A federal election was held in West Germany on 19 September 1965 to elect the members of the 5th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction, while the Social Democratic Party remained the largest single party in the Bundestag, winning 217 of the 518 seats (including 15 of the 22 non-voting delegates for West Berlin).
Campaign Federal Chancellor Ludwig Erhard was initially popular as the acclaimed "father" of West Germany's economic miracle of the 1950s and early 1960s. West Germany's economy still seemed solid in 1965, and thus not enough West German voters wanted to change the party of Federal Chancellor. To ensure his victory in this Bundestag election, Erhard promised to cut income tax and to increase social program spending.
Results
Results by state Constituency seats StateTotalseatsSeats wonCDUSPDCSUBaden-Württemberg36306Bavaria44836Bremen33Hamburg88Hesse22517Lower Saxony302010North Rhine-Westphalia733835Rhineland-Palatinate16115Saarland541Schleswig-Holstein11101Total2481189436
List seats StateTotalseatsSeats wonSPDCDUFDPCSUBaden-Württemberg3217510Bavaria4222713Bremen22Hamburg9171Hesse234136Lower Saxony321697North Rhine-Westphalia80313613Rhineland-Palatinate15753Saarland33Schleswig-Holstein10712Total248108784913
Aftermath The coalition between the CDU/CSU and the FDP returned to government, with Ludwig Erhard as Chancellor. In 1966, the FDP left the coalition over budget issues, and Erhard resigned. Kurt Georg Kiesinger (also CDU) formed a new grand coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD which lasted until the next election.
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