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2009 German federal election

Updated: Wikipedia source

2009 German federal election

A federal election was held in Germany on 27 September 2009 to elect the members of the 17th Bundestag. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) won the election, and the three parties formed a new centre-right government with Angela Merkel as chancellor. While CDU/CSU's share of votes decreased slightly, it was more than compensated by the gains of their "desired coalition partner", the liberal FDP, that won the strongest result in its history. CDU and CSU's former partner in the "Grand coalition", the Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, conceded defeat after dropping by more than 11 percentage points, receiving its hitherto worst result since the end of the Second World War (only undercut in 2017 and 2025). At 70.8 percent, the voter turnout was the lowest in a German federal election since 1949.

Infobox

Registered
62,168,489 ( 0.5%)
Turnout
70.8% ( 6.9 pp)
Candidate
Gregor Gysi &Oskar Lafontaine
Party
Left
Last election
8.7%, 54 seats
Seats won
76
Seat change
22
Popular vote
5,155,933
Percentage
11.9%
Swing
3.2 pp

Tables

· Opinion polls
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
Institute
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
Date
18 Sept
CDU/CSU
36%
SPD
25%
Greens
10%
FDP
13%
The Left
11%
Others
5%
Forsa
Forsa
Institute
Forsa
Date
16 Sept
CDU/CSU
37%
SPD
24%
Greens
11%
FDP
12%
The Left
10%
Others
6%
Allensbach
Allensbach
Institute
Allensbach
Date
16 Sept
CDU/CSU
36%
SPD
22.5%
Greens
12%
FDP
12.5%
The Left
12%
Others
6%
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
Institute
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
Date
11 Sept
CDU/CSU
36%
SPD
23%
Greens
11%
FDP
14%
The Left
11%
Others
5%
Infratest dimap
Infratest dimap
Institute
Infratest dimap
Date
10 Sept
CDU/CSU
35%
SPD
23%
Greens
12%
FDP
14%
The Left
12%
Others
4%
Allensbach
Allensbach
Institute
Allensbach
Date
9 Sept
CDU/CSU
35%
SPD
22.5%
Greens
13%
FDP
13%
The Left
11.5%
Others
5%
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
Institute
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
Date
4 Sept
CDU/CSU
37%
SPD
23%
Greens
11%
FDP
15%
The Left
10%
Others
4%
Emnid
Emnid
Institute
Emnid
Date
3 Sept
CDU/CSU
34%
SPD
26%
Greens
11%
FDP
14%
The Left
11%
Others
4%
INFO GmbH
INFO GmbH
Institute
INFO GmbH
Date
2 Sept
CDU/CSU
35%
SPD
23%
Greens
12%
FDP
14%
The Left
11%
Others
4%
Allensbach
Allensbach
Institute
Allensbach
Date
1 Sept
CDU/CSU
35.5%
SPD
23%
Greens
13.5%
FDP
14%
The Left
9.5%
Others
4.5%
GMS
GMS
Institute
GMS
Date
24 Aug
CDU/CSU
37%
SPD
23%
Greens
13%
FDP
13%
The Left
9%
Others
5%
Institute
Date
CDU/CSU
SPD
Greens
FDP
The Left
Others
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
18 Sept
36%
25%
10%
13%
11%
5%
Forsa
16 Sept
37%
24%
11%
12%
10%
6%
Allensbach
16 Sept
36%
22.5%
12%
12.5%
12%
6%
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
11 Sept
36%
23%
11%
14%
11%
5%
Infratest dimap
10 Sept
35%
23%
12%
14%
12%
4%
Allensbach
9 Sept
35%
22.5%
13%
13%
11.5%
5%
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
4 Sept
37%
23%
11%
15%
10%
4%
Emnid
3 Sept
34%
26%
11%
14%
11%
4%
INFO GmbH
2 Sept
35%
23%
12%
14%
11%
4%
Allensbach
1 Sept
35.5%
23%
13.5%
14%
9.5%
4.5%
GMS
24 Aug
37%
23%
13%
13%
9%
5%
· Results
Party
Party
Col 1
Party
Col 2
Party-list
Col 3
Constituency
Col 4
Totalseats
