2001 Rhineland-Palatinate state election

The 2001 Rhineland-Palatinate state election was held on 25 March 2001 to elect the members of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate. The incumbent coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Kurt Beck retained its majority and continued in office.

2001 Rhineland-Palatinate state election

← 1996 25 March 2001 2006 →

All 101 seats of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate
51 seats needed for a majority
Turnout1,833,846 (62.2%)
Decrease 8.6%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Kurt Beck Christoph Böhr
Party SPD CDU
Last election 43 seats, 39.8% 41 seats, 38.7%
Seats won 49 38
Seat change Increase 6 Decrease 3
Popular vote 820,610 647,238
Percentage 44.7% 35.3%
Swing Increase 5.0% Decrease 3.4%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Hans-Artur Bauckhage
Party FDP Greens
Last election 10 seats, 8.9% 7 seats, 6.9%
Seats won 8 6
Seat change Decrease 2 Decrease 1
Popular vote 143,427 95,567
Percentage 7.8% 5.2%
Swing Decrease 1.1% Decrease 1.7%

Results for the single-member constituencies

Minister-President before election

Kurt Beck
SPD

Elected Minister-President

Kurt Beck
SPD

Parties edit

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Name Ideology Leader(s) 1996 result
Votes (%) Seats
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Social democracy Kurt Beck 39.8%
43 / 101
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian democracy Christoph Böhr 38.7%
41 / 101
FDP Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei
Classical liberalism Hans-Artur Bauckhage 8.9%
10 / 101
Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Green politics 6.9%
7 / 101

Opinion polling edit

Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size
SPD CDU FDP Grüne Others Lead
2001 state election 25 Mar 2001 44.8 35.3 7.8 5.2 6.9 9.5
Infratest dimap 9–14 Mar 2001 1,000 43 35 9 6 7 8
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 5–8 Mar 2001 1,010 44 36 8 6 6 8
Infratest dimap 19–24 Feb 2001 1,000 44 39 7 5 5 5
Psephos 9–12 Feb 2001 1,004 41 37 9 7 6 4
Forsa 1 Feb 2001 ? 40 37 11 8 4 3
polis 4 Jan 2001 ? 42 39 7 5 7 3
Infratest dimap 20–25 Nov 2000 1,000 43 40 7 5 5 3
Psephos Oct 2000 1,006 41 38 9 6 ? 3
Infratest dimap 18–23 Sep 2000 1,000 40 43 7 5 5 3
Psephos 3–7 Aug 2000 1,002 42 36 10 6 ? 6
Infratest dimap 19–24 Jun 2000 1,000 41 40 10 6 3 1
Psephos 16–20 May 2000 1,002 40 39 10 6 5 1
Infratest dimap 13–19 Mar 2000 1,000 43 36 10 6 5 7
Infratest dimap Dec 1999 ? 36 43 8 6 7 7
Infratest dimap Sep 1999 ? 37 44 8 6 ? 7
Infratest dimap Jul 1999 1,003 37 44 7 7 ? 7
Infratest dimap Mar 1999 ? 40 39 10 6 5 1
Infratest dimap Dec 1998 ? 43 36 8 7 ? 7
Infratest dimap Jun 1998 1,002 44 34 9 6 ? 10
Infratest dimap Mar 1998 ? 46 33 8 6 ? 13
Infratest dimap Dec 1997 1,002 41 36 8 8 ? 5
Infratest dimap Sep 1997 ? 42 35 8 8 ? 7
1996 state election 24 Mar 1996 39.8 38.7 8.9 6.9 5.7 1.1

Election result edit

Summary of the 25 March 2001 election results for the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate
Party Votes % +/- Seats +/- Seats %
Social Democratic Party (SPD) 820,610 44.8  5.0 49  6 48.5
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 647,238 35.3  3.4 38  3 37.6
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 143,427 7.8  1.1 8  2 7.9
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 95,567 5.2  1.7 6  1 5.9
Free Voters (FW) 46,549 2.5  2.5 0 ±0 0
The Republicans (REP) 44,586 2.4  1.1 0 ±0 0
Others 35,869 2.0 0 ±0 0
Total 1,833,846 100.0 101 ±0
Voter turnout 62.2  8.6
Popular Vote
SPD
44.75%
CDU
35.29%
FDP
7.82%
B'90/GRÜNE
5.21%
Other
6.93%
Landtag seats
SPD
48.51%
CDU
37.62%
FDP
7.92%
B'90/GRÜNE
5.94%

Sources edit