2017 Saarland state election

2017 Saarland state election
	26 March 2017
	26 March 2017
All 51 seats in the Landtag of Saarland; 26 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	533,783 (69.7%); 8.1%
Minister-President before election; Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer; CDU	Elected Minister-President ; Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer; CDU

The 2017 Saarland state election was held on 26 March 2017 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland.[2][3] 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.[4][5]

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.[6]

Parties

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

Name			Ideology	Leader(s)	2012 result
Name			Ideology	Leader(s)	Votes (%)	Seats
	CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands	Christian democracy	Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer	35.2%	19 / 51
	SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	Social democracy	Anke Rehlinger	30.6%	17 / 51
	Linke	The Left Die Linke	Democratic socialism	Oskar Lafontaine	16.1%	9 / 51
	Piraten	Pirate Party Germany Piratenpartei Deutschland	Pirate politics	Gerd Rainer Weber	7.4%	4 / 51
	Grüne	Alliance 90/The Greens Bündnis 90/Die Grünen	Green politics	Hubert Ulrich Barbara Meyer-Gluche	5.0%	2 / 51

Opinion polling

Party polling

Publication date	Poll source								Others	Lead
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
14 May 2014	Infratest dimap	37	34	13	2	5	–	5	4	3
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-Karrenbauer CDU	Anke Rehlinger SPD	Heiko Maas SPD

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

Summary of the 26 March 2017 election results for the Landtag of Saarland


Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-	Seats %

	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	217,263	40.7	5.5	24	5	47.1
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	158,057	29.6	1.0	17	0	33.3
	The Left (Linke)	68,566	12.8	3.3	7	2	13.7
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	32,971	6.2	New	3	New	5.9

	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	21,392	4.0	1.0	0	2	0
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	17,419	3.3	2.1	0	±0	0
	Family Party of Germany (FAMILIE)	4,435	0.8	0.9	0	±0	0
	Pirate Party (Piraten)	3,979	0.7	6.7	0	4	0
	National Democratic Party (NPD)	3,744	0.7	0.5	0	±0	0
	Others	5,957	1.1		0	±0	0
Total		533,783	100.0		51	±0
Voter turnout			69.7	8.1

Popular Vote

CDU			40.70%
SPD			29.61%
DIE LINKE			12.85%
AfD			6.18%
B'90/GRÜNE			4.01%
FDP			3.26%
Other			1.12%

Landtag seats

CDU			47.06%
SPD			33.33%
DIE LINKE			12.73%
AfD			5.88%

Outcome

Observers were surprised by the CDU's strong performance, as opinion polls predicted a close contest between the CDU and SPD.[7] 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,[8][9][10] and as a setback for SPD leader Martin Schulz.[11]

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.[12]

References

The party leader: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Archived 2016-03-02 at the Wayback Machine, cdu-saar.de (German)
Election dates in Germany, wahlrecht.de (German)
Vor dem Wahlkampf: Elefantenrunde ohne Berührungsängste, Saarbrücker Zeitung (German), 13 February 2016
Kramp-Karrenbauer für Fortsetzung der großen Koalition im Saarland, focus.de (German), 2 Oct 2014
Die „rote Charlotte“ hält sich bereit, Frankfurter Allgemeine (German), 29 May 2015
Merkel's party wins German state election, AlJazeera (English), 25 March 2012
Delcker, Janosch (27 March 2017). "Merkel: Embracing 'Grand Coalition' Helped Us Win Saarland". Politico. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
Chase, Jefferson (27 March 2017). "Merkel's CDU Savors Local Election Win". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
Carrel, Paul; Erdem, Hakan (26 March 2017). "Merkel's Conservatives Win Saarland Vote in Boost for National Campaign". Reuters. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
Smale, Alison (26 March 2017). "Angela Merkel's Re-election Bid Is Buoyed by Widely Watched State Election". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
Carrel, Paul (27 March 2017). "Germany's 'Schulz Effect' Fails to Deliver in First Election Test". U.S. News & World Report (from Reuters). Retrieved 27 March 2017.
https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/saarland-cdu-und-spd-unterschreiben-koalitionsvertrag/19809446.html

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[1] The party leader: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Archived 2016-03-02 at the Wayback Machine, cdu-saar.de (German)

[2] Election dates in Germany, wahlrecht.de (German)

[3] Vor dem Wahlkampf: Elefantenrunde ohne Berührungsängste, Saarbrücker Zeitung (German), 13 February 2016

[4] Kramp-Karrenbauer für Fortsetzung der großen Koalition im Saarland, focus.de (German), 2 Oct 2014

[faz-5] Die „rote Charlotte“ hält sich bereit, Frankfurter Allgemeine (German), 29 May 2015

[6] Merkel's party wins German state election, AlJazeera (English), 25 March 2012

[7] Delcker, Janosch (27 March 2017). "Merkel: Embracing 'Grand Coalition' Helped Us Win Saarland". Politico. Retrieved 27 March 2017.

[8] Chase, Jefferson (27 March 2017). "Merkel's CDU Savors Local Election Win". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 27 March 2017.

[9] Carrel, Paul; Erdem, Hakan (26 March 2017). "Merkel's Conservatives Win Saarland Vote in Boost for National Campaign". Reuters. Retrieved 27 March 2017.

[10] Smale, Alison (26 March 2017). "Angela Merkel's Re-election Bid Is Buoyed by Widely Watched State Election". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2017.

[11] Carrel, Paul (27 March 2017). "Germany's 'Schulz Effect' Fails to Deliver in First Election Test". U.S. News & World Report (from Reuters). Retrieved 27 March 2017.

[12] ttps://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/saarland-cdu-und-spd-unterschreiben-koalitionsvertrag/19809446.html

Elections and referendums in Saarland
Landtag of Saarland	1922 1924 1928 1932 1947 1952 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1994 1999 2004 2009 2012 2017
Municipal	1946 1949 1956 1960 (May) 1960 (Dec) 1964 1968 1974 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019
Referendums	1935 1947 1955
See also: Elections and referendums in Germany

2017 elections in Germany
Federal	Federal Presidential
State	Saarland Schleswig-Holstein North Rhine-Westphalia Lower Saxony
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