2014 Thuringian state election

The table below lists parties represented in the 5th Landtag of Thuringia.

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 Summary of the 2014 Landtag of Thuringia elections results

Party		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Christian Democratic Union Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands – CDU|| 315,096 || 33.5 || 2.3 || 34 || 4
	The Left Die Linke|| 265,425 || 28.2 || 0.8 || 28 || 1
	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands – SPD|| 116,889 || 12.4 || 6.1 || 12 || 6
	Alternative for Germany Alternative für Deutschland – AfD|| 99,548 || 10.6 || 10.6 || 11 || 11
	Alliance '90/The Greens Bündnis 90/Die Grünen|| 53,395 || 5.7 || 0.5 || 6 ||
	National Democratic Party Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands – NPD|| 34,018 || 3.6 || 0.7 || 0 ||
	Free Democratic Party Freie Demokratische Partei – FDP|| 23,352 || 2.5 || 5.1 || 0 || 7
	Other parties	33,969	3.5	1.3	0
Valid votes		941,692	98.6	0.4
Invalid votes		13,271	1.4	0.4
Totals and voter turnout		954,963	52.7	3.5	91	3
Electorate		1,812,249	100.00	—
Source: Wahlrecht.de

While the incumbent grand coalition narrowly retained its majority, both parties underperformed expectations. This was especially true for the SPD, which recorded a result worse than it had polled at any point during the preceding five-year parliamentary term. For this reason, the SPD leadership decided to leave the coalition and seek other options. The most clear choice was a "red-red-green coalition" with The Left and Greens. Though this arrangement had successfully governed other states in the past, such a government had always been led by the SPD. Due to the dominance of The Left in Thuringia, however, the only viable option would be a government headed by Bodo Ramelow, leader of The Left. This was a highly controversial prospect due to the party's status as the successor of the Socialist Unity Party, the former ruling party of East Germany. Nonetheless, the SPD pursued the option. They resolved to seek approval from their party membership before signing any agreements, however, and held among the party membership for this purpose; 69.9% were in favour. The SPD therefore moved ahead with plans.[3]

On 4 December, Ramelow was elected Minister-President by the Landtag on the second ballot, with a bare majority of 46 votes out of 91. Prior to the vote, thousands assembled outside the Landtag to protest the investiture of the government. Former East German dissidents were among the demonstrators, with some shouting "Stasi out!" and "The Social Democrats have betrayed us".[3]

• Wahlumfragen zur Landtagswahl in Thuringia (wahlrecht.de)