2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

German state election 2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election North Rhine-Westphalia parliamentary no 1995 North Rhine-Westphalia state election 1995 2005 North Rhine-Westphalia state election 2005 All 231 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, including 20 overhang and leveling seats 116 14 May 2000 7,409,399 (56.7% 7.3 pp) 150x150px Wolfgang Clement Social Democratic Party of Germany 108 seats, 46.0% 102 6 3,143,179 42.8% 3.2 pp 150x150px Jürgen Rüttgers Christian Democratic Union of Germany 89 seats, 37.7% 88 1 2,712,176 37.0% 0.7 pp 150x150px Jürgen Möllemann Free Democratic Party (Germany) 0 seats, 4.0% 24 24 721,558 9.8% 5.8 pp 150x150px Bärbel Höhn Alliance 90/The Greens 24 seats, 10.0% 17 7 518,295 7.1% 2.9 pp 2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election.svg 400px Results for the single-member constituencies Government First Clement cabinet SPD–Green Government after election Second Clement cabinet SPD–Green The 2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 14 May 2000 to elect the 13th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Greens led by Minister-President Wolfgang Clement. The SPD remained the largest party but declined to 42.8%, its worst result since 1958. However, the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) failed to capitalise, falling slightly to 37%. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) returned to the Landtag in third place with 10%, while the Greens took losses and recorded 7%. Overall, the incumbent government retained a reduced majority. Minister-President Clement met with FDP lead candidate Jürgen Möllemann post-election, but the SPD settled on renewing the coalition with the Greens. Clement was re-elected by the Landtag on 21 June. Electoral system The Landtag was elected via mixed-member proportional representation. 151 members were elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting, and fifty then allocated using compensatory proportional representation. A single ballot was used for both. The minimum size of the Landtag was 201 members, but if overhang seats were present, proportional leveling seats were added to ensure proportionality. An electoral threshold of 5% of valid votes is applied to the Landtag; parties that fall below this threshold are ineligible to receive seats. Background 1995 North Rhine-Westphalia state election In the previous election held on 14 May 1995, the SPD lost their Landtag majority for the first time since 1980. The CDU recorded another poor performance with under 38% of the vote, while the FDP fell to 4% and lost their seats. The Greens achieved a significant victory with 10% and held balance of power in the Landtag, subsequently forming a coalition government with the SPD. In May 1998, long-serving Minister-President Johannes Rau resigned. He was succeeded by state economics minister Wolfgang Clement, who continued the coalition with the Greens. Parties The table below lists parties represented in the 12th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. Name Ideology Leadcandidate 1995 result Votes (%) Seats SPD Social Democratic Party of GermanySozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands Social democracy Wolfgang Clement 46.0% 108 221 Social Democratic Party of Germany CDU Christian Democratic Union of GermanyChristlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands Christian democracy Jürgen Rüttgers 37.7% 89 221 Christian Democratic Union of Germany GRÜNE Alliance 90/The GreensBündnis 90/Die Grünen Green politics Bärbel Höhn 10.0% 24 221 Alliance 90/The Greens Campaign Minister-President Clement stated he hoped for the SPD to regain its parliamentary majority, but that he could