Col 5
+/–
Votes
Votes
Col 1
Votes
Col 2
%
Col 3
Seats
Col 4
Votes
Col 5
%
Col 6
Seats
Total
Total
Col 1
Total
Col 2
43,371,190
Col 3
100.00
Col 4
323
Col 5
43,248,000
Col 6
100.00
Col 7
299
Col 8
622
Col 9
+8
Valid votes
Valid votes
Col 1
Valid votes
Col 2
43,371,190
Col 3
98.56
Col 5
43,248,000
Col 6
98.28
Invalid/blank votes
Invalid/blank votes
Col 1
Invalid/blank votes
Col 2
634,385
Col 3
1.44
Col 5
757,575
Col 6
1.72
Total votes
Total votes
Col 1
Total votes
Col 2
44,005,575
Col 3
100.00
Col 5
44,005,575
Col 6
100.00
Registered voters/turnout
Registered voters/turnout
Col 1
Registered voters/turnout
Col 2
62,168,489
Col 3
70.78
Col 5
62,168,489
Col 6
70.78
Source: Bundeswahlleiter
Source: Bundeswahlleiter
Col 1
Source: Bundeswahlleiter
Party
Party-list
Constituency
Totalseats
+/–
Votes
%
Seats
Votes
%
Seats
Christian Democratic Union
11,828,277
27.27
21
13,856,674
32.04
173
194
+14
Social Democratic Party
9,990,488
23.03
82
12,079,758
27.93
64
146
−76
Free Democratic Party
6,316,080
14.56
93
4,076,496
9.43
0
93
+32
The Left
5,155,933
11.89
60
4,791,124
11.08
16
76
+22
Alliance 90/The Greens
4,643,272
10.71
67
3,977,125
9.20
1
68
+17
Christian Social Union
2,830,238
6.53
0
3,191,000
7.38
45
45
−1
Pirate Party Germany
847,870
1.95
0
46,770
0.11
0
0
New
National Democratic Party
635,525
1.47
0
768,442
1.78
0
0
0
Human Environment Animal Protection Party
230,872
0.53
0
16,887
0.04
0
0
0
The Republicans
193,396
0.45
0
30,061
0.07
0
0
0
Ecological Democratic Party
132,249
0.30
0
105,653
0.24
0
0
0
Family Party
120,718
0.28
0
17,848
0.04
0
0
0
Alliance 21/RRP [de]
100,605
0.23
0
37,946
0.09
0
0
New
Pensioner Party Germany [de]
56,399
0.13
0
0
New
Bavaria Party
48,311
0.11
0
32,324
0.07
0
0
0
German People's Union
45,752
0.11
0
0
0
Party of Bible-abiding Christians
40,370
0.09
0
12,052
0.03
0
0
0
Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität
38,706
0.09
0
34,894
0.08
0
0
0
The Violets
31,957
0.07
0
5,794
0.01
0
0
0
Marxist–Leninist Party
29,261
0.07
0
17,512
0.04
0
0
0
Alliance for Germany [de]
23,015
0.05
0
2,550
0.01
0
0
0
Free Voters
11,243
0.03
0
0
New
Christian Centre
6,826
0.02
0
0
0
Centre Party
6,087
0.01
0
369
0.00
0
0
0
Party for Social Equality
2,957
0.01
0
0
0
Alliance of the Centre [de]
2,889
0.01
0
396
0.00
0
0
New
German Communist Party
1,894
0.00
0
929
0.00
0
0
0
Free Union [de]
6,121
0.01
0
0
New
Independents and voter groups
139,275
0.32
0
0
0
Total
43,371,190
100.00
323
43,248,000
100.00
299
622
+8
Valid votes
43,371,190
98.56
43,248,000
98.28
Invalid/blank votes
634,385
1.44
757,575
1.72
Total votes
44,005,575
100.00
44,005,575
100.00
Registered voters/turnout
62,168,489
70.78
62,168,489
70.78
Source: Bundeswahlleiter
· Results › Results by state
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
State results in %
Baden-Württemberg
CDU/CSU
34.5
SPD
19.3
FDP
18.8
LINKE
7.2
GRÜNE
13.9
all others
6.3
Bavaria
Bavaria
State results in %
Bavaria
CDU/CSU
42.6
SPD
16.8
FDP
14.7
LINKE
6.5
GRÜNE
10.8
all others
8.6
Berlin
Berlin
State results in %
Berlin
CDU/CSU
22.8
SPD
20.2
FDP
11.5
LINKE
20.2
GRÜNE
17.4
all others
7.9
Brandenburg
Brandenburg
State results in %
Brandenburg
CDU/CSU
23.6
SPD
25.1
FDP
9.3
LINKE
28.5
GRÜNE
6.1
all others
7.4
Bremen
Bremen
State results in %
Bremen
CDU/CSU
23.9
SPD
30.3
FDP
10.6
LINKE
14.2
GRÜNE
15.4
all others
5.6
Hamburg
Hamburg
State results in %
Hamburg
CDU/CSU
27.9
SPD
27.4
FDP
13.2
LINKE
11.2
GRÜNE
15.6
all others
4.7
Hesse
Hesse
