Landtag of Bavaria
Encyclopedia
The Landtag of Bavaria (State Diet of Bavaria) is the unicameral legislature of the state
of Bavaria
in Germany
. Between 1946 and 1999 there was an upper house, the Senate of Bavaria
. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum
.
Elections to the Landtag are held every five years and have to be conducted on a Sunday or public holiday. The following elections have to be held no earlier than 59 months and no later than 62 months after the previous one, unless the Landtag is dissolved.
The most recent elections to the Bavarian Landtag were held on 28 September 2008.
, which has dominated politics in the state since the 1950s.
Elections are conducted using a proportional representation
system. A minimum 5% share of the votes is required under German law in order for a party to receive any seats.
has been Minister President
of Bavaria since September 2007, when he succeeded Edmund Stoiber
, who had been Minister President since 1998. In October 2008 Horst Seehofer
became the current Minister President. Their mutual party, the CSU, has dominated the Bavarian Landtag for nearly the entire post-war period.
The CSU's 2003 election victory was the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany that any party had won a two-thirds majority of seats in an assembly at any level.
Five years later in 2008, the CSU saw a stunning reversal of fortunes, and failed to win a majority of seats in Bavaria for the first time in 46 years. In the aftermath of this result, the SPD floated the idea that the four other parties should all unite to form a government excluding the CSU, as it had "lost its mandate to lead." The FDP were not interested.
Source:
Parties:
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Between 1946 and 1999 there was an upper house, the Senate of Bavaria
Senate of Bavaria
The Senate of Bavaria was the corporative upper chamber of Bavaria's parliamentary system from 1946 to 1999, when it was abolished by a popular vote changing the constitution of this State of the German federation....
. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum
Maximilianeum
The Maximilianeum, a palatial building in Munich, was built as the home of a gifted students' foundation and has also housed the Bavarian Landtag since 1949.The principal was King Maximilian II of Bavaria, who started the project in 1857...
.
Elections to the Landtag are held every five years and have to be conducted on a Sunday or public holiday. The following elections have to be held no earlier than 59 months and no later than 62 months after the previous one, unless the Landtag is dissolved.
The most recent elections to the Bavarian Landtag were held on 28 September 2008.
Results of the 2008 Elections
The 2008 Bavarian Landtag elections saw a drop-off in support for the Christian Social UnionChristian Social Union of Bavaria
The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...
, which has dominated politics in the state since the 1950s.
Elections are conducted using a proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
system. A minimum 5% share of the votes is required under German law in order for a party to receive any seats.
Composition of the Landtag
The state government is formed by the CSU. Günther BecksteinGünther Beckstein
Günther Beckstein is a Bavarian CSU politician and was Minister-President of Bavaria from 9 October 2007 to 27 October 2008...
has been Minister President
Minister-President
A minister-president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments, in which a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government prevails, who presides over the council of ministers...
of Bavaria since September 2007, when he succeeded Edmund Stoiber
Edmund Stoiber
Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber is a German politician, former minister-president of the state of Bavaria and former chairman of the Christian Social Union...
, who had been Minister President since 1998. In October 2008 Horst Seehofer
Horst Seehofer
Horst Lorenz Seehofer is a German politician . He was Federal Minister for Health and Social Security from 1992 to 1998 and served as Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in the cabinet of Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2008...
became the current Minister President. Their mutual party, the CSU, has dominated the Bavarian Landtag for nearly the entire post-war period.
The CSU's 2003 election victory was the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany that any party had won a two-thirds majority of seats in an assembly at any level.
Five years later in 2008, the CSU saw a stunning reversal of fortunes, and failed to win a majority of seats in Bavaria for the first time in 46 years. In the aftermath of this result, the SPD floated the idea that the four other parties should all unite to form a government excluding the CSU, as it had "lost its mandate to lead." The FDP were not interested.