also accept a coalition with either the Greens or the FDP. The CDU under lead candidate Jürgen Rüttgers aimed to win government, in coalition with the FDP if necessary. The Greens campaigned for a continuation of the outgoing coalition, and capitalised on the SPD's ambivalence toward coalition partners with the slogan: "If you want red-green, you have to vote Green." The FDP ran with former Vice-Chancellor Jürgen Möllemann as their lead candidate, and sought to re-enter the Landtag and surpass the Greens for third place. The CDU were dragged down by the ongoing donations scandal which began at the end of the previous year; their popularity in state polling fell from a high of 46% in December to just 32% in March. Opinion polling Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize SPD CDU Grüne FDP Others Lead 2000 state election 14 May 2000 – 42.8 37.0 7.1 9.8 3.3 5.8 Infratest dimap 8 May 2000 ? 45 38 7 7 3 7 Infratest dimap 5 May 2000 ? 45 39 6 6 4 6 Emnid 26 Apr 2000 ? 41 40 7 7 5 1 Forsa 19 Apr 2000 ? 46 38 6 6 4 8 Infratest dimap 12 Apr 2000 ? 46 33 7 8 6 13 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 3–6 Apr 2000 1,004 46 38 6 6 4 8 Infratest dimap 5 Mar 2000 ? 47 32 7 9 5 15 Infratest dimap 16 Jan 2000 ? 45 37 7 6 5 8 Forsa 9 Dec 1999 ? 39 46 7 4 4 7 Emnid 6 Sep 1999 ? 42 43 6 4 5 1 Forsa 3 Jun 1999 ? 44 41 6 4 5 3 Psephos 23 Mar 1999 ? 44 40 8 5 3 4 Psephos 3 Sep 1998 ? 51 34 8 4 3 17 Psephos 28 May 1998 ? 50 33 9 4 4 17 1995 state election 14 May 1995 – 46.0 37.7 10.0 4.0 2.3 8.3 Results #F8F9FA 350 102 Social Democratic Party of Germany 17 Alliance 90/The Greens 24 Free Democratic Party (Germany) 88 Christian Democratic Union of Germany Con. List Total +/– Social Democratic Party (SPD) 3143179 –3.18 102 0 102 –6 Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 2712176 –0.70 49 39 88 –1 Free Democratic Party (FDP) 721558 +5.83 0 24 24 +24 Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE) 518295 –2.96 0 17 17 –7 The Republicans (REP) 83296 +0.35 0 0 0 ±0 Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) 79934 New 0 0 0 New Independent Candidates for Direct Democracy (Unabh. Bürger) 22059 New 0 0 0 New Pensioners' Party (Rentner) 10708 New 0 0 0 New Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD) 5969 New 0 0 0 New The Middle-class Party (DMP) 5743 New 0 0 0 New Party of Bible-abiding Christians (PBC) 4123 –0.01 0 0 0 ±0 Natural Law Party (Naturgesetz) 3474 –0.11 0 0 0 ±0 Family Party of Germany (FAMILIE) 3420 +0.05 0 0 0 ±0 Human Environment Animal Protection Party (Tierschutzpartei) 3075 –0.08 0 0 0 ±0 Civil Rights Movement Solidarity (BüSo) 2530 +0.02 0 0 0 ±0 National Democratic Party (NPD) 2357 New 0 0 0 New Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) 1923 –0.23 0 0 0 ±0 German Communist Party (DKP) 1722 –0.05 0 0 0 ±0 Feminist Party The Women (FRAUEN) 1541 New 0 0 0 New PETO – The Young Alternative (PETO) 993 New 0 0 0 New From now... Alliance for Germany (Deutschland) 525 New 0 0 0 New Humanist Party (HP) 405 +0.01 0 0 0 ±0 Ecological Left (ÖkoLinX) 304 New 0 0 0 New League for All-Germany (BGD) 178 New 0 0 0 New Party for Non-voters (Nichtwähler) 175 New 0 0 0 New Consciousness (Bewusstsein) 162 ±0.00 0 0 0 ±0 Independent Workers' Party (UAP) 152 ±0.00 0 0 0 ±0 Christian Centre (CM) 104 –0.01 0 0 0 ±0 Independents 6344 +0.07 0 – 0 ±0 151 80 231 +10 72988 13061265 External links https://www.wahlrecht.de/landtage/nordrhein-westfalen.htm Electoral system of North Rhine-Westphalia 20 February 2023 15 May 2022 de Wahlrecht.de https://www.spiegel.de/thema/landtagswahl_nrw_2000/ NRW election 2000 20 February 2023 de Der Spiegel References Category:Elections in North Rhine-Westphalia Category:2000 elections in Germany Category:2000s in North Rhine-Westphalia Category:May 2000 in Germany