Brandenburg state election, 2004
Encyclopedia
The Brandenburg state election, 2004, was conducted on September 19, 2004, to elect members to the Landtag of Brandenburg
, the state legislature of Brandenburg
.
's Agenda 2010
policy, which was a reaction to the problems of constantly high unemployment in Germany. The establishing of a lower welfare payment (called Hartz IV after an expert who had invented it) for people unemployed for more than a year had driven many voters to the left Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) party in the east, to the new-founded WASG in the west or away from the elections at all. Since 2003 the CDU had won more and more states, whereas the SPD suffered a string of heavy defeats.
In Brandenburg, both minister-president Matthias Platzeck
(SPD) and his partner Jörg Schönbohm
(CDU) supported the labour reforms. Against this campaigned the PDS and the far-right German People's Union
(DVU), which had gained seats in the Landtag in 1999 for the first time.
Despite predictions that the PDS could become strongest party in an election for the first time, the SPD managed to remain in front, but dropped significantly. The CDU also lost votes and fell into third place.
(SPD) remained Minister-President and continued the previous SPD-CDU coalition.
Landtag of Brandenburg
The Landtag of Brandenburg is the unicameral legislature of the state of Brandenburg in Germany.It has 88 members of parliament, currently belonging to four parties.-History:...
, the state legislature of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
.
Issues and Campaign
Before Bandenburg, the SPD had lost many state elections, what was connected to Gerhard SchröderGerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
's Agenda 2010
Agenda 2010
The Agenda 2010 is a series of reforms planned and executed by the German government which are aimed at reforming the German social system and labour market. The declared aim of Agenda 2010 is to improve economic growth and thus reduce unemployment....
policy, which was a reaction to the problems of constantly high unemployment in Germany. The establishing of a lower welfare payment (called Hartz IV after an expert who had invented it) for people unemployed for more than a year had driven many voters to the left Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) party in the east, to the new-founded WASG in the west or away from the elections at all. Since 2003 the CDU had won more and more states, whereas the SPD suffered a string of heavy defeats.
In Brandenburg, both minister-president Matthias Platzeck
Matthias Platzeck
Matthias Platzeck is a German politician. He has been Minister-President of Brandenburg since 2002 and party chairman of the SPD from November 2005 to April 2006.-Private life:...
(SPD) and his partner Jörg Schönbohm
Jörg Schönbohm
Jörg Schönbohm is a German politician and a retired Lieutenant General. He was the first commander of the Bundeswehr Eastern Command in 1990, which supervised the absorption of the East German National People's Army into the Federal German armed forces...
(CDU) supported the labour reforms. Against this campaigned the PDS and the far-right German People's Union
German People's Union
The German People's Union is a nationalist political party in Germany. It was founded by publisher Gerhard Frey as an informal association in 1971 and established as a party in 1987. Financially, it is largely dependent on Frey....
(DVU), which had gained seats in the Landtag in 1999 for the first time.
Results
| Party | Party List votes | Vote percentage (change) | Total Seats (change) | Seat percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... (SPD) |
372,942 | 31.9% | -7.4% | 33 | -4 | 37.5% |
| Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) | 326,801 | 28.0% | +4.7% | 29 | +7 | 33.0% |
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 227,062 | 19.4% | -7.1% | 20 | -5 | 22.7% |
| Deutsche Volksunion (DVU) | 71,045 | 6.1% | +0.8% | 6 | +1 | 6.8% |
| Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir... |
42,087 | 3.6% | +1.7% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... (FDP) |
38,890 | 3.3% | +1.4% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| Family Party of Germany Family Party of Germany The Family Party of Germany is a minor conservative German political party . It was created in 1981 and is led since 1989 by pediatrician Dr. Franz-Josef Breyer. It has elected members to several local councils in the Saarland. In the 2005 federal elections, the Family Party received 0.4% of the... (Familie) |
30,843 | 2.6% | +2.6% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| All Others | 59,239 | 5.1% | +3.3% | 0 | +0 | 0.0% |
| Totals | 1,168,909 | 100.0% | 88 | -1 | 100.0% | |
Post-election
Matthias PlatzeckMatthias Platzeck
Matthias Platzeck is a German politician. He has been Minister-President of Brandenburg since 2002 and party chairman of the SPD from November 2005 to April 2006.-Private life:...
(SPD) remained Minister-President and continued the previous SPD-CDU coalition.