1995 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

German state election 1995 North Rhine-Westphalia state election North Rhine-Westphalia parliamentary no 1990 North Rhine-Westphalia state election 1990 2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election 2000 All 221 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, including 20 overhang and leveling seats 111 14 May 1995 8,353,056 (64.0% 7.7 pp) 150x150px Johannes Rau Social Democratic Party of Germany 122 seats, 50.0% 108 14 3,816,639 46.0% 4.0 pp 150x150px Helmut Linssen Christian Democratic Union of Germany 89 seats, 36.7% 89 0 3,124,758 37.7% 1.0 pp 150x150px Bärbel Höhn Alliance 90/The Greens 12 seats, 5.0% 24 12 830,861 10.0% 5.0 pp 150x150px Achim Rohde Free Democratic Party (Germany) 14 seats, 6.0% 0 14 332,634 4.0% 1.8 pp 1995 North Rhine-Westphalia state election.svg 400px Results for the single-member constituencies Government Fourth Rau cabinet SPD Government after election Fifth Rau cabinet SPD–Green The 1995 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 14 May 1995 to elect the 12th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a majority of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), led by Minister-President Johannes Rau. The SPD remained the largest party but lost its majority for the first time since 1980, declining to 46%. The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) made small gains and took 37.7% of the vote. The Greens achieved a significant victory, doubling their vote share to 10% and winning 24 seats. Since the Free Democratic Party (FDP) fell below the 5% electoral threshold and lost representation, the Greens alone held the balance of power. They subsequently formed a coalition with the SPD. 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 1990 North Rhine-Westphalia state election In the previous election held on 13 May 1990, the SPD retained a reduced majority with just under 50% of the vote. The CDU failed to recoup their losses from the previous election and took 37%, while the FDP remained steady on 6% and the Greens narrowly surpassed 5% and won seats for the first time. The SPD won 121 of the 151 constituencies, necessitating the addition of leveling seats which boosted the Landtag to a record size of 237 members (later 239 after an election review). The SPD once again formed government alone and Johannes Rau continued as Minister-President. Parties The table below lists parties represented in the 11th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. Name Ideology Leadcandidate 1990 result Votes (%) Seats SPD Social Democratic Party of GermanySozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands Social democracy Johannes Rau 50.0% 122 237 Social Democratic Party of Germany CDU Christian Democratic Union of GermanyChristlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands Christian democracy Helmut Linssen 36.7% 89 237 Christian Democratic Union of Germany FDP Free Democratic PartyFreie Demokratische Partei Classical liberalism Achim Rohde 5.8% 14 237 Free Democratic Party (Germany) GRÜNE Alliance 90/The GreensBündnis 90/Die Grünen Green politics Bärbel Höhn 5.0% 12 237 Alliance 90/The Greens Campaign The election followed the October 1994 federal election and March 1995 Hessian state election, both of which had seen victories for the incumbent government and significant gains for the Greens. In Hesse, the SPD suffered its worst result since 1946. The CDU held a membership ballot to select their lead candidate. With 59.6% of votes, Landtag faction leader Helmut Linssen prevailed against MdB and state secretary Norbert Lammert. Beside the influence of federal politics, where popular support for the Kohl government was declining due to growing economic difficulties, environmental issues dominated the campaign. Garzweiler II, a proposed lignite-mining project, was particularly contentious: the project, which would have involved forced resettlement of local residents, was generally supported by the SPD and firmly rejected by the Greens. The CDU opposition focused on topics such as education, domestic security and crime, and support for local industries, though their positions were not markedly different from those of the SPD. As such, most controversy during the campaign was between the SPD and the Greens. Results #F8F9FA 350 24 Alliance 90/The Greens 108 Social Democratic Party of Germany 89 Christian Democratic Union of Germany Con. List Total +/– Social Democratic Party (SPD) 3816639 –3.96 108 0 108 –14 Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 3124758 +0.97 43 46 89 ±0 Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE) 830861 +4.97 0 24 24 +12 Free Democratic Party (FDP) 332634 –1.75 0 0 0 –14 The Republicans (REP) 65509 –1.06 0 0 0 ±0 The Grays – Gray Panthers (GRAUE) 58155 New 0 0 0 New Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) 21159 –0.24 0 0 0 ±0 Natural Law Party (Naturgesetz) 12948 New 0 0 0 New Human Environment Animal Protection Party (Tierschutzpartei) 9936 New 0 0 0 New German Communist Party (DKP) 6008 +0.04 0 0 0 ±0 Party of Bible-abiding Christians (PBC) 5777 New 0 0 0 New Statt Party (STATT) 3034 New 0 0 0 New Rhineland Party – The European Federalists (RP) 2757 New 0 0 0 New Civil Rights Movement Solidarity (BüSo) 850 New 0 0 0 New Christian Centre (CM) 556 ±0.00 0 0 0 ±0 Drivers' and Citizens' Interest Party (APD) 516 New 0 0 0 New Family Party of Germany (FAMILIE) 273 ±0.00 0 0 0 ±0 Independent Workers' Party (UAP) 152 New 0 0 0 New Consciousness (Bewußtsein) 103 New 0 0 0 New Humanist Party (HP) 40 New 0 0 0 New Independents 1570 –0.03 0 – 0 ±0 151 70 221 –16 58821 13041964 External links https://www.wahlrecht.de/landtage/nordrhein-westfalen.htm Electoral system of North Rhine-Westphalia 19 February 2023 15 May 2022 de Wahlrecht.de http://library.fes.de/gmh/main/pdf-files/gmh/1995/1995-08-a-457.pdf The parties after the elections: at a loss? 1995 de Friedrich Ebert Foundation References Category:Elections in North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia state election North Rhine-Westphalia state election Category:1990s in North Rhine-Westphalia