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 Social democracy Matthias Platzeck 39.3% CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christian democracy Jörg Schönbohm 26.5% PDS Party of Democratic Socialism Democratic socialism Dagmar Enkelmann 23.3% DVU German People's Union German nationalism 5.3%
Opinion polling Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize 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
+First voteSecond voteFirst vote and Second vote
Notes
Sources The Federal Returning Officer