Lower Saxony state election, 2003
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The 2003 Lower Saxony state election was held in Lower Saxony in north-western Germany on 2 February 2003. The incumbent Social Democratic Party was defeated by the opposition Christian Democratic Union.
Background
The election in Lower Saxony had larger significance than just in the state itself.[1] Defeat for the Social Democrats in the election would mean they lost their slim majority in the upper house of the German parliament, the Bundesrat.[1] It was thought this might cause the collapse of Gerhard Schröder's national coalition government between the Social Democrats and the Green Party.[1]
Campaign
The economy was seen as the most important issue in the election, with the Social Democrats suffering as a result.[2]
Opinion polls in December 2002 showed the Christian Democrats in the lead with 43% as against 34% for the Social Democrats.[3]
Results
Summary of the 2 February 2003 election results for the Landtag of Lower Saxony
| Party | Party list votes | Vote % (change) | Seats (change) | Seat % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 1,925,055 | 48.3% | +12.4% | 91 | +29 | 49.7% | |
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 1,330,156 | 33.4% | -14.5% | 63 | -20 | 34.4% | |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 323,107 | 8.1% | +3.2% | 15 | +15 | 8.2% | |
| Green Party (Bündnis 90/Grünen) | 304,532 | 7.6% | +0.6% | 14 | +2 | 7.7% | |
| Law and Order Offensive Party | 40,342 | 1.0% | +1.0% | 0 | - | 0.0% | |
| Party of Democratic Socialism | 21,560 | 0.5% | +0.3% | 0 | - | 0% | |
| Others | 39,257 | 1.0% | -3.0% | 0 | - | 0% | |
| Total | 3,984,009 | 100.0% | 183 | +26 | 100.0% | ||
| Sources: Parties and Elections in Europe and Adam Carr's Election Archive | |||||||
Aftermath
The SPD vote share fell dramatically, and Christian Wulff (CDU) was able to form a CDU-FDP coalition and become Prime Minister instead of Sigmar Gabriel (SPD).
References
- 1 2 3 Hall, Allan (2002-12-01). "The joke's on Schroder as Germans seek serious answers to economic crisis". Scotland on Sunday. p. 21.
- ↑ "State voters reject Schroeder". CNN. 2003-02-03. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ↑ Hall, Allan (2002-12-26). "Germany is desperately seeking Schroder as chancellor loses his grip". The Scotsman. p. 9.