2001 Hamburg state election

The 2001 Hamburg state election was held on 23 September 2001 to elect the members of the 17th Hamburg Parliament. The incumbent coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Green Alternative List (GAL) led by First Mayor Ortwin Runde was defeated, ending 44 years of uninterrupted SPD rule in the city-state.

The most significant change of the election was the entry of the Party for a Rule of Law Offensive ("Schill party") led by Ronald Schill into Parliament with 19.4% of the vote and 25 seats. This can partly be attributed to the general feeling of insecurity due to the September 11 attacks less than two weeks earlier, especially since three of the terrorists involved, including ringleader Mohamed Atta, had been members of the Hamburg cell.

Five Green members of parliament left the party in 1999 in protest over the federal government's (at the time also an SPD-Green coalition) participation in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. They formed Rainbow – For a New Left. However, the list only received 1.7% of the vote in this election and lost all five seats.

The Free Democratic Party (FDP) also re-entered Parliament. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) subsequently formed a coalition with the Schill party and FDP, and CDU leader Ole von Beust was elected as First Mayor.

Parties The table below lists parties represented in the 16th Hamburg Parliament. Name Ideology Leader(s) 1997 result Votes (%) Seats SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany Social democracy Ortwin Runde 36.2% CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christian democracy Ole von Beust 30.7% GAL Green Alternative List Green politics 13.9%

Opinion polling Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize SPD CDU GAL FDP Schill Rainbow Others Lead 2001 state election 23 Sep 2001 – 36.5 26.2 8.6 5.1 19.4 1.7 2.5 10.3 Forsa 13–17 Sep 2001 1,041 36 28 11 5 14 3 3 8 Emnid 12 Sep 2001 ? 34 30 10 6 14 – 6 4 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 8 Sep 2001 ? 36 27 12 7 14 2 2 9 Infratest dimap 3–8 Sep 2001 ? 35 28 9 5 16 2 5 7 Infratest dimap 27 Aug–2 Sep 2001 1,000 35 28 10 7 14 2 4 7 Forsa 22–27 Aug 2001 1,007 34 28 10 5 15 3 5 6 Infratest dimap 6–11 Aug 2001 1,000 35 30 10 7 12 1 5 5 Infratest dimap 12 Jul 2001 ? 35 29 11 8 10 1 5 6 Forsa 26 Jun–2 Jul 2001 1,050 37 31 9 5 9 – 9 6 Infratest dimap 5–10 Jun 2001 1,002 35 31 11 6 9 – 5 4 Forsa 2–7 May 2001 1,008 34 33 12 5 8 1 7 1 Forsa March 2001 1,002 36 31 13 4 8 2 6 5 Psephos 1–2 Feb 2001 1,007 36 32 13 3 9 – 7 4 Infratest dimap 27–29 Nov 2000 1,000 37 30 12 5 6 – 10 7 Psephos 24–25 May 2000 1,004 38 33 11 6 3 – 9 5 Psephos 7–9 Sep 1999 1,000 35 44 11 4 – – 6 9 Infratest dimap 7–9 Sep 1999 1,000 37 42 9 3 – – 9 5 1997 state election 21 Sep 1997 – 36.2 30.7 13.9 3.5 – – 15.7 5.5

Election result

See also Hamburg state elections in the Weimar Republic

Notes

References

Sources The Federal Returning Officer

2001 Hamburg state election

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