The 2017 Saarland state election was held on 26 March 2017 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland.Election dates in Germany, wahlrecht.de (German)Vor dem Wahlkampf: Elefantenrunde ohne Berührungsängste, Saarbrücker Zeitung (German), 13 February 2016 The incumbent grand coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was returned with an increased majority.Kramp-Karrenbauer für Fortsetzung der großen Koalition im Saarland, focus.de (German), 2 Oct 2014Die „rote Charlotte“ hält sich bereit, Frankfurter Allgemeine (German), 29 May 2015
Even though the Saarland is the second smallest state by population and does not represent Germany as a whole demographically, the election proved to be of pivotal importance to the following state elections and in particular the federal election later that year. Then-SPD leader Martin Schulz led the party to new heights in early 2017 and polls showed the SPD capturing the Minister-President's office in this first election of the year, but the upset CDU victory marked the beginning of a decline in the polls both nationally and in other state elections. This decline culminated in heavy losses for the SPD in Schleswig-Holstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia and, ultimately, in the 2017 German federal election.
Background The 2012 state election was called after the collapse of the Jamaica coalition of the CDU, Free Democratic Party (FDP) and The Greens. The election saw the collapse of the FDP, a downswing for The Left and Greens, gains for the SPD, and the entry of the Pirates. Afterwards, the CDU and SPD formed a grand coalition.Merkel's party wins German state election, AlJazeera (English), 25 March 2012
Parties The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Saarland. Name Ideology Leader(s) 2012 result since 2015 Votes (%) Seats CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christian democracy Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer 35.2% SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany Social democracy Anke Rehlinger 30.6% Linke The Left Democratic socialism Oskar Lafontaine 16.1% Piraten Pirate Party Germany Pirate politics Gerd Rainer Weber 7.4% Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens Green politics Hubert UlrichBarbara Meyer-Gluche 5.0%
Opinion polling Party polling Publication date Poll source Others Lead 26 March 2017 2017 state election 40.7 29.6 12.9 0.7 4.0 3.3 6.2 1.9 11.1 23 Mar 2017 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 37 32 12.5 – 4.5 4 6 4 5 22 Mar 2017 INSA 35 33 13 – 4 5 6 4 2 17 Mar 2017 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 37 32 12 – 4 4 7 4 5 16 Mar 2017 Infratest dimap 35 34 13 – 4.5 3 6.5 4 1 9 Mar 2017 Forsa 34 33 13 – 5 4 6 5 1 7 Mar 2017 INSA 36 33 12 – 4 4 7 4 3 26 Jan 2017 Infratest dimap 38 26 14 – 5 4 9 4 12 13 Jan 2017 INSA 35 24 16 – 6 5 10 2 11 15 Nov 2016 Forsa 37 26 15 – 6 3 9 4 11 11 May 2016 Infratest dimap 34 29 12 – 7 4 11 3 5 31 Mar 2015 Infratest dimap 40 33 10 1 6 2 4 4 7 25 May 2014 2014 European election 34.9 34.4 6.6 1.7 6.0 2.2 6.8 7.4 0.5 14 May 2014 Infratest dimap 37 34 13 2 5 – 5 4 3 22 Sep 2013 2013 federal election 37.8 31.0 10.0 2.6 5.7 3.8 5.2 3.9 6.8 7 May 2013 Infratest dimap 39 36 10 2 6 2 3 2 3 25 March 2012 2012 state election 35.2 30.6 16.1 7.4 5.0 1.2 – 4.4 4.6
Minister-President polling Publication date Poll source None Annegret Kramp-KarrenbauerCDU Anke RehlingerSPD Heiko MaasSPD 23 Mar 2017 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 53.0 34.0 – 13.0 17 Mar 2017 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 55.0 31.0 – 14.0 16 Mar 2017 Infratest dimap 51.0 32.0 – 7.0 26 Jan 2017 Infratest dimap 60.0 23.0 – 9.0 15 Nov 2016 Forsa 54.0 19.0 – – 11 May 2016 Infratest dimap 59.0 26.0 – 10.0 31 Mar 2015 Infratest dimap 62.0 18.0 – 9.0 14 May 2014 Infratest dimap 53.0 – 35.0 6.0 7 May 2013 Infratest dimap 53.0 – 36.0 7.0
Election result
| colspan=8| |- ! colspan="2" | Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! Seats % |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | align=right| 217,263 | align=right| 40.7 | align=right| 5.5 | align=right| 24 | align=right| 5 | align=right| 47.1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | align=right| 158,057 | align=right| 29.6 | align=right| 1.0 | align=right| 17 | align=right| 0 | align=right| 33.3 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | The Left (Linke) | align=right| 68,566 | align=right| 12.8 | align=right| 3.3 | align=right| 7 | align=right| 2 | align=right| 13.7 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Alternative for Germany (AfD) | align=right| 32,971 | align=right| 6.2 | align=right| New | align=right| 3 | align=right| New | align=right| 5.9 |- ! colspan=8| |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | align=right| 21,392 | align=right| 4.0 | align=right| 1.0 | align=right| 0 | align=right| 2 | align=right| 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | align=right| 17,419 | align=right| 3.3 | align=right| 2.1 | align=right| 0 | align=right| ±0 | align=right| 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Family Party of Germany (FAMILIE) | align=right| 4,435 | align=right| 0.8 | align=right| 0.9 | align=right| 0 | align=right| ±0 | align=right| 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Pirate Party (Piraten) | align=right| 3,979 | align=right| 0.7 | align=right| 6.7 | align=right| 0 | align=right| 4 | align=right| 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | National Democratic Party (NPD) | align=right| 3,744 | align=right| 0.7 | align=right| 0.5 | align=right| 0 | align=right| ±0 | align=right| 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Others | align=right| 5,957 | align=right| 1.1 | align=right| | align=right| 0 | align=right| ±0 | align=right| 0 |- ! align=right colspan=2| Total ! align=right| 533,783 ! align=right| 100.0 ! align=right| ! align=right| 51 ! align=right| ±0 ! align=right| |- ! align=right colspan=2| Voter turnout ! align=right| ! align=right| 69.7 ! align=right| 8.1 ! align=right| ! align=right| ! align=right|
Outcome Observers were surprised by the CDU's strong performance, as opinion polls predicted a close contest between the CDU and SPD. After the election, several commentators described the results as a boost for the September 2017 electoral prospects of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the CDU, and as a setback for SPD leader Martin Schulz.
As both the CDU and SPD refused to coalition with AfD, the CDU and SPD coalition reached an agreement to continue governing together after the election.
References