State results in %
Hesse
CDU/CSU
32.2
SPD
25.6
FDP
16.6
LINKE
8.5
GRÜNE
12.0
all others
5.1
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
State results in %
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
CDU/CSU
33.2
SPD
16.6
FDP
9.8
LINKE
29.0
GRÜNE
5.5
all others
5.9
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
State results in %
Lower Saxony
CDU/CSU
33.2
SPD
29.3
FDP
13.3
LINKE
8.6
GRÜNE
10.7
all others
4.9
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
State results in %
North Rhine-Westphalia
CDU/CSU
33.1
SPD
28.5
FDP
14.9
LINKE
8.4
GRÜNE
10.1
all others
5.0
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
State results in %
Rhineland-Palatinate
CDU/CSU
35.0
SPD
23.8
FDP
16.6
LINKE
9.4
GRÜNE
9.7
all others
5.5
Saarland
Saarland
State results in %
Saarland
CDU/CSU
30.7
SPD
24.7
FDP
11.9
LINKE
21.2
GRÜNE
6.8
all others
4.7
Saxony
Saxony
State results in %
Saxony
CDU/CSU
35.6
SPD
14.6
FDP
13.3
LINKE
24.5
GRÜNE
6.7
all others
5.3
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
State results in %
Saxony-Anhalt
CDU/CSU
30.1
SPD
16.9
FDP
10.3
LINKE
32.4
GRÜNE
5.1
all others
5.2
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
State results in %
Schleswig-Holstein
CDU/CSU
32.2
SPD
26.8
FDP
16.3
LINKE
7.9
GRÜNE
12.7
all others
4.1
Thuringia
Thuringia
State results in %
Thuringia
CDU/CSU
31.2
SPD
17.6
FDP
9.8
LINKE
28.8
GRÜNE
6.0
all others
6.6
State results in %
CDU/CSU
SPD
FDP
LINKE
GRÜNE
all others
Baden-Württemberg
34.5
19.3
18.8
7.2
13.9
6.3
Bavaria
42.6
16.8
14.7
6.5
10.8
8.6
Berlin
22.8
20.2
11.5
20.2
17.4
7.9
Brandenburg
23.6
25.1
9.3
28.5
6.1
7.4
Bremen
23.9
30.3
10.6
14.2
15.4
5.6
Hamburg
27.9
27.4
13.2
11.2
15.6
4.7
Hesse
32.2
25.6
16.6
8.5
12.0
5.1
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
33.2
16.6
9.8
29.0
5.5
5.9
Lower Saxony
33.2
29.3
13.3
8.6
10.7
4.9
North Rhine-Westphalia
33.1
28.5
14.9
8.4
10.1
5.0
Rhineland-Palatinate
35.0
23.8
16.6
9.4
9.7
5.5
Saarland
30.7
24.7
11.9
21.2
6.8
4.7
Saxony
35.6
14.6
13.3
24.5
6.7
5.3
Saxony-Anhalt
30.1
16.9
10.3
32.4
5.1
5.2
Schleswig-Holstein
32.2
26.8
16.3
7.9
12.7
4.1
Thuringia
31.2
17.6
9.8
28.8
6.0
6.6
· Results › Results by state › Constituency seats
CDU
CDU
State
CDU
Totalseats
SPD
Seats won
CSU
Seats won
Linke
Seats won
Grüne
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
State
Baden-Württemberg
Totalseats
38
Seats won
37
Seats won
1
Bavaria
Bavaria
State
Bavaria
Totalseats
45
Seats won
45
Berlin
Berlin
State
Berlin
Totalseats
12
Seats won
5
Seats won
2
Seats won
4
Seats won
1
Brandenburg
Brandenburg
State
Brandenburg
Totalseats
10
Seats won
1
Seats won
5
Seats won
4
Bremen
Bremen
State
Bremen
Totalseats
2
Seats won
2
Hamburg
Hamburg
State
Hamburg
Totalseats
6
Seats won
3
Seats won
3
Hesse
Hesse
State
Hesse
Totalseats
21
Seats won
15
Seats won
6
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
State
Lower Saxony
Totalseats
30
Seats won
16
Seats won
14
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
State
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Totalseats
7
Seats won
6
Seats won
1
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
State
North Rhine-Westphalia
Totalseats
64
Seats won
37
Seats won
27
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
State
Rhineland-Palatinate
Totalseats
15
Seats won
13
Seats won
2
Saarland
Saarland
State
Saarland
Totalseats
4
Seats won
4
Saxony
Saxony
State
Saxony
Totalseats
16
Seats won
16
