Saarland state election, 2017
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The next Saarland state elections is scheduled to be hold on March 26, 2017.[2][3] At stake will be the 51 seats in the Landtag of Saarland. The incumbent Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, currently leading a Grand coalition[4] of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), will seek re-election after serving two terms as Minister-President.[5]
Background
The Saarland state election, 2012 was a snap election called due to the collaps of the Jamaica coalition of CDU, Free Democrats (FDP) and the Green Party on 6 January 2012. The result of the election was a victory for the governing Christian Democrats, while the FDP suffered enormous losses. The party thus failed to achieve parliamentary representation. The Greens lost voters, but obtained seats by getting enough votes to reach the 5 percent threshold. The oppositional Social Democrats led by Heiko Maas increased their number of seats and votes, but failed to become the largest party in parliament. The Left Party suffered moderate losses. The Pirate Party secured parliamentary representation for the first time in a Western German regional parliament.[6]
Parties and Candidates
| Party | Ideology | Leader(s) | Result in 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | Christian democracy, Liberal conservatism | Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer | 35.2 % (19 seats) | |
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | Social democracy | Anke Rehlinger | 30.6 % (17 seats) | |
| The Left | Democratic socialism, Left-wing populism | Oskar Lafontaine | 16.1 % (9 seats) | |
| Pirate Party | Pirate Party, Social liberalism | TBD | 7.4 % (4 seats) | |
| Alliance '90/The Greens | Green politics, Ecologism, Social Liberalism | Hubert Ulrich, Barbara-Meyer Gluche | 5.0 % (2 seats) | |
| Family Party | Conservatism | Roland Körner | 1.7 % (0 seats) | |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | Liberalism, Classical liberalism | Oliver Luksic | 1.2 % (0 seats) | |
| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | Right-wing populism, Euroscepticism | Rudolf Müller | — | |
Opinion Polls
Voting Intention
| Date | Polling Firm/Source |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Others | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 November 2016 | Forsa | 37.0 | 26.0 | 15.0 | – | 6.0 | – | 3.0 | 9.0 | 4.0 | 11.0 |
| 11 May 2016 | Infratest dimap | 34.0 | 29.0 | 12.0 | – | 7.0 | – | 4.0 | 11.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| 31 March 2015 | Infratest dimap | 40.0 | 33.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | – | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 |
| 25 May 2014 | EU Parliament election | 34.9 | 34.4 | 6.6 | 1.7 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 6.8 | 5.9 | 0.5 |
| 14 May 2014 | Infratest dimap | 37.0 | 34.0 | 13.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | – | – | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| 22 Sep 2013 | Federal Election | 37.8 | 31.0 | 10.0 | 2.6 | 5.7 | 1.2 | 3.8 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 5.6 |
| 7 May 2013 | Infratest dimap | 39.0 | 36.0 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | – | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| 25 Mar 2012 | 2012 election | 35.2 | 30.6 | 16.1 | 7.4 | 5.0 | 1.7 | 1.2 | – | 4.4 | 2.9 |
Preferred Minister-President
| Date | Polling Firm/Source |  AKK |
 AR |
 HM |
None |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 May 2016 | Infratest dimap | 59.0 | 26.0 | – | 10.0 |
| 31 March 2015 | Infratest dimap | 62.0 | 18.0 | – | 9.0 |
| 14 May 2014 | Infratest dimap | 53.0 | – | 35.0 | 6.0 |
| 7 May 2013 | Infratest dimap | 53.0 | – | 36.0 | 7.0 |
References
- ↑ The party leader: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, cdu-saar.de (German)
- ↑ Election dates in Germany, wahlrecht.de (German)
- ↑ Vor dem Wahlkampf: Elefantenrunde ohne Berührungsängste, Saarbrücker Zeitung (German), 13 Feb 2016
- ↑ Kramp-Karrenbauer für Fortsetzung der großen Koalition im Saarland, focus.de (German), 2 Oct 2014
- ↑ Die „rote Charlotte“ hält sich bereit, Frankfurter Allgemeine (German), 29 May 2015
- ↑ Merkel's party wins German state election, AlJazeera (English), 25 Mar 2012
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