Landtag of Bavaria
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The Landtag of Bavaria is the unicameral legislature of the state of Bavaria in Germany. Between 1946 and 1999 there was an upper house, the Senate of Bavaria. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum.
Elections to the Landtag are held every five years[1] and have to be conducted on a Sunday or public holiday[2]. The following elections have to be held no earlier than 59 months and no later than 62 months after the previous one[3], unless the Landtag is dissolved.
The most recent elections to the Bavarian Landtag were held on 28 September 2008[4].
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[edit] Results of the 2008 Elections
The 2008 Bavarian Landtag elections saw the a drop-off in support for the Christian Social Union, which has dominated politics in the state since the 1950s.
| Party | Ideology | Vote % (change) | Seats (change) | Seat % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Social Union (CSU) | Center-right | 43.4% | -17.3% | 92 | -32 | 49.2% | |
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Center-left | 18.6% | -1.0% | 39 | -2 | 20.9% | |
| Free Voters (FW) | Various, lean right | 10.2% | +6.2% | 21 | +21 | 11.2% | |
| Alliance '90/The Greens | Environmental, left-wing | 9.4% | +1.7% | 19 | +4 | 10.2% | |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | Free Market | 8.0% | +5.4% | 16 | +16 | 8.6% | |
| The Left (Die Linke) | Far left, Eurocommunist | 4.3% | +4.3% | ||||
| Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) | Environmental, center-right | 2.0% | +0.0% | ||||
| The Republicans (Republikaner) | Far-right | 1.4% | -0.9% | ||||
| National Democratic Party (NPD) | Far-right, nationalist | 1.2% | +1.2% | ||||
| Bavaria Party (BP) | Secessionist, center-right | 1.1% | +0.3% | ||||
| Pensioners' Party (RRP) | Pensioner's Advocacy | 0.2% | +0.2% | ||||
| The Violets (Violetten) | Spiritualist | 0.1% | +0.1% | ||||
| Citizens' Bloc (BB) | 0.1% | +0.1% | |||||
| All Others | 0.0% | +0.0% | |||||
| Total | 100.0% | 187 | +7 | 100.0% | |||
Turnout was at 58.1%, up from 57.1% in the 2003 Landtag election.
Elections are conducted using a proportional representation system. A minimum 5% share of the votes is required under German law in order to receive any seats.
[edit] Composition of the Landtag
The state government is formed by the CSU. Günther Beckstein has been Minister President of Bavaria since September 2007, when he succeeded Edmund Stoiber, who had been Minister President since 1998. Their mutual party, the CSU, has dominated the Bavarian Landtag for nearly the entire post-war period.
The CSU's 2003 election victory was the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany that any party had won a two-thirds majority of seats in an assembly at any level[5].
Five years later in 2008, the CSU saw a stunning reversal of fortunes, and failed to win a majority of seats in Bavaria for the first time in 46 years. In the aftermath of this result, the SPD floated the idea that the four other parties should all unite to form a government excluding the CSU, as it had "lost its mandate to lead." The FDP were not interested.
[edit] Election results 1946-2008
| Year | CSU | SPD | B'90/Grüne | KPD | FDP | BP | BHE DG | GB BHE | NPD | WAV | REP | FW | ÖDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 58,3 | 28,8 | — | 5,3 | 2,5 | — | — | — | — | 5,1 | — | — | — |
| 1946 | 52,3 | 28,6 | — | 6,1 | 5,7 | — | — | — | — | 7,4 | — | — | — |
| 1950 | 27,4 | 28,0 | — | — | 7,1 | 17,9 | 12,3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1954 | 38,0 | 28,1 | — | — | 7,2 | 13,2 | — | 10,2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1958 | 45,6 | 30,8 | — | — | 5,6 | 8,1 | — | 8,6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1962 | 47,5 | 35,3 | — | — | 5,9 | 4,8 | — | 5,1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1966 | 48,1 | 35,8 | — | — | 5,1 | 3,2 | — | — | 7,4 | — | — | — | — |
| 1970 | 56,4 | 33,3 | — | — | 5,6 | 1,3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1974 | 62,1 | 30,2 | — | — | 5,2 | 0,8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978 | 59,1 | 31,4 | — | — | 6,2 | 0,4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1982 | 58,3 | 31,9 | 4,6 | — | 3,5 | 0,5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0,4 |
| 1986 | 55,8 | 27,5 | 7,5 | — | 3,8 | 0,6 | — | — | — | — | 3,0 | — | 0,7 |
| 1990 | 54,9 | 26,0 | 6,4 | — | 5,2 | 0,8 | — | — | — | — | 4,9 | — | 1,7 |
| 1994 | 52,8 | 30,0 | 6,1 | — | 2,8 | 1,0 | — | — | — | — | 3,9 | — | 2,1 |
| 1998 | 52,9 | 28,7 | 5,7 | — | 1,7 | 0,7 | — | — | — | — | 3,6 | 3,7 | 1,8 |
| 2003 | 60,7 | 19,6 | 7,7 | — | 2,6 | 0,8 | — | — | — | — | 2,2 | 4,0 | 2,0 |
| 2008 | 43,4 | 18,6 | 9,4 | — | 8,0 | 1,1 | — | — | 1,2 | — | 1,4 | 10,2 | 2,0 |
Source:"Wahlergebnisse seit 1946". Bavarian Landtag. http://www.bayern.landtag.de/pdf_internet/Gesamtwahl2003.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
Parties:
- BP: Bavaria Party - Bayernpartei
- CSU: Christian Social Union of Bavaria - Christlich Soziale Union Bayerns
- FDP: Free Democratic Party - Freie Demokratische Partei
- FW: Independents - Freie Wähler
- GB/BHE: Gesamtdeutscher Block/Block der Heimatvertriebenen und Entrechteten
- B'90/Grüne: Alliance '90/The Greens - Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
- KPD: Communist Party of Germany - Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands
- NPD: National Democratic Party of Germany - Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands
- ÖDP: Ecological Democratic Party - Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei
- REP: The Republicans - Die Republikaner
- SPD: Social Democratic Party of Germany - Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschland
- WAV: Wirtschaftliche Aufbau Vereinigung
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official website of the Bavarian Landtag (in German)
- Official website of the Bavarian Landtag (in English)
- Landeswahlgesetz - Laws and regulations governing elections in Bavaria (in German)
- Website of the Bavarian government (in German)
- Website of the Bavarian government (in English)
[edit] References
- ^ Landtag A-Z - Legislaturperiode (in German) Landtag website, accessed: 06 June 2008
- ^ Tag der Abstimmung - Election date (in German) Landeswahlgesetz, accessed: 6 June 2008
- ^ Bavarian constitution - Article 16 Legislative terms, new elections Landtag website, accessed: 7 June 2008
- ^ Wahltermine in Deutschland - Election dates for Germany (in German) Website of the Deutscher Bundestag, accessed: 06 June 2008
- ^ Stoiber - Dominant But Not Omnipotent American Institute for contemporary German studies, author: Prof. Clayton Clemens, accessed: 7 June 2008
Coordinates: 48°08′11″N 11°35′40″E / 48.13639°N 11.59444°E
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