2009 Thuringian state election

The 2009 Thuringian state election was held on 30 August 2009 to elect the members of the 5th Landtag of Thuringia. It was held on the same day as the 2009 Saarland state election and the 2009 Saxony state election. The incumbent Christian Democratic Union (CDU) government led by Minister-President Dieter Althaus was defeated. The CDU subsequently formed a grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Althaus resigned after the election due to his party's poor performance, which was far below expectations. He was succeeded by fellow CDU member Christine Lieberknecht, who was elected as the new Minister-President.[1]

2009 Thuringia state election
30 August 2009
All 88 seats of the Landtag of Thuringia
Registered1,910,074 2.5%
Turnout1,054,297 (56.2%)
2.4%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Dieter Althaus Bodo Ramelow Christoph Matschie
Party CDU Left SPD
Leader's seat Eichsfeld I Erfurt III (won seat) Jena I (won seat)
Last election 45 seats, 43.0% 28 seats, 26.1%[lower-alpha 1] 15 seats, 14.5%
Seats won 30 27 18
Seat change 15 1 3
Popular vote 329,302 288,915 195,363
Percentage 31.2% 27.4% 18.5%
Swing 11.8% 1.3% 4.0%
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Uwe Barth Astrid Rothe-Beinlich
Party FDP Green
Leader's seat List[lower-alpha 2] List[lower-alpha 3]
Last election 0 seats, 3.6% 0 seats, 4.5%
Seats won 7 6
Seat change 7 6
Popular vote 80,600 64,912
Percentage 7.6% 6.2%
Swing 4.0% 1.7%
Results for the direct mandates.
Minister-President before election

Dieter Althaus
CDU

 Elected Minister-President

Christine Lieberknecht
CDU

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 4th Landtag of Thuringia.

Name Ideology Leader(s) 2004 result
Votes (%) Seats
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands		 Christian democracy Dieter Althaus 43.0%
45 / 88
Linke The Left
Die Linke		 Democratic socialism Bodo Ramelow 26.1%[lower-alpha 4]
28 / 88
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands		 Social democracy Christoph Matschie 14.5%
15 / 88

Opinion polling
Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size		 CDU Linke SPD Grüne FDP Others Lead
2009 state election 30 August 2009 – 31.2 27.4 18.5 6.2 7.6 9.1 3.8
TU Ilumenau 10–22 Aug 2009 369 41 23 15 10 8 3 18
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 17–20 Aug 2009 ~1,000 35 25 18 5 10 7 10
Infratest dimap 18–20 Aug 2009 1,000 34 24 19 6 8 9 10
IfM Leipzig 10–13 Aug 2009 805 37 23 20 5 9 6 14
Infratest dimap 7–11 Aug 2009 1,000 34 24 20 6 9 7 10
Forsa 13–24 Jul 2009 1,004 40 24 16 6 6 8 16
Infratest dimap 19–23 Jun 2009 1,000 36 24 18 6 9 7 12
IfM Leipzig 11–13 May 2009 801 36 23 23 5 8 5 13
Forsa 4–15 May 2009 1,005 40 26 18 4 6 6 14
Infratest dimap 8–12 May 2009 1,000 39 25 20 5 6 5 14
Infratest dimap 18–22 Mar 2009 1,000 36 25 20 5 8 6 11
GESS 4–7 Mar 2009 1,004 39 25 18 4 8 6 14
Forsa 12–16 Jan 2009 751 39 28 16 5 5 7 11
IfM Leipzig 21–23 Oct 2008 805 33 30 18 5 6 7 3
Forsa 25 Aug–9 Sep 2008 863 37 32 15 4 5 7 5
dimap 26 Jun–10 Jul 2008 1,001 31 31 20 5 6 7 Tie
Infratest dimap 5–7 May 2008 1,000 33 29 23 5 5 5 4
IfM Leipzig 8–10 Apr 2008 804 33 29 21 6 5 6 4
Emnid 13–27 Feb 2008 ~500 36 25 24 4 5 ? 11
IfM Leipzig 10–12 Dec 2007 803 35 25 25 5 4 6 10
Infratest dimap October 2007 1,000 35 26 23 5 5 ? 9
IfM Leipzig 21–22 Aug 2007 801 36 29 25 3 3 4 7
dimap 9–13 Jul 2007 1,003 40 25 24 4 4 3 15
IfM Leipzig 12–15 May 2007 801 34 25 26 5 5 5 8
Emnid 30 Apr–16 May 2007 516 32 27 22 6 6 6 5
IfM Leipzig 23 Feb 2007 ? 30 26 28 6 5 5 2
IfM Leipzig 15 Dec 2006 802 34 25 27 5 4 5 7
IfM Leipzig 16–17 Aug 2006 810 33 26 30 4 3 4 3
IfM Leipzig 7–8 Feb 2006 802 34 24 29 3 4 6 10
IfM Leipzig 12–15 Dec 2005 806 36 26 27 3 5 3 9
Uni Jena July 2005 ~1,000 40 31 15 4 5 5 9
IfM Leipzig 28–30 May 2005 803 45 21 20 4 5 5 24
IfM Leipzig 24 Jan 2005 806 39 22 23 4 4 8 16
IfM Leipzig September 2004 ? 41 25 18 6 4 6 16
2004 state election 13 June 2004 – 43.0 26.1 14.5 4.5 3.6 8.3 16.9

Election result

Summary of the 30 August 2009 election results for the Landtag of Thuringia

Party Votes % +/- Seats +/- Seats %
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 329,302 31.2 11.8 30 15 34.1
The Left (Linke) 288,915 27.4 1.3[lower-alpha 5] 28 1[lower-alpha 6] 30.7
Social Democratic Party (SPD) 195,363 18.5 4.0 18 3 20.5
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 80,600 7.6 4.0 7 7 8.0
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 64,912 6.2 1.7 6 6 6.8
National Democratic Party (NPD) 45,451 4.3 2.7 0 ±0 0
Free Voters (FW) 40,811 3.9 1.3 0 ±0 0
Others 8,943 0.8 0 ±0 0
Total 1,054,297 100.0 88 ±0
Voter turnout 56.2 2.4
Popular Vote
CDU
 
 31.23%
DIE LINKE
 
 27.40%
SPD
 
 18.53%
FDP
 
 7.64%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
 6.16%
NPD
 
 4.31%
FW
 
 3.87%
Other
 
 0.86%
Landtag seats
CDU
 
 34.09%
DIE LINKE
 
 30.68%
SPD
 
 20.45%
FDP
 
 7.95%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
 6.82%

Outcome

Minister-President and CDU leader Dieter Althaus resigned in the wake of the election, stating he took responsibility for his party's losses.[2] However, observers noted that his resignation also helped clear the way for a grand coalition between the CDU and SPD, which was preferred by both parties, and would be easier to manage under new leadership. The only viable alternative to a grand coalition was a government led by The Left with SPD and Green support, which both the CDU and SPD sought to avoid; the CDU because such a coalition would leave them in opposition, and the SPD because of personal animosity between its leader Christoph Matschie and Left leader Bodo Ramelow.[2] Ultimately, a grand coalition of the CDU and SPD was formed under the leadership of the CDU's Christine Lieberknecht, who was elected Minister-President.

Notes
  1. Results for PDS.
  2. Ran in Jena I (lost).
  3. Ran in Erfurt II (lost).
  4. Results for PDS.
  5. Compared to results for PDS.
  6. Compared to results for PDS.

References
  1. CDU and SPD form Thuringia state coalition, The Local; 19 October 2009.
  2. Merkel loyalist resigns
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