1970 Hessian state election

German state election 1970 Hessian state election Hesse parliamentary no 1966 Hessian state election 1966 1974 Hessian state election 1974 All 110 seats in the Landtag of Hesse 56 8 November 1970 3,171,227 (82.8% 1.9pp) Albert Osswald.jpg 180 150 110 0 35 Albert Osswald Social Democratic Party of Germany 52 seats, 51.0% 53 1 1,442,201 45.9% 5.1pp KAS-Dregger, Alfred-Bild-5037-1.jpg 175 150 110 30 30 Alfred Dregger Christian Democratic Union of Germany 26 seats, 26.4% 46 20 1,248,543 39.7% 13.4pp Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F052015-0020, Kiel, FDP-Bundesparteitag, Karry.jpg 250 150 110 10 73 Heinz-Herbert Karry Free Democratic Party (Germany) 10 seats, 10.4% 11 1 316,270 10.1% 0.3pp National Democratic Party of Germany 8 seats, 7.9% 0 8 94,531 3.0% 4.9pp 1970 Hessian state election.svg 250px Results for the single-member constituencies. Government First Osswald cabinet SPD Government after election Second Osswald cabinet SPD–FDP The 1970 Hessian state election was held on 8 November 1970 to elect the 7th Landtag of Hesse. The outgoing government was a majority of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Albert Osswald. The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which had taken a hard line against the SPD under new leader Alfred Dregger, recorded a major swing of 13 percentage points in its favour, to the detriment of the SPD and National Democratic Party, the latter losing all its seats after a single term in the Landtag. The SPD remained the largest party with 46%, and subsequently formed a coalition with the Free Democratic Party, following in the footsteps of the federal government formed the previous year. Electoral system The Landtag was elected via mixed-member proportional representation. The size of the Landtag was increased in this election from 96 to 110 members. 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 1966 Hessian state election In the previous election held on 6 November 1966, the SPD retained its majority with 51% of the vote. The CDU and FDP both stagnated on 26% and 10% respectively, while the new right-wing NPD capitalised on discontent over the economy and the major parties and entered the Landtag with 8%. This marked the party's first success in an election and was followed by a string of similar showings in other states over the following two years. In October 1969, long-serving Minister-President Georg-August Zinn resigned after 19 years in office after suffering a severe stroke. He was succeeded by finance minister Albert Osswald. Parties The table below lists parties represented in the 6th Landtag of Hesse. Name Ideology Leadcandidate 1966 result Votes (%) Seats SPD Social Democratic Party of GermanySozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands Social democracy Albert Osswald 51.0% 52 96 Social Democratic Party of Germany CDU Christian Democratic Union of GermanyChristlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands Christian democracy Alfred Dregger 26.4% 26 96 Christian Democratic Union of Germany FDP Free Democratic PartyFreie Demokratische Partei Classical liberalism Heinz Herbert Karry 10.4% 10 96 Free Democratic Party (Germany) NPD National Democratic Party of GermanyNationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands German nationalism 7.9% 8 96 National Democratic Party of Germany Results center|350px Con. List Total +– Social Democratic Party 1442201 –5.10 38 15 53 +1 Christian Democratic Union 1248453 +13.38 17 29 46 +20 Free Democratic Party 316270 –0.33 0 11 11 +1 National Democratic Party 94531 –4.94 0 0 0 –8 German Communist Party 36712 New 0 0 0 New European Workers' Party 3649 New 0 0 0 New #003366 +14 29411 3828701 External links https://starweb.hessen.de/cache/stanzwahlergebnis/1970wahlergebnis.pdf Final Results for the Landtag election of 8 November 1970 19 November 1970 16 September 2023 de Parliamentary Data Bank of the Hessian Landtag https://www.lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/idrec/sn/edb/id/1288 State election in Hesse, November 8, 1970 16 September 2023 de Hessian Regional History Information System Notes Category:Elections in Hesse Category:1970 elections in Germany Category:November 1970 in Europe Category:1970s in Hesse Category:1970 in West Germany Category:November 1970 elections