German federal election, 2005
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| Bundestag Bundesrat Federal Convention Constitutional Court |
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The German federal election, 2005 is expected to be conducted on September 18, 2005 to elect members to the Bundestag (lower house) of Germany.
Background
The announcement of the planned election by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder followed the defeat of the Social Democratic Party in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany's most populous state) on May 22, 2005, which granted the Christian Democratic Union a landslide victory and strengthened its majority in the Bundesrat, the legislature's upper house.
Early elections can only be conducted after the dissolution of the Bundestag by President Horst Köhler, since the Bundestag itself is not allowed to dissolve itself. The President can dissolve it only after the Chancellor loses a vote on a motion of confidence. The Federal Constitutional Court ruled in a similar situation in 1983 that the Chancellor may not ask the President for the Bundestag's dissolution only for the sake of his desire for an early election; he has to have a real problem getting a majority for his legislation. Most observers agree that this is currently the case, since a number of left-wing SPD delegates have expressed great reservations about Chancellor Schröder's labor reform and welfare reform program. Chancellor Schröder has stated that he is hoping that the Bundestag's vote of no confidence occurs no later then July 1, clearing the way for dissolution by July 21 and the election by September 18 at latest.
The CDU/CSU have nominated Angela Merkel for Chancellor. This is the first time in the history of post-WW II Germany that a woman has been nominated for this position (see also History of Germany since 1945).
Early election polls show a solid lead for the CDU/CSU at 49%, and the SPD trailing at 28%. The poll further shows the FDP, a possible coalition partner for the conservatives at 7% and the Greens, the current coaltion partner for the SPD, at 8%.
Two of Germany's tiny far right parties, the National Democratic Party and the German Peoples Union, have announced that they will run on a common platform in this election, raising fears in the mainstream German political establishment that together they would be able to gain more than 5 percent of the national vote and thus enter the Bundestag. Because common lists of two or more parties are not permitted under German election law, in practice the German Peoples Union will not enter the election, and members of that party will go on the National Democratic Party list.
Results
| Party | Party List votes | Vote percentage (change) | Total Seats (change) | Seat percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | ||||||
| Alliance '90/The Greens | ||||||
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | ||||||
| Christian Social Union (CSU) | ||||||
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | ||||||
| Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) | ||||||
| National Democratic Party (NPD) | ||||||
| All Others | ||||||
| Totals | 100.0% | 100.0% | ||||
