2005 Schleswig-Holstein state election

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, bringing an end to 17 years of SPD governments in the state.

The result was a deadlock, with the right-wing parties (CDU and FDP) being one seat short of majority and the left-wing parties (SPD and the Greens) two seats short, with SSW thus holding the balance of power.

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 Social democracy Heide Simonis 43.1% CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christian democracy Peter Harry Carstensen 35.2% FDP Free Democratic Party Classical liberalism Wolfgang Kubicki 7.6% Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens Green politics Anne Lütkes 6.2% SSW South Schleswig Voters' Association Danish and Frisian minority interests Anke Spoorendonk 4.1%

Opinion polling Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize 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

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

2005 Schleswig-Holstein state election

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