2014 Saxony state election

State election in Saxony, Germany September 2014 2014 Saxony state election Saxony parliamentary no 2009 Saxony state election 2009 2019 Saxony state election 2019 All 126 seats of the Landtag of Saxony 64 31 August 2014 1,637,499 (49.1%) 3.1 pp x160px Stanislaw Tillich Christian Democratic Union of Germany 58 seats, 40.2% 59 1 645,414 39.4% 0.8 pp x160px Rico Gebhardt The Left (Germany) 29 seats, 20.6% 27 2 309,581 18.9% 1.7 pp x160px Martin Dulig Social Democratic Party of Germany 14 seats, 10.4% 18 4 202,396 12.4% 2.0 pp x160px Frauke Petry Alternative for Germany Did not exist 14 14 159,611 9.7% New party x160px Antje HermenauVolkmar Zschocke Alliance 90/The Greens 9 seats, 6.4% 8 1 93,857 5.7% 0.7 pp Holger Szymanski National Democratic Party of Germany 8 seats, 5.6% 0 8 81,051 4.9% 0.7 pp x160px Holger Zastrow Free Democratic Party (Germany) 14 seats, 10.0% 0 14 61,840 3.8% 6.2 pp 2014 Saxony state election.svg 400px Results for the single-member constituencies Government Tillich II CDU–FDP Government after election Tillich III CDU–SPD The 2014 Saxony state election was held on 31 August 2014 to elect the members of the 6th Landtag of Saxony. The incumbent coalition government of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Stanislaw Tillich was defeated as the FDP lost all its seats. The CDU subsequently formed a grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and Tillich was re-elected as Minister-President. Background After the 2009 state election, held a month before the 2009 federal election, the CDU–SPD grand coalition left office and was replaced by a CDU-led coalition with the FDP. The FDP suffered a major decline in support nationally after 2009, culminating in their ejection from the Bundestag in the 2013 federal election. Thus, in the lead-up to the 2014 state election, the Saxony state government was the only government nationwide that included the FDP. It seemed unlikely this coalition could continue after the election, as polling indicated the FDP may not even pass the 5% threshold to enter the Landtag. The largest opposition party was The Left. Polling indicated that a coalition between The Left, the SPD and The Greens may have been able to secure a majority, but this option was rejected by both the SPD and the Greens prior to the election. For the SPD, the state election in Saxony was their second electoral test (after the European elections) since becoming the junior partner in the federal grand coalition. Polls suggested that the public viewed the SPD's role in government as positive; issues that had been worked on by the government were primarily election promises of the SPD. Despite this, all polls showed that the SPD was headed for another third-place finish in the state election. The SPD's election campaign was centred on their lead candidate, Martin Dulig, who involved his family in the campaign. Dulig was also supported by former federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was hoping to win seats in a state parliament for the first time. In both the 2013 federal election and the 2014 European elections, AfD had achieved its strongest results in Saxony (6.8% in the federal election and 10.1% in the European elections).http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-in-sachsen-frauke-petry-will-einzug-in-den-landtag-a-984920.html Radtour mit der AfD in Sachsen: Viel Deutschland, wenig Alternativen Reinbold Fabian 7 August 2014 Spiegel Online 2017-09-25 German The National Democratic Party (NPD) had won seats in Saxony in 2004 and retained them, with losses, in 2009. Polling and election results for the NPD had trended downwards since then, with most polls suggesting the party would not cross the 5% threshold and would thus lose their representation. The Pirate Party won 1.9% of the vote in the previous state election. Despite polling in late 2011 and 2012 showing its support up to as much as 9% in Saxony, the party lost most of its popularity throughout 2013, and the party had averaged around 2% in Saxony since the end of the year. Pre-election coalition talks Polls suggested that the CDU would again be the largest party. Minister-President Tillich was therefore expected to lead coalition negotiations. In addition to the SPD, the Greens hoped for a coalition with the CDU, but a "black-green" coalition was considered unlikely because the Greens oppose coal mining in Saxony.http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/sachsen-vor-der-wahl-tillich-schliesst-koalitionsgespraeche-mit-afd-nicht-aus/10341806.html Tillich schließt Koalitionsgespräche mit AfD nicht aus Sirleschtov Antje 16 August 2014 Der Tagesspiegel