The 2017 Saarland state election was held on 26 March 2017 to elect the members of the

Landtag of Saarland The Landtag of the Saarland is the state diet of the German federal state of Saarland. It convenes in Saarbrücken and currently consists of 51 members of five parties. The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) is the largest party in the Lan ...

. The incumbent

grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are ...

of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SPD) led by

Minister-President A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was returned with an increased majority.Die „rote Charlotte“ hält sich bereit
Frankfurter Allgemeine (German), 29 May 2015 Even though the Saarland is the second smallest state by population and does not represent Germany as a whole demographically, the election proved to be of pivotal importance to the following state elections and in particular the federal election later that year. Then-SPD leader Martin Schulz led the party to new heights in early 2017 and polls showed the SPD capturing the Minister-President's office in this first election of the year, but the upset CDU victory marked the beginning of a decline in the polls both nationally and in other state elections. This decline culminated in heavy losses for the SPD in Schleswig-Holstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia and, ultimately, in the

2017 German federal election Federal elections were held in Germany on 24 September 2017 to elect the members of the 19th Bundestag. At stake were at least 598 seats in the Bundestag, as well as 111 overhang and leveling seats determined thereafter. The Christian Democr ...

Background

The 2012 state election was called after the collapse of the Jamaica coalition of the CDU, Free Democratic Party (FDP) and

The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' *Greens of Andorra * Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina *Greens of Burkina * Greens (Greece) * Greens of Montenegro *Greens of Serbia *Gree ...

. The election saw the collapse of the FDP, a downswing for The Left and Greens, gains for the SPD, and the entry of the

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. Afterwards, the CDU and SPD formed a grand coalition.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Saarland.

Opinion polling

Party polling

Minister-President polling

Election result

, - , colspan=8, SL Landtagswahl 2017

, - ! colspan="2" , Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! Seats % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , align= 217,263 , align= 40.7 , align= 5.5 , align= 24 , align= 5 , align= 47.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left ,

(SPD) , align= 158,057 , align= 29.6 , align= 1.0 , align= 17 , align= 0 , align= 33.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , The Left (Linke) , align= 68,566 , align= 12.8 , align= 3.3 , align= 7 , align= 2 , align= 13.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left ,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. ...

(AfD) , align= 32,971 , align= 6.2 , align= New , align= 3 , align= New , align= 5.9 , - ! colspan=8, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left ,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

(Grüne) , align= 21,392 , align= 4.0 , align= 1.0 , align= 0 , align= 2 , align= 0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Free Democratic Party (FDP) , align= 17,419 , align= 3.3 , align= 2.1 , align= 0 , align= ±0 , align= 0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left ,

Family Party of Germany The Family Party of Germany (german: Familienpartei Deutschlands) is a minor conservatism, conservative list of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It has elected members to several local councils in the state of Saarland. ...

(FAMILIE) , align= 4,435 , align= 0.8 , align= 0.9 , align= 0 , align= ±0 , align= 0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left ,

Pirate Party Pirate Party is a label adopted by political parties around the world. Pirate parties support civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively participation in government, reform of copyright and patent law, free shari ...

(Piraten) , align= 3,979 , align= 0.7 , align= 6.7 , align= 0 , align= 4 , align= 0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , National Democratic Party (NPD) , align= 3,744 , align= 0.7 , align= 0.5 , align= 0 , align= ±0 , align= 0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Others , align= 5,957 , align= 1.1 , align= , align= 0 , align= ±0 , align= 0 , - ! align=right colspan=2, Total ! align= 533,783 ! align= 100.0 ! align= ! align= 51 ! align= ±0 ! align= , - ! align=right colspan=2, Voter turnout ! align= ! align= 69.7 ! align= 8.1 ! align= ! align= ! align=

Outcome

Observers were surprised by the CDU's strong performance, as opinion polls predicted a close contest between the CDU and SPD. After the election, several commentators described the results as a boost for the September 2017 electoral prospects of German Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

and the CDU, and as a setback for SPD leader Martin Schulz. As both the CDU and SPD refused to coalition with AfD, the CDU and SPD coalition reached an agreement to continue governing together after the election.

References

{{2017 elections in Germany 2017 elections in Germany Elections in Saarland March 2017 events in Germany