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
State
Saxony-Anhalt
Totalseats
9
Seats won
4
Seats won
5
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
State
Schleswig-Holstein
Totalseats
11
Seats won
9
Seats won
2
Thuringia
Thuringia
State
Thuringia
Totalseats
9
Seats won
7
Seats won
2
Total
Total
State
Total
Totalseats
299
Seats won
173
Seats won
64
Seats won
45
Seats won
16
Seats won
1
State
Totalseats
Seats won
CDU
SPD
CSU
Linke
Grüne
Baden-Württemberg
38
37
1
Bavaria
45
45
Berlin
12
5
2
4
1
Brandenburg
10
1
5
4
Bremen
2
2
Hamburg
6
3
3
Hesse
21
15
6
Lower Saxony
30
16
14
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
7
6
1
North Rhine-Westphalia
64
37
27
Rhineland-Palatinate
15
13
2
Saarland
4
4
Saxony
16
16
Saxony-Anhalt
9
4
5
Schleswig-Holstein
11
9
2
Thuringia
9
7
2
Total
299
173
64
45
16
1
· Results › Results by state › List seats
FDP
FDP
State
FDP
Totalseats
SPD
Seats won
Grüne
Seats won
Linke
Seats won
CDU
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
State
Baden-Württemberg
Totalseats
46
Seats won
15
Seats won
14
Seats won
11
Seats won
6
Bavaria
Bavaria
State
Bavaria
Totalseats
46
Seats won
14
Seats won
16
Seats won
10
Seats won
6
Berlin
Berlin
State
Berlin
Totalseats
11
Seats won
3
Seats won
3
Seats won
3
Seats won
1
Seats won
1
Brandenburg
Brandenburg
State
Brandenburg
Totalseats
9
Seats won
2
Seats won
1
Seats won
2
Seats won
4
Bremen
Bremen
State
Bremen
Totalseats
4
Seats won
1
Seats won
1
Seats won
1
Seats won
1
Hamburg
Hamburg
State
Hamburg
Totalseats
7
Seats won
2
Seats won
1
Seats won
2
Seats won
1
Seats won
1
Hesse
Hesse
State
Hesse
Totalseats
24
Seats won
8
Seats won
6
Seats won
6
Seats won
4
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
State
Lower Saxony
Totalseats
32
Seats won
9
Seats won
5
Seats won
7
Seats won
6
Seats won
5
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
State
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Totalseats
7
Seats won
1
Seats won
2
Seats won
1
Seats won
3
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
State
North Rhine-Westphalia
Totalseats
65
Seats won
20
Seats won
12
Seats won
14
Seats won
11
Seats won
8
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
State
Rhineland-Palatinate
Totalseats
17
Seats won
5
Seats won
6
Seats won
3
Seats won
3
Saarland
Saarland
State
Saarland
Totalseats
6
Seats won
1
Seats won
2
Seats won
1
Seats won
2
Saxony
Saxony
State
Saxony
Totalseats
19
Seats won
4
Seats won
5
Seats won
2
Seats won
8
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
State
Saxony-Anhalt
Totalseats
8
Seats won
2
Seats won
3
Seats won
1
Seats won
1
Seats won
1
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
State
Schleswig-Holstein
Totalseats
13
Seats won
4
Seats won
4
Seats won
3
Seats won
2
Thuringia
Thuringia
State
Thuringia
Totalseats
9
Seats won
2
Seats won
3
Seats won
1
Seats won
3
Total
Total
State
Total
Totalseats
323
Seats won
93
Seats won
82
Seats won
67
Seats won
60
Seats won
21
State
Totalseats
Seats won
FDP
SPD
Grüne
Linke
CDU
Baden-Württemberg
46
15
14
11
6
Bavaria
46
14
16
10
6
Berlin
11
3
3
3
1
1
Brandenburg
9
2
1
2
4
Bremen
4
1
1
1
1
Hamburg
7
2
1
2
1
1
Hesse
24
8
6
6
4
Lower Saxony
32
9
5
7
6
5
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
7
1
2
1
3
North Rhine-Westphalia
65
20
12
14
11
8
Rhineland-Palatinate
17
5
6
3
3
Saarland
6
1
2
1
2
Saxony
19
4
5
2
8
Saxony-Anhalt
8
2
3
1
1
1
Schleswig-Holstein
13
4
4
3
2
Thuringia
9
2
3
1
3
Total
323
93
82
67
60
21