Online 2017-09-25 de-DE 1865-2263 Prior to the election, Tillich was open to coalitions with the FDP, the SPD, the Greens or AfD. Carsten Linnemann, the chairman of the CDU/CSU Business Association, stated that a coalition with the Greens was a viable alternative if the FDP did not obtain any seats.http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/parteien-unions-mittelstandschef-linnemann-offen-fuer-schwarz-gruen_id_4033560.html Unions-Mittelstandschef Linnemann offen für Schwarz-Grün 2 August 2014 Focus Online German 25 September 2017 Tillich did not rule out a coalition with AfD, though CDU general-secretary Peter Tauber spoke out against the possibility.https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/cdu-sachsen-afd-101.html Bundes-CDU untersagt Bündnis mit AfD 26 August 2014 Tagesschau https://web.archive.org/web/20140827063525/http://www.tagesschau.de/inland/cdu-sachsen-afd-101.html 27 August 2014 25 September 2017 The Left was unlikely to overtake the CDU, according to polls. The party wanted to form a coalition with the SPD in particular. The SPD, however, were sceptical about such an arrangement.http://www.zeit.de/2014/29/ramelow-landtagswahl-thueringen-linke Rot-rote Koalition: Gehen die zusammen? Machowecz Martin 10 July 2014 Zeit Online German https://web.archive.org/web/20170223015314/http://www.zeit.de/2014/29/ramelow-landtagswahl-thueringen-linke 23 February 2017 live 25 September 2017 The NPD was not considered in coalition discussions. Parties The table below lists parties represented in the 5th Landtag of Saxony. Name Ideology Leader(s) 2009 result Votes (%) Seats CDU Christian Democratic Union of GermanyChristlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands Christian democracy Stanislaw Tillich 40.2% 58 132 Christian Democratic Union of Germany Linke The Leftde Die Linke Democratic socialism Rico Gebhardt 20.6% 29 132 The Left (Germany) SPD Social Democratic Party of GermanySozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands Social democracy Martin Dulig 10.4% 14 132 Social Democratic Party of Germany FDP Free Democratic PartyFreie Demokratische Partei Classical liberalism Holger Zastrow 10.0% 14 132 Free Democratic Party (Germany) Grüne Alliance 90/The GreensBündnis 90/Die Grünen Green politics Antje HermenauVolkmar Zschocke 6.4% 9 132 Alliance 90/The Greens NPD National Democratic PartyNationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands Neo-Nazism Holger Szymanski 5.6% 8 124 National Democratic Party of Germany Opinion polling Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize CDU Linke SPD FDP Grüne NPD Piraten AfD Others Lead 2014 state election 31 Aug 2014 – 39.4 18.9 12.4 3.8 5.7 4.9 1.1 9.7 4.1 20.5 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 27–28 Aug 2014 1,013 40.5 19 15 3 5.5 5 – 7 5 21.5 Infratest dimap 19–21 Aug 2014 1,002 40 19 14 3.5 6.5 5 – 7 5 21 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 18–20 Aug 2014 1,072 39 20 15 3 6 5 – 7 5 19 uniQma 6–10 Aug 2014 800 42 18 13 3 6 4 1 6 7 24 IM Field Aug 2014 1,003 43 20 14 3 7 3 – 5 5 23 INSA 23 Jul–1 Aug 2014 500 40 19 14 5 6 4 – 6 6 21 Infratest dimap 3–7 Jul 2014 1,000 42 21 13 4 7 3 – 7 3 21 Forsa 15 May–10 Jun 2014 1,002 42 18 15 3 6 3 – 8 5 24 uniQma 2–6 Jun 2014 800 45 16 13 3 6 3 2 7 5 29 Infratest dimap 24–28 Apr 2014 1,000 43 18 16 4 6 4 – 6 3 25 dimap 24 Feb–11 Mar 2014 2,001 45 17 15 4 6 4 – 6 ? 28 INSA 26 Feb–3 Mar 2014 1,003 43 22 15 2 5 1 – 7 5 21 uniQma 11–14 Dec 2013 800 49 15 17 2 6 1 2 6 2 32 Infratest dimap 9–15 Aug 2013 1,000 45 14 14 5 11 3 3 – 3 31 Emnid 1 Feb–6 Mar 2013 1,025 43 19 16 5 7 4 4 – 2 24 dimap 10–24 Aug 2012 2,002 44 15 16 5 8 2 4 – 6 28 Infratest 27 Jun–1 Jul 2012 1,000 41 19 16 4 7 3 7 – 3 22 Emnid 16 Jan–12 Feb 2012 1,040 43 18 14 2 10 2 9 – 1 25 IfM Leipzig 4–7 Oct 2011 1,001 44 17 12 2 11 3 8 – ? 27 dimap 4–17 Jul 2011 2,003 43 19 12 6 11 5 – – 4 24 aproxima 4 Apr–29 May 2011 1,000 42 21 15 6 8 3 – – 3 21 aproxima 9 Apr–9 Jul 2010 1,000 42 23 16 5 7 4 – – 3 19 IfM Leipzig 9–10 Jun 2010 802 40 20 16 6 12 3 – – 3 20 2009 state election 30 Aug 2009 – 40.2 20.6 10.4 10.0 6.4 5.6 1.9 – 4.9 19.6 Election result Summary of the 31 August 2014 election results for the Landtag of Saxony 500px |- ! colspan="2" | Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! Seats % |- | bgcolor=Christian Democratic Union of Germany| | align=left | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | align=right| 645,515 | align=right| 39.4 | align=right| 0.8 | align=right| 59 | align=right| 1 | align=right| 46.8 |- | bgcolor=The Left (Germany)| | align=left | The Left (Linke) | align=right| 309,581 | align=right| 18.9 | align=right| 1.7 | align=right| 27 | align=right| 2 | align=right| 21.4 |- | bgcolor=Social Democratic Party of Germany| | align=left | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | align=right| 202,396 | align=right| 12.4 | align=right| 2.0 | align=right| 18 | align=right| 4 | align=right| 14.3 |- | bgcolor=Alternative for Germany| | align=left | Alternative for Germany (AfD) | align=right| 159,611 | align=right| 9.7 | align=right| New | align=right| 14 | align=right| New | align=right| 11.1 |- | bgcolor=Alliance 90/The Greens| | align=left | Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | align=right| 93,857 | align=right| 5.7 | align=right| 0.7 | align=right| 8 | align=right| 1 | align=right| 6.4 |- ! colspan=8| |- | bgcolor=National Democratic Party of Germany| | align=left | National Democratic Party (NPD) | align=right| 81,051 | align=right| 4.9 | align=right| 0.7 | align=right| 0 | align=right| 8 | align=right| 0 |- | bgcolor=Free Democratic Party (Germany)| | align=left | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | align=right| 61,840 | align=right| 3.8 | align=right| 6.2 | align=right| 0 | align=right| 14 | align=right| 0 |- | bgcolor=Free Voters| | align=left | Free Voters (FW) | align=right| 26,434 | align=right| 1.6 | align=right| 0.2 | align=right| 0 | align=right| ±0 | align=right| 0 |- | bgcolor=Human Environment Animal Protection Party| | align=left | Human Environment Animal Protection Party (Tierschutz) | align=right| 18,611 | align=right| 1.1 | align=right| 1.0 | align=right| 0 | align=right| ±0 | align=right| 0 |- | bgcolor=Pirate Party Germany| | align=left | Pirate Party Germany (Piraten) | align=right| 18,157 | align=right| 1.1 | align=right| 0.8 | align=right| 0 | align=right| ±0 | align=right| 0 |- | bgcolor=Other| | align=left | Others | align=right| 20,547 | align=right| 1.3 | align=right| | align=right| 0 | align=right| ±0 | align=right| 0 |- ! align=right colspan=2| Total ! align=right| 1,637,499 ! align=right| 100.0 ! align=right| ! align=right| 126 ! align=right| 6 ! align=right| |- ! align=right colspan=2| Voter turnout ! align=right| ! align=right| 49.1 ! align=right| 3.1 ! align=right| ! align=right| ! align=right| |} Popular Vote #ddd 600px 410px CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany 39.41 DIE LINKE The Left (Germany) 18.91 SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany 12.36 AfD Alternative for Germany 9.75 B'90/GRÜNE Alliance 90/The Greens 5.73 NPD National Democratic Party of Germany 4.95 FDP Free Democratic Party (Germany) 3.78 Other #777777 5.11 Landtag seats #ddd 600px 410px CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany 46.83 DIE LINKE The Left (Germany) 21.43 SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany 14.29 AfD Alternative for Germany 11.11 B'90/GRÜNE Alliance 90/The Greens 6.35 Government formation Due to the ejection of the FDP from the Landtag, the CDU was forced to seek new coalition partners.http://www.dw.de/german-anti-euro-party-enters-state-parliament-in-saxony-elections/a-17891812 German anti-euro party enters state parliament in Saxony elections 31 August 2014 Deutsche Welle en 2017-09-25 Minister-President Tillich ruled out a coalition with AfD.http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-politics-saxony-idUKKBN0GV0MD20140831 https://web.archive.org/web/20160123155954/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-politics-saxony-idUKKBN0GV0MD20140831 dead January 23, 2016 Merkel's conservatives set to hold Saxony, eurosceptics make breakthrough Brown Stephen 31 August 2014 Reuters U.K. 2017-09-25 Breidthardt Annika en-GB The CDU held exploratory talks with the Greens and the SPD. Talks with the Greens were inconclusive; the Greens claimed that education policy and energy policy were the sticking points. Antje Hermenau, the Greens' lead candidate, then resigned on 20 September.http://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/antje-hermenau-tritt-zurueck-saechsische-gruene-verlieren-ihr-aushaengeschild-2139672.html Sächsische Grüne verlieren ihr Aushängeschild 20 September 2014 stern 2017-09-25 de-DE Coalition talks began on 19 September between the CDU and the SPD. On 9 November 2014, the SPD announced that 82.2% of its members had voted in favour of the coalition agreement between the CDU and SPD.http://www.spd-sachsen.de/mitgliedervotum-koalitionsverhandlungen/ Mitgliedervotum 7 October 2014 SPD Sachsen de-DE 2017-09-25 2014-11-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20141109232540/http://www.spd-sachsen.de/mitgliedervotum-koalitionsverhandlungen/ dead References Category:2014 elections in Germany 2014 Category:August 2014 in Germany Category:2010s in Saxony