2009 Hessian state election

The result of the 2008 Hessian state election was inconclusive, as neither the CDU–FDP or SPD–Grüne blocs had won a majority. This was due to the entry of The Left into the Landtag, with which the SPD was unwilling to cooperate, though both The Left and Greens supported a red-red-green coalition between the three parties. While a grand coalition between the CDU and SPD would command a comfortable majority, this option was very unpopular and was rejected by the SPD.[1]

In October 2008, SPD leader Andrea Ypsilanti attempted to negotiate a red-red-green coalition, reneging on a pledge made earlier in the year not to do so.[2] This caused an revolt within the Hessian SPD, resulting in Ypsilanti being deposed and the new leadership under Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel seeking fresh elections.[3]

CDU leader Roland Koch had served as Minister-President prior to 2008 election, and continued in office in a caretaker capacity between the 2008 and 2009 elections. He could not be unseated due to the inability of the SPD to form a new government; in Hesse, the motion to remove a serving government simultaneously invests confidence in a proposed new government, and requires an absolute majority to pass.

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Hesse.

Summary of the 18 January 2009 election results for the Landtag of Hesse

Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-	Seats %
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	963,763	37.2	0.4	46	4	39.0
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	614,648	23.7	13.0	29	13	24.6
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	420,426	16.4	6.8	20	9	16.9
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	420,426	13.7	6.2	17	8	14.4
	The Left (Linke)	139,074	5.4	0.3	6	0	5.1
	Free Voters (FW)	42,153	1.6	0.7	0	±0	0
	Others	55,768	2.2		0	±0	0
Total		2,591,872	100.0		118	8
Voter turnout			61.0	3.3