Election results 1946-2008
| Year | CSU Christian Social Union of Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany... |
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
B'90/Grüne 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... |
KPD Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956... |
FDP 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... |
BP | BHE DG | GB BHE | NPD National Democratic Party of Germany The National Democratic Party of Germany – The People's Union , is a far right German nationalist party. It was founded in 1964 a successor to the German Reich Party . Party statements self-identify as Germany's "only significant patriotic force"... |
WAV | REP | FW | ÖDP Ecological Democratic Party The Ecological Democratic Party is an environmentalist political party in Germany. It was founded in 1982 by former members of the German Green Party. The ÖDP combines issues which are not often found together: a focus on state financial support for families and childrearing, and a belief in the... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 58,3 | 28,8 | — | 5,3 | 2,5 | — | — | — | — | 5,1 | — | — | — |
| 1946 | 52,3 | 28,6 | — | 6,1 | 5,7 | — | — | — | — | 7,4 | — | — | — |
| 1950 | 27,4 | 28,0 | — | — | 7,1 | 17,9 | 12,3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1954 | 38,0 | 28,1 | — | — | 7,2 | 13,2 | — | 10,2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1958 | 45,6 | 30,8 | — | — | 5,6 | 8,1 | — | 8,6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1962 | 47,5 | 35,3 | — | — | 5,9 | 4,8 | — | 5,1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1966 | 48,1 | 35,8 | — | — | 5,1 | 3,2 | — | — | 7,4 | — | — | — | — |
| 1970 | 56,4 | 33,3 | — | — | 5,6 | 1,3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1974 | 62,1 | 30,2 | — | — | 5,2 | 0,8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978 | 59,1 | 31,4 | — | — | 6,2 | 0,4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1982 | 58,3 | 31,9 | 4,6 | — | 3,5 | 0,5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0,4 |
| 1986 | 55,8 | 27,5 | 7,5 | — | 3,8 | 0,6 | — | — | — | — | 3,0 | — | 0,7 |
| 1990 | 54,9 | 26,0 | 6,4 | — | 5,2 | 0,8 | — | — | — | — | 4,9 | — | 1,7 |
| 1994 | 52,8 | 30,0 | 6,1 | — | 2,8 | 1,0 | — | — | — | — | 3,9 | — | 2,1 |
| 1998 | 52,9 | 28,7 | 5,7 | — | 1,7 | 0,7 | — | — | — | — | 3,6 | 3,7 | 1,8 |
| 2003 | 60,7 | 19,6 | 7,7 | — | 2,6 | 0,8 | — | — | — | — | 2,2 | 4,0 | 2,0 |
| 2008 | 43,4 | 18,6 | 9,4 | — | 8,0 | 1,1 | — | — | 1,2 | — | 1,4 | 10,2 | 2,0 |
Source:
Parties:
- BP: Bavaria Party - Bayernpartei
- CSU: Christian Social Union of Bavaria - Christlich Soziale Union Bayerns
- FDP: Free Democratic Party - Freie Demokratische Partei
- FW: Independents - Freie Wähler
- GB/BHE: Gesamtdeutscher Block/Block der HeimatvertriebeneHeimatvertriebeneHeimatvertriebene are those around 12 million ethnic Germans who fled or were expelled after World War II from parts of Germany annexed by Poland and Russia, and from other countries, who found refuge in both West and East Germany, and Austria...
n und Entrechteten - B'90/Grüne: Alliance '90/The Greens - Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
- KPD: Communist Party of Germany - Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands
- NPD: National Democratic Party of Germany - Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands
- ÖDP: Ecological Democratic Party - Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei
- REP: The Republicans - Die Republikaner
- SPD: Social Democratic Party of Germany - Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschland
- WAV: Wirtschaftliche Aufbau Vereinigung
See also
- Bavarian Landtag elections in the Weimar RepublicBavarian Landtag Elections in the Weimar RepublicThis article is concerned with the elections to the Bavarian Landtag in the crucial years of 1919-1933, the period known as the Weimar Republic.-1919:-1920:-1924:-1928:-1932:...
- Bavaria state election, 1998Bavaria state election, 1998The Bavaria state election, 1998, was conducted on September 13, 1998, to elect members to the Landtag of Bavaria.-Results:-Post-election:...
- Bavaria state election, 2003Bavaria state election, 2003The Bavaria state election, 2003, was conducted on September 21, 2003, to elect members to the Landtag of Bavaria.-Results:-Post-election:...
- Bavaria state election, 2008Bavaria state election, 2008The 2008 Bavarian state election was held on September 28, 2008. Voters of the German state of Bavaria elected members to the Bavarian Landtag .-Outcome:...
External links
- Official website of the Bavarian Landtag (in German)
- Official website of the Bavarian Landtag (in English)
- Landeswahlgesetz - Laws and regulations governing elections in Bavaria (in German)
- Website of the Bavarian government (in German)
- Website of the Bavarian government (in English)