References

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  2. The Telegraph
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  3. www.gesetze-im-internet.de
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  4. "Federal Constitutional Court decision on the Federal Election Law"
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  5. Decision of the Federal Constitutional Court Archived 19 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 13
    http://www.bverfg.de/entscheidungen/fs20120725_2bvf000311.html
  6. Bill amending the Federal Election Law Archived 24 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 25
    http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/118/1711819.pdf
  7. Die Zeit
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  8. www.gesetze-im-internet.de
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  9. www.gesetze-im-internet.de
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  10. www.bundeswahlleiter.de
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  11. www.gesetze-im-internet.de
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  12. Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
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  13. https://cn.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUSTRE58M2OS20090923%7Cdate=March[permanent dead link] 2012}
    https://cn.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUSTRE58M2OS20090923%7Cdate=March
  14. Der Spiegel
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  15. BBC News
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  16. Socialist Worker Online
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  17. Los Angeles Times
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  18. "Bosom pals pep up German politics"
    https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8198271.stm
  19. Der Spiegel
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  20. "German 'race hate' letters probed"
    https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8270598.stm
  21. "NPD sends offensive letter to candidates with Turkish background"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20121009175425/http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,4713188,00.html?maca=en-currentaffairs_germany-77-rdf
  22. "Neo-Nazis tell immigrants to 'go home'"
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  23. Canada.com
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  24. "Opinion Poll Tracker Bundestagswahl 2009 Germany's Federal Election"
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  25. "Sonntagsfrage – Umfragen zur Bundestagswahl (Wahlumfrage, Wahlumfragen)"
    http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/index.htm
  26. Allensbach-Umfrage: Vorsprung für Schwarz-Gelb schrumpft. Archived 30 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine FAZ.NET, 9 Se
    https://www.faz.net/s/Rub4D6E6242947140018FC1DA8D5E0008C5/Doc~EAB7357638589470496F63602B8BE2E6D~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html?rss_politik
  27. "Sonntagsfrage – Umfragen zur Bundestagswahl weiterer Institute"
    http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/weitere-umfragen.htm
  28. Bloomberg
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  29. Der Spiegel Online
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  30. The Economist
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  31. Der Spiegel
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  32. "The Federal Returning Officer"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20160115225314/https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/de/bundestagswahlen/BTW_BUND_09/ergebnisse/landesergebnisse/
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