12 Dec 2010 1,000 22 43 19 7 4 5 21 Trend Research Hamburg 2–7 Dec 2010 678 22 45 17 7 3 6 23 Trend Research Hamburg 29 Nov–2 Dec 2010 653 24 44 17 7 4 5 20 Psephos 29 Nov–1 Dec 2010 1,002 28 45 14 6 3 4 17 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 29–30 Nov 2010 1,006 22 41 21 7 4 5 19 Psephos 6–10 Nov 2010 1,004 35 40 12 6 4 3 5 Trend Research Hamburg 15–19 Oct 2010 612 25 35 17 11 4 8 10 Psephos 19–20 Jul 2010 1,005 35 41 10 6 4 4 6 Psephos 29 Jun–2 Jul 2010 1,007 36 39 11 6 5 3 3 Psephos 19–23 Apr 2010 1,004 34 37 10 8 8 ? 3 Infratest dimap 17–21 Feb 2009 1,000 31 31 16 10 7 5 Tie Psephos December 2009 1,001 38 34 11 8 6 3 4 Psephos 26–30 Nov 2009 1,004 36 33 13 8 8 2 3 Infratest dimap 19–22 Feb 2009 1,000 36 33 12 8 9 2 3 Psephos 22–27 Nov 2008 1,003 44 31 11 6 5 3 13 Psephos 29 April–5 May 2008 1,004 43 34 10 7 4.5 1.5 9 2008 state election 24 Feb 2008 – 42.6 34.1 9.6 6.4 4.8 2.5 8.5
Election result
See also Elections in Hamburg Hamburg state elections in the Weimar Republic
References