1974 Hessian state election

German state election 1974 Hessian state election Hesse parliamentary no 1970 Hessian state election 1970 1978 Hessian state election 1978 All 110 seats in the Landtag of Hesse 56 27 October 1974 3,264,209 (84.8% 2.0pp) KAS-Dregger, Alfred-Bild-5037-1.jpg 175 150 110 30 30 Alfred Dregger Christian Democratic Union of Germany 46 seats, 39.7% 53 7 1,528,793 47.3% 7.6pp Albert Osswald.jpg 180 150 110 0 35 Albert Osswald Social Democratic Party of Germany 53 seats, 45.9% 49 4 1,394,123 43.2% 2.7pp Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F052015-0020, Kiel, FDP-Bundesparteitag, Karry.jpg 250 150 110 10 73 Heinz-Herbert Karry Free Democratic Party (Germany) 11 seats, 10.1% 8 3 238,726 7.4% 2.7pp 1974 Hessian state election.svg 250px Results for the single-member constituencies. Government Second Osswald cabinet SPD–FDP Government after election Third Osswald cabinet SPD–FDP The 1974 Hessian state election was held on 27 October 1974 to elect the 8th Landtag of Hesse. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Albert Osswald. The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) achieved a significant victory by becoming the largest party in Hesse for the first time. The state had long been considered a stronghold of the SPD. Despite this, the SPD and FDP retained a narrow majority between them and renewed their coalition for a second term. Electoral system The Landtag was elected via mixed-member proportional representation. 55 members were elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting, and 55 then allocated using compensatory proportional representation. A single ballot was used for both. 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 1970 Hessian state election In the previous election held on 8 November 1970, the CDU achieved a major swing and increased its vote share to just under 40%, offering a serious challenge to the SPD for the first time in decades. Though remaining the largest party with 46%, the SPD were deprived of their majority and formed a coalition government with the FDP. Parties The table below lists parties represented in the 7th Landtag of Hesse. Name Ideology Leadcandidate 1970 result Votes (%) Seats SPD Social Democratic Party of GermanySozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands Social democracy Albert Osswald 45.9% 53 110 Social Democratic Party of Germany CDU Christian Democratic Union of GermanyChristlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands Christian democracy Alfred Dregger 39.7% 46 110 Christian Democratic Union of Germany FDP Free Democratic PartyFreie Demokratische Partei Classical liberalism Heinz Herbert Karry 10.1% 11 110 Free Democratic Party (Germany) Results Con. List Total +– Christian Democratic Union 1528793 +7.59 35 18 53 +7 Social Democratic Party 1394123 –2.75 20 29 49 –4 Free Democratic Party 238726 –2.68 0 8 8 –3 National Democratic Party 32713 –2.00 0 0 0 0 German Communist Party 28699 –0.28 0 0 0 0 Communist Party of Germany (AO) 4168 New 0 0 0 New Communist League of West Germany 2732 New 0 0 0 New League of German Communists 352 New 0 0 0 New European Labour Committees 23 New 0 0 0 New Independents 91 0.00 0 – 0 0 0 33789 3850223 External links https://starweb.hessen.de/cache/stanzwahlergebnis/1974wahlergebnis.pdf Final Results for the Landtag election of 27 October 1974 7 November 1974 15 September 2023 de Parliamentary Data Bank of the Hessian Landtag https://www.lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/xsrec/current/2/sn/edb?q=YToxOntzOjY6InBlcnNvbiI7czoyNjoiMTE1MzkyMzExNDpTY2htaWR0LCBBbGZyZWQiO30= Elections for the 8th Hessian state parliament, October 27, 1974 15 September 2023 de Hessian Regional History Information System Notes Category:Elections in Hesse Category:1974 elections in Germany Category:1970s in Hesse Category:October 1974 in Europe Category:1974 in West Germany